Word to the Wise
Sunday, April 23, 2017 - 2nd Sunday of Easter - A
[Acts 2:42-47; 1 Pet 1:3-9; John 20:19-31]They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.....All who believed were together and had all things in common. [Acts]
When St. Dominic first set about establishing the Order of Preachers (a/k/a Dominicans) the words from the Acts of the Apostles in today's first scripture (along with another passage at Acts 4:32-35) served as inspiration for the lives of the brethren. They continue to do so. During the special Jubilee of Mercy that Pope Francis proclaimed more than a year ago, I was asked to do a number of retreats for sisters and clergy that would focus on mercy as an underlying theme. I found the expression: "Everyday mercies..." to be a very helpful one.
The Second Sunday of Easter is called "Divine Mercy Sunday" because Pope St. John Paul II introduced this devotion to the wider church from Poland. It has become very popular in the U.S.A. at least because I see it at almost every church where I preach! What I hope will happen as a result of this is that it won't be just "divine mercy" defined solely as something that comes from above without any effort on our part to "put skin" on it.
Community life and family life are not possible without "everyday mercies." We bump into one another in many different ways and need one another's mercy over and over again. God's mercy is meant to be shared. It is not just a God-and-me reality. In the Gospel According to John today we see an example of Jesus' mercy on Thomas who had doubted the resurrection. We see his mercy on Peter who denied him. We see his mercy from the cross, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." We are commanded to wash one another's feet. All of these and many more examples are meant to urge us to mercy. The hungry, thirsty, naked, oppressed people of the world who may be living in our communities and along our national borders cry out for our everyday mercy. To be merciful is to imitate Jesus in a very real way. Perhaps this Sunday's title can remind us of that. AMEN
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