Healed by Mercy!

Sunday, April 27, 2025

Sunday of Divine Mercy

Acts 5:12-16; Rev 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19; Jn 20:19-31

We celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday today. 

How do the readings explain Divine Mercy?

In the first reading, Divine Mercy is understood in the way it helps the apostles thrive in their ministry of evangelization. They did not just proclaim God in empty words but effectively through ‘signs and wonders’ that accompanied them. Though there was hesitation among others to join them, the ever-increasing Christian fold announced God’s presence and blessings. Despite the fact of threats and oppositions, God’s grace made the scenario less hostile, and Christians registered their impactful presence that others could not look away from. The healing ministry of Jesus was thus carried on by his disciples, making God’s presence visible and active. We must note that Christians thrived not in the absence of problems but ‘despite’ them. This is what explains Divine Mercy in the context of the mission of the early Christian community. 

The second reading presents John’s vision of the glorified Christ when he was exiled on the island of Patmos. The first words of Jesus to the fearful John are ‘Do not be afraid.’ These words of Jesus echo the consistent biblical theme of God’s mercy calming human fear. Hence, we understand Divine Mercy through the self-revelation of Christ to a suffering believer. The text also clearly demonstrates John’s identification with the suffering Church, sharing in her ‘distress, the kingdom, and the patient endurance.’ As such, it assured solidarity with those who suffered and offered encouragement for believers under persecution. Moreover, John’s presentation highlights Christ’s presence among his people, sharing their pain and persecution. The text becomes a loud reminder that Jesus, who conquered sin and death, manifests his authority to deliver and save. Here, Divine Mercy is not only comforting but also empowering in the way it reaffirms hope of resurrection for believers undergoing persecution and the everlasting presence of Christ with His Suffering Church. 

The Gospel text has a beautiful illustration of Divine Mercy in action. The first part of the Gospel is about Jesus strengthening his disciples by greeting them with the gift of peace, as it was most needed for those who were frozen in fear. Jesus repeats his greetings of peace twice in a way that confirms what he meant. It is this fearful band of disciples that Jesus transforms into missionaries of peace. We understand Divine Mercy as holding them up and not letting them down in their vulnerable moments. In the second part of the Gospel, we witness the non-judgemental love and mercy of God toward Thomas. It looks as if Thomas doubted Jesus’ resurrection, and therefore, we are led to believe that it calls for some harsh measures towards the unbelieving Thomas. On the contrary, Jesus’ encounter with Thomas is more comforting and liberating in that Thomas, who doubted Jesus’ resurrection, utters the most beautiful words, ‘My Lord and My God,’ thus announcing the divinity of the Risen Lord. When Jesus calls Thomas to faith through his personal encounter, Thomas does not disappoint his Lord. While we imagine that the doubtful Thomas sinned against God, Divine Mercy shows that his sin of disbelief was not greater than God’s mercy. 

Paulo Coelho, the Brazilian writer, has this interesting conversation in one of his books: ‘I am in Sydney Harbour looking at the beautiful bridge that joins the two halves of the city when an Australian comes up to me and asks me to read an advertisement in the newspaper. ‘The print is too small,’ he says. I can’t make out what it says. I try, but I haven’t got my reading glasses with me. I apologize to the man. ‘Oh, that’s all right,’ he says. ‘Do you know something? I think that God suffers from poor eyesight too, not because He is old, but because that’s how He wants it to be. That way, when someone does something wrong, He can always say He couldn’t quite see and so ends up forgiving the person because He doesn’t want to commit an injustice.’ ‘And what if someone does something good?’ I ask. ‘Ah, well,’ laughs the Australian, moving off, ‘God, of course, never leaves His glasses at home!’ 

A better understanding of Divine Mercy reveals that while God is always thoughtful about human goodness, He is forgetful about their sins. 

Let us pray that we may heal the world from our experience of the healing mercy of God. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar