Third Sunday of Easter Homily

Last weekend, we celebrated Divine Mercy Sunday. That was a celebration of the great love and mercy that God has for each one of us. God did not send His Son Jesus into the world to condemn us; rather, He wants to save us. This is about love, mercy, and forgiveness, not anger, condemnation, and punishment. It is a message that speaks volumes to us from the cross. It was human violence and condemnation that put Jesus on the cross. It was Divine Mercy that didn’t retaliate. Instead, from the cross, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they are doing.” 

            Jesus took on all of our sins. When He was nailed to the cross, our sins were nailed to the cross. Jesus took on and absorbed all the anger and violence that humans are capable of. This is an image that Fr. Ron Rolheiser put forth many years ago. It was an image of Jesus absorbing in Himself all of the anger, hatred, and violence of the world. When He died, He put all of that to death. It is through the great love and mercy of God that in His resurrection, God transformed all of that into new life. A new life filled with love, hope, and forgiveness.  God forgave. He didn’t condemn. Love conquered all. 

            This is the message that Jesus gave to His disciples before and after His resurrection. Before His resurrection, the disciples heard Jesus’ teachings and saw His miraculous healings, but they still weren’t quite sure what kind of Messiah Jesus was. After His resurrection, the disciples came to understand what kind of Messiah Jesus really is. They came to understand because of what Jesus suffered in order to save us and transform humanity. Jesus is a Messiah of love, not hatred. A Messiah of mercy, not retaliation, of forgiveness, not condemnation. Jesus is the Prince of Peace, which is what He offered to His disciples when He appeared to them after His resurrection. You may recall that after the resurrection, when Jesus appeared to His disciples in the upper room, the first thing that He said to them was, “Peace be with you.”  Jesus offered the peace that the world cannot give. This is the only way that the world will ever come to know true peace, and that is in Jesus. By following His example and living in His grace. 

            In a letter by Pope Francis called Misericordiae Vultus, he wrote, “As we can see in Sacred Scripture, mercy is a key word that indicates God’s action towards us. He does not limit Himself merely to affirming His love but makes it visible and tangible. Love, after all, can never be just an abstraction. By its very nature, it indicates something concrete: intentions, attitudes, and behaviors that are shown in daily living. The mercy of God is His loving concern for each one of us.” 

            In our Gospel reading today, we hear how Jesus opened the minds of His disciples to be able to understand the Scriptures, “that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations.” (Lk 24:35-48) The disciples had to understand the truth contained in the Scriptures, which led to their understanding of the true nature of God and the Messiah. 

            All of our readings today are about this – helping us understand the truth contained in the Scriptures and what kind of God we have. Like the first disciples, we are asked to share this good news with others.  God’s love and mercy are offered to everybody who is willing to accept it. All that is asked is that people believe and trust in the message and that people will turn to the Lord with true repentance in their hearts in order to receive an outpouring of God’s love and mercy. 

            It is sin, the sin of humanity, that caused Jesus to suffer and die.  It is the sin of humanity that continues to cause so much suffering in the world, from the most grievous crime to the smallest offense.  Every sin, great or small, works against unity and peace.  Only turning to the Lord with true sorrow and repentance in our hearts will bring about transformation – the transformation of our hearts and of the world. 

            This is why Jesus commanded His disciples to proclaim the Gospel so that this transformation could take place. Jesus showed us the way by His example and teachings. This is the path that we are asked to follow in order to be examples of God’s love and mercy in the world. As Pope Francis wrote, “This is the path which the merciful love of Christians must also travel. As the Father loves, so do His children. Just as he is merciful, so we are called to be merciful to each other.” 

            As we heard in the second reading, “The way we may be sure that we know [God] is to keep his commandments. . . . whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him.” (1 Jn 2:1-5a) The people of the world need to continue to hear the message of Divine Mercy that God offers to everyone.  May God give us the courage to be bold witnesses of His love and mercy in the world.  Share the message – live the message. And may God’s peace be with you always.

Fr. Tim Ilgen