The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today resonate with themes of awareness of community and our call to emulate Jesus on the Sunday of Divine Mercy.
In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles, the Believers Share Their Possessions.
* [4:32–37] This is the second summary characterizing the Jerusalem community (see note on Acts 2:42–47). It emphasizes the system of the distribution of goods and introduces Barnabas, who appears later in Acts as the friend and companion of Paul, and who, as noted here (Acts 4:37), endeared himself to the community by a donation of money through the sale of property. This sharing of material possessions continues a practice that Luke describes during the historical ministry of Jesus (Lk 8:3) and is in accord with the sayings of Jesus in Luke’s gospel (Lk 12:33; 16:9, 11, 13). (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 118 is a Song of Victory.
* [Psalm 118] A thanksgiving liturgy accompanying a procession of the king and the people into the Temple precincts. After an invocation in the form of a litany (Ps 118:1–4), the psalmist (very likely speaking in the name of the community) describes how the people confidently implored God’s help (Ps 118:5–9) when hostile peoples threatened its life (Ps 118:10–14); vividly God’s rescue is recounted (Ps 118:15–18). Then follows a possible dialogue at the Temple gates between the priests and the psalmist as the latter enters to offer the thanksgiving sacrifice (Ps 118:19–25). Finally, the priests impart their blessing (Ps 118:26–27), and the psalmist sings in gratitude (Ps 118:28–29).
* [118:22] The stone the builders rejected: a proverb: what is insignificant to human beings has become great through divine election. The “stone” may originally have meant the foundation stone or capstone of the Temple. The New Testament interpreted the verse as referring to the death and resurrection of Christ (Mt 21:42; Acts 4:11; cf. Is 28:16 and Rom 9:33; 1 Pt 2:7). (Psalms, PSALM 118 | USCCB, n.d.)
The reading from the First Letter of John proclaims that faith conquers the World and shares testimony concerning the Son of God.
* [5:1–5] Children of God are identified not only by their love for others (1 Jn 4:7–9) and for God (1 Jn 5:1–2) but by their belief in the divine sonship of Jesus Christ. Faith, the acceptance of Jesus in his true character and the obedience in love to God’s commands (1 Jn 5:3), is the source of the Christian’s power in the world and conquers the world of evil (1 Jn 5:4–5), even as Christ overcame the world (Jn 16:33).
* [5:6–12] Water and blood (1 Jn 5:6) refers to Christ’s baptism (Mt 3:16–17) and to the shedding of his blood on the cross (Jn 19:34). The Spirit was present at the baptism (Mt 3:16; Mk 1:10; Lk 3:22; Jn 1:32, 34). (1 John, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the Gospel of John, Jesus appears to the Disciples and the purpose of this book is declared.
* [20:19–29] The appearances to the disciples, without or with Thomas (cf. Jn 11:16; 14:5), have rough parallels in the other gospels only for Jn 20:19–23; cf. Lk 24:36–39; Mk 16:14–18.
* [20:19] The disciples: by implication from Jn 20:24 this means ten of the Twelve, presumably in Jerusalem. Peace be with you: although this could be an ordinary greeting, John intends here to echo Jn 14:27. The theme of rejoicing in Jn 20:20 echoes Jn 16:22.
* [20:20] Hands and…side: Lk 24:39–40 mentions “hands and feet,” based on Ps 22:17.
* [20:21] By means of this sending, the Eleven were made apostles, that is, “those sent” (cf. Jn 17:18), though John does not use the noun in reference to them (see note on Jn 13:16). A solemn mission or “sending” is also the subject of the post-resurrection appearances to the Eleven in Mt 28:19; Lk 24:47; Mk 16:15.
* [20:22] This action recalls Gn 2:7, where God breathed on the first man and gave him life; just as Adam’s life came from God, so now the disciples’ new spiritual life comes from Jesus. Cf. also the revivification of the dry bones in Ez 37. This is the author’s version of Pentecost. Cf. also the note on Jn 19:30.
* [20:23] The Council of Trent defined that this power to forgive sins is exercised in the sacrament of penance. See Mt 16:19; Mt 18:18.
* [20:28] My Lord and my God: this forms a literary inclusion with the first verse of the gospel: “and the Word was God.”
* [20:29] This verse is a beatitude on future generations; faith, not sight, matters.
