20210411 CONTEMPLATING ON HIS WOUNDS
11 April, 2021, 2nd Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday)
First reading | Acts 4:32-35 © |
The whole group of believers was united, heart and soul
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.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 117(118):2-4,15-18,22-24 © |
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.
Second reading | 1 John 5:1-6 © |
Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ has already overcome the world
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.
Gospel Acclamation | Jn20:29 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus said: ‘You believe because you can see me.
Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.’
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 20:19-31 © |
Eight days later, Jesus came again and stood among them
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.
CONTEMPLATING ON HIS WOUNDS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 4:32-35; 1 JOHN 5:1-6; JOHN 20:19-31 ]
Humanity has lost faith in man and therefore God as well. Why does God permit so much evil and injustices in the world? Where is God? Divine Mercy Sunday is a response to the skepticism of the world with regard to God’s mercy and love for humanity and the world. Many people have given up on God because they do not see that our faith is giving them meaning and purpose. They cannot feel the presence or God or see Him active in their lives. St Thomas spoke on our behalf when he said, “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.” Indeed, the world wants to see in order to believe. The world wants proof.
The truth is that seeing the Risen Lord can only happen in faith and in the lives of believers. It is significant that seeing the Risen Lord is not something describable. In fact, there is no attempt by the evangelists to describe how the Risen Lord looks like except that He is transformed and it takes faith to recognize Him. The Risen Lord appeared in His pierced hands and sides. This is an important consideration; that we meet the Risen Lord by looking and contemplating on His wounds. We know that God loves us only when we contemplate on His passion and sacrificial death for us. Only love can convict us of God’s love. 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, with the Spirit as another witness.” It is through His humanity and His death that we come to know of the depth of God’s love in allowing His Son to die for us.
But what is preventing us from seeing the Risen Lord through His wounds? Firstly, we cannot accept our own wounds. The apostles were behind locked doors not only because they feared the Jews who might also arrest them but they feared the Lord as well. They were filled with guilt and remorse for having abandoned the Lord to His fate. They could not forgive themselves. Hence, they were behind locked doors. Those of us who have unhealed wounds are also behind locked doors. When we cannot forgive ourselves, we cannot bare to see our wounds and therefore we are not able to see the wounds in others as well.
Secondly our locked doors would be our pride. Just as the apostles were afraid to admit their guilt, so too the world refuses to bow down before the power of God. The world prefers to live in their skepticism and doubts till there is convincing proof that the resurrection is real. Thomas refused to believe unless he saw the marks of the Crucified Christ. Our pride too prevents us from asking for forgiveness and mercy. Until this stage, Peter had not yet apologized to the Lord for betraying Him even though the Lord had forgiven him and the apostles unilaterally and collectively as a group.
What we need is to encounter His mercy. We need to contemplate on His wounds so that we know that He loves us as we are. If we surrender ourselves to Him, then He too will give us His peace. 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.'”
But today, we cannot see or touch the marks of the Crucified Christ as Thomas did. However, we still can touch Him in His body the Church with all the imperfections of the crucified body. We can see the sufferings of Christ in humanity and in our loved ones. When Thomas saw the Crucified Lord, he said, “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.”
We need to have the same faith as Thomas to see the Lord present in His suffering Church and humanity. That was what the early Church did. “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.” They loved and cared for each other because they loved the Lord. St John also said, “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.” If we love Christ, we will also love His body, the Church. We cannot claim that we love Christ but reject others who are members of His body. When we love someone, we love everyone the person loves as well.
We must identify with the Crucified Christ in His suffering Church and in humanity. This is why we must practice mercy in our lives from the mercy we have received from Christ. This is the reason for celebrating Divine Mercy so that we can show ourselves to be merciful and forgiving towards those who have offended us or have failed in their lives. To do this, we need to, as the Lord told Thomas, “Put your finger here; look, here are my hands. Give me your hand; put it into my side. Doubt no longer but believe.” We must put our finger into their body to feel as they feel. It was because the early Christians were so united in Christ that they felt for each other’s needs, so much so the privation of others was also felt by those who were not in want. We read that “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.”
We, too, must learn to identify ourselves with the feelings of people, their anxieties, pain and struggles. Otherwise, it is easy to be judgmental. We condemn those who commit suicide or attempt suicide, but do we know what is depression, what causes depression and how much they are struggling? So too those who commit sexual offences or adultery, do we know the circumstances that caused them to be sex addicts? Or even those who take drugs, what was their upbringing like? Of course, we must also identify with the anger, hurts and resentment of the victims whose lives have been destroyed as well, emotionally and personally. So we are not condoning the sinful actions but we must learn to feel with the sinners and the victims as well. In this way, we bring healing both to the sinners and victims.
Forgiveness is the necessary way to enable us to encounter the Risen Lord. Forgiveness is central to the gospel. Healing can only take place and unity be achieved through forgiveness and reconciliation. This explains why the Lord in His first appearance to the apostles, said to them twice, to reassure them that their sins were forgiven. 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.” Having been forgiven, we are now asked to render the forgiveness we have received. So immediately after forgiving them, the Lord said, “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 who sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained.” We must first forgive ourselves because the Lord has forgiven us. This is the first step. Then we must forgive those who have hurt us, just as the Lord has forgiven us. The forgiveness which we received sacramentally through the priest during our Confession must then be expressed in our forgiveness of others who have sinned against us. Only then can healing be complete and effective.
Truly, the way to encounter the Risen Lord is through His Church, His body. This is why when St Thomas was not with the community, he was not able to see the Risen Lord. Only when he was present the second time, could he see the Crucified Lord. The Lord comes to us through our friends, through concrete events in our life, success and failures, trials and happiness. He comes to us through the community of faith. Indeed, we need the Church to testify to us the resurrection of the Lord just as the apostles did “with great power, and they were all given great respect.” It is through our gathering together in worship, in sharing the Word of God and in witnessing to the power of Christ at work in our lives that our faith can grow. It is not enough to celebrate the liturgy but we need to complement our liturgy in the sharing of the Word of God, the giving of testimonies in small groups, sharing and worshipping. As St John wrote, “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.” We need to know the signs so that our faith can grow in depth and strength.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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