Divine Mercy Sunday / 2nd Sunday of Easter Year A

Acts 2:42-47
1 Peter 1:3-9
John 20:19-31

Easter is a season of growth and transformation. Are we ready? Are we open?

My brothers and sisters, we have entered the Easter Season, a season of new growth and new beginning. In the spirit of Easter, let us reflect: As a faith community, in what areas do we need to grow?

The First Reading this week presents us a model of the early Christian community for us to emulate. There are a few key traits of the early Christian community:

• They constantly grow in their knowledge of God: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching …” (verse 42).
• They break bread together, signifying closeness and unity in beliefs: “… to the breaking of bread” (verse 42).
• They prayed: “… and the prayers.” (verse 42)
• They were charitable: “All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.” (verse 44-45)
• And they were acutely aware of God’s blessings upon them and were grateful: “ate their food with glad and generous hearts” (verse 46)

As a testament to their faith, through the Apostles’ hands, God performed wonders among them: “many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles'” (verse 43) And God constantly added to the community with new members: “And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.” (verse 47) My brothers and sisters, reflecting on the early Christian community, how does our faith community measure up to the early Christian community? Not just our faith community, but our family too, for our family too is a mini-church. How does our family measure up to the early Christian community? Where are the areas we need to grow?

For our faith community and family church to grow in faith this way, we individually need to grow as well. Hence, there is a second reflection point this week: As an individual, in what areas do I need to grow? Like the early Christian community had done, do I constantly seek to grow and to know God better? Do I pray often? Am I charitable? Am I aware of God’s blessings in my life and are grateful for them? And if we are lacking in any of these, is it because we harbour doubt? How do we overcome it? On this last point, we can look to the Gospel story of Thomas for inspiration.

Thomas was not in the room when Jesus first appeared to the disciples. When Thomas returned, “the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.'” (verse 25) About a week later, Jesus appeared to the disciples again, this time with Thomas in the room. Jesus then invited Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” (verse 27) St Thomas responded, “My Lord and my God!” (verse 28) In spite of his initial doubt, St Thomas did not close his heart to faith but remained open. So, when he finally met the resurrected Jesus, he was dramatically converted. St Thomas went on to be martyred for the faith. What a transformation for one who initially doubted!

My brothers and sisters, whether as individuals or as a community, Thomas’ example is what it means to experience a new birth in Jesus. In the words of St Peter in the Second Reading, “By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (verse 3). And as our faith grow from strength to strength, even if trials are to come our way – e.g. sickness, financial challenges, lost of a loved one – we continue to rejoice. “In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials” (verse 6).

Indeed, the Scripture today lay a path for us to grow and transform. Through knowledge, unity, prayers, acts of charity, gratefulness, we can cast out doubt and like Thomas said to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!” (verse 28). Let the Holy Spirit be our companion in this journey: “he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.'” (verse 22) Amen.

Easter Sunday Year A

Acts 10:34,37-43
Col 3:1-4
Matthew 28:1-10

Easter is a season of new beginning and new life. Is Easter a new beginning for me?

We have entered into the Easter season. Easter is a time for a new beginning, a time for reset. We might ask: Why do we need a new beginning? In truth, the reason we need a new beginning is because of our past failures. Take for example our Lenten preparation. For most of us, our preparation hasn’t been perfect. Even with our best efforts, we continue to fail and sin. And if we are truly honest, at times, we did not even make the best effort. In this way, we are like the people of Jerusalem. On Palm Sunday, they welcomed Jesus into the holy city with exuberance, shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Mt 21:9). However, barely a few days later, many of the same people were in Pilate’s courtyard yelling, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” (Jn 19:6) Such is the nature of human failures.

The behaviour of the crowd and our own experience underpin one truth about our faith life. That is, while they are indeed good and evil people existing side-by-side in the world, most people are not totally good or totally evil. In fact, most times, it is not good and evil people co-existing in the world; but good and evil coexist side-by-side in each of us. And it is for those times when evil dominated our life that we need a new beginning. It is the same for the people in Jerusalem. Even though they have crucified Jesus, it was not too late for them to repent. It was not too late to have a new beginning. In the First Reading, St Peter explained to the people “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him” (verse 38); and how “They put him to death by hanging him on a tree” (verse 39). St Peter reminded us that it is in times of such great failures that we must remember that God is ever merciful. Remember what Jesus prayed for on the cross? Even while the people crucified Him and kept taunting Him, He prayed for them, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” (Lk 23:34)

My brothers and sisters, this the Good News of Easter! However, there is a caveat. To receive mercy, we must first acknowledge our failure. If we do not acknowledge our failures – how we betray and hurt others; how we sin against God and others, then we do not feel sorry. If we do not feel sorry, we cannot repent. And without our repentance, God’s mercy cannot flow. Conversely, if we acknowledge our failures, repent and accept God’s mercy, a new journey begins for us. For when we receive God’s mercy, we are called to witness. Take the example of St Peter. In the Sanhedrin, under pressure, he denied Jesus three times (Mt 26:69-74). And just as Peter denied Jesus the third time, Jesus look at Peter with mercy (Lk 22:61). He felt sorry and repented, “he went out and wept bitterly” (Mt 26:75). Having been through this experience of falling and being redeemed, we read how St Peter stood as a powerful witness to God’s mercy in the First Reading: “We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear” (verse 39-40). Indeed, witnessing is powerful when spoken from personal experience. This is why we should open our hearts to the witnessing of others; but when called to do so, act as witnesses ourselves. And this too is a new beginning for us at Easter.

In the Gospel this week, we read the story of Jesus’ resurrection. At the time of resurrection, guards were posted outside the tomb so as debunk the resurrection (Mt 27:62-66). Indeed, like the guards, there are many in the world today who always stand ready to undermine God’s truth. With sceptic and unrepentant hearts, they cannot see God’s glory nor mercy. Hence, even with the miracle of the resurrection before them, all they could feel is total fear, a negative emotion: “For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men.” (verse 4) On the other hand, the women and the disciples stood in great contrast. Of course, in the face of a great miracle – where there were a great earthquake and an angel appearing and rolling away the stone from the tomb (verse 2) – understandably, there were some element of fear in their hearts. But this is holy fear. And because the women were gentle in heart, the angle assured them, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said” (verse 5-6). We read how Jesus Himself later appeared to the disciples and spoke the same assuring words, “Do not be afraid” (verse 9).

My brothers and sisters. As we embarked upon Easter and the new beginning the season offers, we must ask ourselves: Am I ready for God’s mercy? Am I like the guards or am I like the women and the disciples? Am I ready to witness fearless as St Peter did in the First Reading? Am I ready to do as St Paul urged us in the Second Reading, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (verse 2-3) Easter is a new beginning. Let St Peter’s faith journey be ours as well. Amen.