20180408
MERCY AND COMPASSION AS THE KEYS TO BUILD
COMMUNITY
08 APRIL, 2018, Divine Mercy Sunday
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
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First reading
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Acts 4:32-35 ©
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The whole group of believers was united, heart and soul
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The whole group of believers was united, heart and soul; no one
claimed for his own use anything that he had, as everything they owned was held
in common.
The apostles
continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus with great power,
and they were all given great respect.
None of
their members was ever in want, as all those who owned land or houses would
sell them, and bring the money from them, to present it to the apostles; it was
then distributed to any members who might be in need.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 117(118):2-4,15-18,22-24 ©
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Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his
love has no end.
Let the sons of Israel say:
‘His love has no end.’
Let the sons of Aaron say:
‘His love has no end.’
Let those who fear the Lord say:
‘His love has no end.’
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his
love has no end.
The Lord’s right hand has triumphed;
his right hand raised me up.
I shall not die, I shall live
and recount his deeds.
I was punished, I was punished by the Lord,
but not doomed to die.
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his
love has no end.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the corner stone.
This is the work of the Lord,
a marvel in our eyes.
This day was made by the Lord;
we rejoice and are glad.
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his
love has no end.
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Second reading
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1 John 5:1-6 ©
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Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ has already overcome
the world
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Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ
has been begotten by God;
and whoever loves the Father that begot him
loves the child whom he begets.
We can be sure that we love God’s children
if we love God himself and do what he has commanded us;
this is what loving God is –
keeping his commandments;
and his commandments are not difficult,
because anyone who has been begotten by God
has already overcome the world;
this is the victory over the world –
our faith.
Who can overcome the world?
Only the man who believes that Jesus is the Son of God:
Jesus Christ who came by water and blood,
not with water only,
but with water and blood;
with the Spirit as another witness –
since the Spirit is the truth.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Jn20:29
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus said: ‘You believe because you can see me.
Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.’
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 20:19-31 ©
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Eight days later, Jesus came again and stood among them
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In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the
doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews.
Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you’, and
showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when
they saw the Lord, and he said to them again, ‘Peace be with you.
‘As the Father sent me,
so am I sending you.’
After saying this he breathed on them and said:
‘Receive the Holy Spirit.
For those whose sins you forgive,
they are forgiven;
for those whose sins you retain,
they are retained.’
Thomas, called the Twin, who was one of the Twelve, was not with
them when Jesus came. When the disciples said, ‘We have seen the Lord’, he
answered, ‘Unless I see the holes that the nails made in his hands and can put
my finger into the holes they made, and unless I can put my hand into his side,
I refuse to believe.’ Eight days later the disciples were in the house again
and Thomas was with them. The doors were closed, but Jesus came in and stood
among them. ‘Peace be with you’ he said. Then he spoke to Thomas, ‘Put your
finger here; look, here are my hands. Give me your hand; put it into my side.
Doubt no longer but believe.’ Thomas replied, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said
to him:
‘You believe because you can see me.
Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.’
There were many other signs that Jesus worked and the disciples
saw, but they are not recorded in this book. These are recorded so that you may
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing this you
may have life through his name.
MERCY AND COMPASSION AS THE KEYS TO BUILD COMMUNITY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Acts 4:32-35; Ps 118; 1 Jn 5:1-6; Jn 20:19-31]
In the first
reading, we read how the early Christian community was “united, heart and soul;
no one claimed for his own use anything that he had, as everything they owned
was held in common.” Indeed, “None of their members was ever in want, as
all those who owned land or houses would sell them, and bring the money from
them, to present it to the apostles; it was then distributed to any members who
might be in need.” This was how united they were, taking care of each
other’s needs and sharing the same love for God, the same vision and values of
the gospel.
They were
able to love so freely and unconditionally because they had encountered the
power of the love of the Risen Christ in His passion, death and
resurrection. If the Lord had conquered hatred and death through His
resurrection from the dead, what is there for them to be afraid of since even
death is overcome. (cf Rom 8:37-39)
In response
to God’s love for them in Christ Jesus, they in turn could love each other the
way that God loved them. This is what St John wrote, “Whoever believes that Jesus is
the Christ has been begotten by God; and whoever loves the Father that begot
him loves the child whom he begets.” It is true in life that we love
those whom we love and those whom they love. So if we love God the
Father, then St John says, we should also love His Son. And if we love
His Son, we will also love those whom the Son loves. And who does He
love? He said, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least
of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Mt 25:40)
As a
consequence, the early Christians were living as the first faith community in
history. They
were deeply in love with God and as a consequence, in love for each
other. Caring for each other, looking after each other’s interests rather
than one’s own, sharing all that we have is what will make this world a better
place. Where there is genuine love and sharing, there will be peace and
unity. And what do we all wish for if not a world and a society that is
gracious, caring, loving and united. Such is the dream of every man and
woman. This is the ideal world that we are called to build.
But the ideal
world is far from the reality. The truth remains that we are living in a very wounded
world. Even for those of us who are baptized and the elect, they
would fall into sin, often not by choice but out of human weakness. The
Old Adam does not die completely when we are baptized but latent and sleeping
in us, waiting to resurrect when we are not conscious of God’s presence in
us. Because of our disoriented will which is not healed completely
after baptism, even though our sins are forgiven, we will still be inclined to
sin. Our fears and selfishness will surface. We will still have to
continuously struggle against sin. That is why love is not
sufficient to build a community because our love is imperfect.
