Good morning. Last Sunday’s Mass of the Resurrection of the Lord, we heard proclaimed in the Gospel how Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved ran to the tomb on that first Easter morning. Who remembers which of them ran faster and arrived at the tomb first? Yes! It was John, the disciple whom Jesus loved. And, you know what, John made sure that EVERYBODY knows that he outran the first pope to the tomb - just read the Gospel of John, chapter 20, verses 3-4. Not only that, as we just heard in today’s Gospel, he made sure that EVERYBODY knows about “doubting” Thomas. Now, I find it interesting that none of the other Gospels mentioned Peter losing a foot race to the tomb or about “doubting” Thomas, except in the Gospel of John. I bet the other disciples were probably unimpressed with John and gave him the “McKayla Maroney” look. No wonder John ended up in exile on “the rocky island of Patmos.”
Do you know what else is only found in the Gospel of John and not in another of the other Gospels? Let me read to you from John, chapter 19, verses 34-37: “. . .one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out. . . For this happened so that the scripture passage might be fulfilled: ‘They will look upon him whom they have pierced.’” My sisters and brothers in Christ, what image comes to mind when we hear this passage if not the image of Divine Mercy? I invite you to gaze intently at the image of Divine Mercy while I read to you what our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ said to Saint Faustina: “The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls. These two rays issued forth from the depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross (299). . . I am offering people a vessel with which they are to keep coming for graces to the fountain of mercy. That vessel is this image with the signature: ‘Jesus, I trust in You’ (328)” (Diary of St. Faustina).
“Jesus, I trust in you” - as I reflected on this inscription in the context of today’s Gospel, particularly reflecting on Thomas, I believe it was not so much that he doubted what his brother disciples told him about Jesus appearing to them. I believe it was more that he was afraid - afraid to hope, afraid to trust in God's love, mercy, and forgiveness. Thomas could not allow himself to believe that Jesus would want to have anything to do with him (or any of his fellow disciples) after he had abandoned Jesus a few days earlier to be arrested, imprisoned, unjustly sentenced to be tortured and crucificied, and then died on the Cross - alone. In a way, Thomas reminds us of the prodigal son who said to his father: “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son” (Luke 15:18, 21). Just as the prodigal son was afraid that his father might not forgive him for his wayward life and not accept him back as a son, Thomas did not trust in God's love, mercy, and forgiveness to allow himself to have hope that Christ had not (and would never) abandon him.
My sisters and brothers in Christ, Thomas is us; we are Thomas. Sometimes, we do not trust in God's love, mercy, and forgiveness as we ought and, therefore, we do not allow ourselves to have hope that Christ has not (and will never) abandon us. Personally, the most difficult sacrament for me to receive is the Sacrament of Reconciliation, or Penance, because I have a hard time trusting myself to hope that I am deserving of forgiveness, much less believe that God would forgive me for my waywardness. I do not know about you all, but when I sin and deny Jesus, I feel like how Peter must have felt after he denied Jesus three times: “. . .the Lord turned and looked at Peter; and Peter remembered the word of the Lord. . . He went out and began to weep bitterly” (Luke 22:60-62). I wonder to myself: “How can God forgive me?” In those moments when I have fallen for the umpteenth time and I cannot imagine that our Lord would ever forgive me, John Michael Talbot’s voice pops into my head and I imagine him singing “The Jesus Prayer”: “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinful one” (Mark 10:48; Luke 18:13). “The Jesus Prayer” helps me to approach the Sacrament of Reconciliation with a humble and contrite heart and, thanks be to God, Jesus does not condemn me. He heals me but he also tells me to sin no more (John 8:11).
I have always wondered what Thomas saw or felt when Jesus invited him to “[put] your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side” that caused him to proclaim - “MY LORD AND MY GOD!” - with such fervor and conviction. This is what the Holy Spirit revealed to me during my time in meditation. Let me share it with you. I invite you to look up at our beautiful Mercy Crucifix and keep gazing at our Lord on the Cross. Look at our Lord’s wounds - the crown of thorns on his head, the nails in his hands and feet, or his pierced side - as I read to you this passage from the Prophet Isaiah: “. . .he was pierced for our sins, crushed for our iniquity. He bore the punishment that makes us whole, by his wounds we [are] HEALED" (53:5-12). Every time we gaze upon our Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross, we will find God pouring forth His love, mercy, and forgiveness abundantly on us. Because as our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ hung on the Cross, he asked this of his Father in heaven on behalf of fallen man, on our behalf: “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” This gives us reason to hope in God’s MERCY. It gives us reason to trust in God’s LOVE. This gives us reason to believe in God’s GOODNESS. Divine mercy filled Thomas’ heart and caused him to proclaim boldly “MY LORD AND MY GOD!” because, in the wounds of Christ, Thomas felt God’s love and received God’s forgiveness.
Now, do you know who else in today’s readings experienced Christ’s love, mercy, and forgiveness? Peter. Wait, what now?! That’s right! The person who Jesus said would be the rock upon which he would build his church (Matthew 16:18) was the same person who denied Jesus three times. And yet, as we heard in today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostle, Peter (and the apostles) were doing “signs and wonders” among the people. Not only that, but people “even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on one or another of them. . . and be cured.” How can this be, you might wonder? I think Fr. Mike Schmitz said it best. As you all may know, I am listening to “The Bible in the Year” podcast with Fr. Mike Schmitz. In a recent episode, Fr. Mike was reflecting on 1 Samuel, Chapter 12, and he had this to say: “We are not disqualified. The Lord continues to be present to us. He calls us forward.”
Peter was not disqualified for denying Jesus. Thomas, and the other apostles for that matter (except Judas because he betrayed Christ for 30 pieces of silver), were not disqualified for abandoning Jesus. And you know what, my sisters and brothers in Christ? We are not disqualified either. The Lord continues to be present to us. Jesus continues to call us forward, saying: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” That is Divine Mercy, and when we know this or, better yet, when we receive God’s mercy and peace into our hearts, we have faith, hope, and love that free us to answer God’s call to move forward and be his disciples and to do “signs and wonders” for all to see so that they, too, “may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this belief [they] may have life in his name.” This is what it means to be what Saint John Paul II calls an “Easter people” (with “Hallelujah” as our song), to live the joy of Easter every day of our lives, and to share the Good News of Divine Mercy to a world that is filled with darkness and desperately needs to hear the Good News of Divine Mercy. For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world. Jesus, I trust in you.
