by Bishop Guy Sansaricq
Acts 2:42-47; Psalm 118; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-31
One week after Easter we celebrate the feast of Divine Mercy. The Resurrection of Jesus is an act of DIVINE MERCY. The glorious victory of Christ over sin and death extends to all of us. “Through Him we have received a new birth into hope and an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading.”
The apparition of the Risen Lord to the disciples on the evening of the first Easter, as recorded in today’s Gospel, marks the beginning of a new chapter in the History of salvation. First, Jesus breathes this Spirit on the Apostles recalling the day of Creation when God breathed his spirit upon Adam to make of him a living being. This shows Easter to the first day of a new creation, that of the redeemed. In the same vein, Jesus hands on his power to the apostles: “As the Father sent me, I send you.” Third, He gave them power over sins: “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them and whose sins you retain are retained.” Amazing powers are transmitted to these simple unsettled and scary human being. In his great mercy, God the Father is bestowing upon us the very powers and privileges that ere in Jesus. That’s what the Church is: the very embodiment of Christ. Christ is the head, we are his body, one and indivisible.
The first reading gives is a snapshot on the first community of Christians. They shared everything devoting themselves to the teaching of Jesus and to the communal life, the breaking of the bread and prayers. Brotherly love and unity were their hallmarks. Their unity challenges a divided Christianity!
We are called to rediscover the unspeakable mercy of God at work in the Resurrection of Jesus and in our own life when we accept to live IN COMMUNION WITH HIM, faithful to his HOLY COVENANT. No matter what, remember: GOD in his MERCY calls you to be an agent of a new society! Say YES to Him!