Over and
above love, we need mercy to build a new community. This was why in the first
Sunday of Easter, we celebrated new life through the love of God expressed in
His passion and resurrection. The second Sunday of Easter we focus on
Divine Mercy. Mercy is more than compassion by caring for the poor
and the hungry. Mercy means compassion and forgiveness for those
who fail in Christian charity, honesty and integrity. This was what Jesus
did upon His resurrection. The disciples were hiding in shame of Jesus
and in fear of their enemies. They were hiding behind closed doors.
But Jesus came to bring them out of their fears by extending His forgiveness
and offering them the gift of peace. Twice, He greeted them, “Peace be
with you!” Peace comes from forgiveness.
Today, many
of us are also locked up in our fears, manifested in resentment, anger,
coldness of heart, retaliation, backbiting and gossiping. That is why we are
vindictive and revengeful. We are also imprisoned by our insecurity
because we feel our interests are at stake. We see others as our
competitors and even enemies rather than as fellow collaborators or better
still, our brothers and sisters who care for us more than they care for
themselves. So how can we break out of the walls that we have
erected for ourselves?
The truth is
that unless we have encountered His divine mercy, we cannot show mercy the way
He showed us.
We need to first receive His divine mercy. This was what the Lord
did for the disciples. After reconciling them with Himself, He said, “As
the Father sent me, so am I sending you.” Without receiving His unconditional
mercy for our sins, we cannot forgive those who sin against us. A
case in point was the apostles of our Lord. We read in the gospel, Thomas
was adamant in not believing what the rest of them said about the fact of the
resurrection. They did not judge him but showed great tolerance for his incredulity.
This was because they had already encountered Jesus’ mercy. Indeed,
the early Christians could exercise mercy because they were moved by God’s
mercy. (cf 1 Pt 1:3f)
How, then,
can we receive this divine mercy today? St John wrote, “Who can overcome the
world? Only the man who believes that Jesus is the Son of God; Jesus Christ who
came by water and blood, not with water only, but with water and blood; with
the Spirit as another witness – since the Spirit is the truth.”
Water is a symbol of baptism, blood a symbol of the Eucharist, and the Spirit
of truth and witnessing is given in the Sacrament of reconciliation.
To enter into
Divine Mercy, we must be like Jesus who, at His baptism, identified with us
sinners even though He was without sin and need not be baptized. (cf 2 Cor 5:21)
But He did it so that He could carry our sins in His body. (1 Pt 2:24)
Indeed, “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” When
they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he
made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.”
(1 Pt 2:22f)
That was how Thomas was converted when he saw the wounds of Jesus. Thomas
believed not because He saw the Risen Lord but he was overwhelmed by Christ’s
love for him through the wounds that He suffered for them. He was
overcome more by God’s mercy and love than the sight of Jesus. And his
immediate response to the wounds of the Crucified Lord was, “My Lord and my
God!” In Christ crucified, God’s mercy is power in love.
We too must
be identified with the sufferings and sinfulness of our fellow brothers and
sisters. We should not be judgmental and unforgiving for their negligence
and sins. We are all human beings and we sin now and then. We should
therefore be empathetic and tolerant of each other’s faults and
weaknesses. This is what a gracious society is all about, not just caring
for each other but accepting each other’s human frailties and encouraging each
other on the road to holiness of life.
The second
way to celebrate the Divine Mercy is in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This explains why the
Lord, after His resurrection, empowered the apostles to remit sin. “Receive the
Holy Spirit. For those who sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose
sins you retain, they are retained.” This is the most powerful form of
healing of the human soul, more than any amount of counselling and psychiatric
treatment we can have. The soul will have no peace unless he or she feels
that God has forgiven him or her. The priest, as the representative of
Christ, offers that forgiveness in His name and assures us of His unconditional
love and mercy. The priest is called to be the Father of mercy and
compassion when he celebrates the sacrament of reconciliation. He is
called to be the image of God’s forgiving love. Hence, we must not
deprive ourselves of this Sacrament of Reconciliation, especially the new
baptized. They should frequent this sacrament so that they can encounter
God’s mercy.
Finally, we
can experience God’s mercy through the Eucharist. That was what the early
disciples did. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to
fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42)
By celebrating the Eucharist together, we are joined to Christ and His Church,
especially through the Word of God and the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
Receiving the Eucharist with thanksgiving and gratitude brings about a change
of heart in our lives. Listening to the Word of God that is preached and
shared will ignite us to live like Christ. This explains why receiving
the Eucharist brings about the forgiveness of venial sins through the
strengthening of spiritual life. But equally important is that we need
the Christian fellowship to keep us united in mind, soul and heart. This
happens through the sharing of the Word of God and the mutual love of the
community.
So let us
build the Christian community into a sacrament of love and unity despite our
imperfections and sinfulness by exercising mercy and compassion towards each other. In the creed, we say
the Church is Holy because of Christ, but we are sinners becoming and growing
to be more like Him. So let us be signs of God’s mercy and
compassion to each other through our compassion for the poor, the sick, the marginalized
and for those who have sinned against us. Through such signs, they may
“believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing this they
may have life through his name.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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