Homily for Divine Mercy Sunday

Around this time of year, I always get apologetic. By that I do not mean that I get more sorry for my sins, or that I go around apologizing to all my enemies, although this should always be happening too. But I do not mean that I get more apologetic in this way. I mean it in the way that I get more defensive. The Easter proclamation always makes me ready to not only promote the truth of the bodily resurrection of Jesus, but it also makes me more defensive against the attacks of those who do not believe. Maybe it is the emails I receive from parents who are disappointed that their college student is moving away from the Catholic faith, for their son or daughter no longer sees that faith not as a precious gift they received from their family pointing them toward truth, goodness, beauty and purpose, but as an unnecessary burden, linking them to an outdated mythology and an embarrassingly repressive code of morality. Maybe I'm frustrated that it is as hard as ever, given the wounds that continue to scar the Church and the world and have yet to be healed, to proclaim the truth of the Resurrection to a skeptical world, and to fulfill Jesus' command to make disciples of all nations. Maybe it is the frailty of my own faith, and my difficulty in resacrificing my life, every day, for the truth of this faith in the Resurrection to which I have been chosen by Christ to give witness. It is probably a combination of all of these things, circumstances personal and communal. For whatever reasons, I get apologetic this time of year. I get defensive.

When I hear the story of the doubting Thomas, of course I see myself. We all do. Who doesn't want more proof of the Lord's Resurrection? But I have another reaction as well. It is the 'you've got to be kidding me' reaction.' Thomas enters a room where everyone is in unanimous agreement that they have seen the Lord. Unanimous agreement. Not one dissenter. Not one witness saying they saw something else. And Thomas thinks it is an April fools joke? You've got to be kidding me. I guess this is why I get defensive when I see how hard it is for faith in the Resurrection of Jesus to gain ground in our age of skepticism today. There exists a 2000 year history of faith in the historical bodily Resurrection of Jesus. Not a perfect history, mind you, but an impressive legacy nonetheless. The witness of countless lives changed and redeemed by faith in Jesus, the heroic stories of selfless men and women who have done unthinkably beautiful things because they trusted in the truth of the Resurrection. Countless Churches and monuments that attest to the truth of that first witness given by the apostles, that Jesus Christ is truly Risen from the dead. And still there are people who have concluded for sure that the whole thing is the greatest April fools delusion of all time? Still there are people who will not admit the possibility of the Resurrection, let alone its probability given all the evidence, until they have ruled out every other possibility? I'm not saying that the witness of the Church today is exactly the same as the witness of those first disciples to Thomas, nor am I saying that I can prove the truth of the Resurrection to anyone; nonetheless, the 'are you kidding me?' reaction is always the same within me this time of year. I get apologetic about the Resurrection. I get defensive.

Thankfully, Divine Mercy Sunday arrives to distract me from continuing a 7 week long homily rant on the ability/inability of the Church to prove the truth of the Resurrection, and the ability/inability of the modern world to hear such a proclamation. Divine Mercy Sunday, the second Sunday of Easter, per the wishes of the late Holy Father John Paul II, who died in 2005 on the eve of this great solemnity, is a Solemnity that proposes to us the 'why' of the paschal events, not simply on the historical authenticity of them. The Gospel alone on this Sunday, the Gospel of the doubting Thomas, is focused on Jesus giving his followers the evidence that they will need to proclaim the truth of the Resurrection. Yet in saying that this is Divine Mercy Sunday, the Church points us as well to a deeper question of faith that precedes faith in the true historical bodily Resurrection. The deeper question of faith is this? Do you believe God is love? Do you believe God is merciful?

If the Bible had a title or even a subtitle, it would be hard to decide the perfect title that summarizes the story of the world's salvation. What title would you pick? God is victorious? Jesus Christ is truly Risen? These would be good choices. On Divine Mercy Sunday, another title for the story of salvation is suggested to us. God is merciful. He is merciful in creating the world, even though He did not need to. He is merciful in creating man in his image and likeness, including creating him with the gift of freedom wherein man could choose whether or not to love God in return. He is merciful in not allowing us to remain forever in our sins in an imperfect world, but instead inviting us to be members of his family forever and to share in the mission of His only Son to redeem the world and to make it new by the power of His Resurrection. The Bible is a story of mercy. Its proper title could well be - God is merciful. The Bible is a story not of necessity, not of what has to be, but it is a story about love. It is a story not of how things must be, but how they really are. It is a story of increasing love, page by page, until even the fiercest enemies of evil, sin and death, are conquered by love.

This is the theme the Church points us to on this Divine Mercy Sunday. God is love. God is merciful. This theme makes the story of the doubting Thomas more than a story of more proof in the Resurrection of Jesus, although it is this as well. The theme reminds us that the question of whether God is love is deeper and more fundamental than the question of whether Jesus is truly Risen! If one believe in the possibility that God is love, then the Resurrection easily makes sense as the most perfect revelation and the crowning achievement of that love. If one does not admit the possibility of God being love, then that person is obligated to explore with as much doubt and skepticism as possible, every other possible explanation, like Thomas, as to why all of these people think that Jesus is alive, and proclaim Him to be Lord and God!

Man cannot live without faith. This is why Jesus says that blessed are those who have not seen, and have believed. If you think having faith is hard, you should try living skepticism. How many of your triple-check the spark plug wires under your hood before starting your car? True skepticism is impossible to live. Man must live on faith. Now there is a time and a place, to be sure, when the facts need to be reevaluated over and over in light of new circumstances and new evidence. There is a time and a place, to be sure, when the reasonability of what we believe must be demonstrated. There is a time and a place for apologetic homilies on the Resurrection. But Divine Mercy Sunday moves us behind the specific facts detailing the Resurrection, toward faith in a more fundamental question - is God love?

That question is meant to come to each of us now in a personal way? Do you believe God loves you? When you look at the meaning of your life, do you believe you exist because God loves you? Do you believe that in the end that the love of God is the only thing that is truly necessary and eternal? Does the definition of love given by John ring true in your life - that in this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He has loved us, and has given us His only Son in expiation for our sins. Do you believe that love is not something you create by your own power, but something you first receive? If you believe these things about love, if you believe the possibility that God is love, and that He loves you, then you are predisposed for receiving faith in the Resurrection.

We will all continue to have our doubts, and times when our faith is stronger or weaker. You may have a life where you have many doubts, many questions, many arguments against God, and many unresolved whys? The proclamation of the Church on this Divine Mercy Sunday is to challenge every human person to put those doubts, questions, arguments, and every circumstance of your life, within the wounded side of Jesus, within the paschal mystery of his suffering, death and resurrection, just as surely as Thomas put his hand into that very side of Jesus. This is the invitation of Divine Mercy Sunday, for Jesus asks you to place the circumstances of your life within the circumstances of His, so that despite the difficulties of life, you may see and experience once again that God is love. God is merciful.

And so goes the proclamation of our Church during this Holy Season of Easter. Not only that Christ is Risen, He is truly Risen, just as He said! But also that the whole world can and should give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, and His Mercy Endures Forever. Amen. Alleluia!