* [20:30–31] These verses are clearly a conclusion to the gospel and express its purpose. While many manuscripts read come to believe, possibly implying a missionary purpose for John’s gospel, a small number of quite early ones read “continue to believe,” suggesting that the audience consists of Christians whose faith is to be deepened by the book; cf. Jn 19:35. (John, CHAPTER 20 | USCCB, n.d.)
Mary Lee Brock comments that as Jesus taught the disciples in the Upper Room, faith is available to all, not just those few who had the opportunity to touch the wounds of the resurrected Jesus. As a community of believers we have the responsibility to care for each and every member of our community.
As I pray for the grace to embrace the life of faith Jesus has given me, I pray with these questions: When does my fear lead me to sin? How can I hear Jesus telling me “peace, be with you” in my darkest moments? In what ways can I reimagine living the commandments in small, daily acts of commitment to community? Where can I find the wisdom to support someone who is retreating or attacking out of fear? (Brock, 2024)
Don Schwager quotes “Touching the Flesh, He Invokes the Word,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"But when Jesus showed Thomas the very places where he had his doubts, Thomas exclaimed, "My Lord and my God." He touched his flesh, he proclaimed his divinity. What did he touch? The body of Christ. Was the body of Christ the divinity of Christ? The divinity of Christ was the Word; the humanity of Christ was soul and flesh. Thomas could not touch the soul, but he could perceive it, because the body that had been dead was moving about alive. But that Word is subject neither to change nor to contact, it neither regresses nor progresses, neither fails nor flourishes, because in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. That is what Thomas proclaimed. He touched the flesh, he invoked the Word, because the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." (excerpt from Sermon 145A) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on John 20:19-31 notes what an appropriate Gospel passage for Divine Mercy Sunday! In his great mercy, Jesus deeply desired that Thomas believe that he had truly risen—so much so that he may have come back especially for him.
“Tell the whole world about my inconceivable mercy.” That’s the message Jesus gave to the Polish nun Sr. Faustina Kowalska in 1931 (Diary, 699). This is a mercy that knows no bounds, that longs for every single person to receive it and be saved, no matter how far they have strayed. We have trouble conceiving it because it is so unlike anything we have ever encountered here on earth!
No matter how long we’ve followed Jesus, we are all in need of his mercy and compassion. Even Thomas, his very own apostle, needed it! Today make time to gaze on the Divine Mercy image of Jesus and ask him to give you the grace to believe in the depths of his mercy. Then exclaim with Thomas, “My Lord and my God!”
“Jesus, have mercy on me and on the whole world!” (Meditation on John 20:19-31, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler notes the unity of community expressed by Luke in the passage from Acts. The relationship is not all “Pollyanna” in Acts. The First Letter of John attacks Docetit heretics who did not accept Jesus' divinity and emphasizes Presence in Baptism and Eucharist. Friar Jude notes that Thomas' doubt in the Resurrection is replaced by a proclamation of high Christology.
James Finley reflects upon the theme of “tending the fire within” as a way to build capacity for radical resilience. In our day-by-day life, most of the things we’re aware of, we’re aware of them while we’re passing by on our way to something else. But every so often, something catches our eye and gives us reason to pause.
We could make the same observation about every foundational dimension of our life: intimacy with another person, being in the presence of a child, a path of long-suffering patience, a moment of prayer, the quiet hour at day’s end, lying awake at night in the dark. From time to time the divine grants itself with this kind of fire, a quiet luminosity that has great depth and intimacy to it.
These moments are quite intense sometimes, in the aftermath of which something is never quite the same. But usually it’s not that way at all. Such moments are so subtle that if we aren’t careful, we would miss them. They also tend to be very fleeting. We return to day-by-day life, go off to our next meeting, turn the TV up a little louder, or whatever it is we’re doing. (Finley, n.d.)
We invoke the guidance of the Holy Spirit to contemplate the times we have known mercy on our journey as a testimony to God’s love.
References
Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 7, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/4?32
Brock, M. L. (2024, April 7). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved April 7, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/040724.html
Finley, J. (n.d.). A Moment of Divine Fire. CAC Daily Meditations. Retrieved April 7, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-moment-of-divine-fire/
John, CHAPTER 20 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 7, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/20?19
Meditation on John 20:19-31. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved April 7, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/04/07/931949/
1 John, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 7, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1john/5?1
Psalms, PSALM 118 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 7, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/118?2
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Unless I See - I Will Not Believe. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved April 7, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=apr7
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