Acts 5:12-16; Rev. 1:9-11a, 12-13,
17-19; Jn. 20:19-31
Today we celebrate the Feast of Divine Mercy. This
feast was instituted by Pope John Paul II in 2000. The feast arises out of a
series of apparitions which a Polish nun, Sr Faustina received. In 1931 Sister
Faustina saw Jesus dressed in a white garment. He held one hand raised
in blessing and the other hand close to his chest. Two rays of light emanated from him, one red and the other pale. This image is venerated and it is usually called the Divine Mercy Image.
Another very important event the Church celebrates
today is the institution of the Church.
"It was evening on the day Jesus rose from the
dead, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples
had met were locked for fear of the authorities. Jesus came and stood among
them and said, 'Peace be with you.' After he said this, he showed them his hands
and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to
them again, 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send
you.'
Jesus after resurrection surprises
disciples in upper room going through wall of locked doors into room to visit
them. There are many contrasts presented before us by the Evangelists. The
women who went to the tomb of Jesus found it open. But the disciples’ house is
closed and the doors locked tight. The resurrected Jesus is above worldly
controls but the disciples are bound in fear. The spiritual body of Jesus was
not limited to the worldly laws of nature. But the disciples were scared of the
laws of the contemporary world.
Jesus stood in front of the
apostles offering them peace, and entrusting them with the mission to go out to
the world to give his peace and mercy. Jesus continues to exist in this world
through the church, and he wants the church to be his extension to reach to
everyone his message of peace and share the divine mercy.
The following is a touching story
of mercy from the Second World War.
The pilot glanced outside his cockpit
and froze. He blinked hard and looked again, hoping it was just a mirage. But
his co-pilot stared at the same horrible vision.
“My God, this is a nightmare,” the
co-pilot said.
“He’s going to destroy us,” the pilot
agreed.
The men were looking at a gray German
Messerschmitt fighter hovering just three feet off their wingtip. It was five
days before Christmas 1943, and the fighter had closed in on their crippled
American B-17 bomber for the kill.
The B-17 pilot, Charles Brown, was a
21-year-old West Virginia farm boy on his first combat mission. His bomber had
been shot to pieces by swarming fighters, and his plane was alone in the skies
above Germany. Half his crew was wounded, and the tail gunner was dead, his
blood frozen in icicles over the machine guns.
But when Brown and his co-pilot,
Spencer “Pinky” Luke, looked at the fighter pilot again, something odd
happened. The German didn’t pull the trigger. He nodded at Brown instead. What
happened next was one of the most remarkable acts of chivalry recorded during
World War II.
My brothers and sisters, this week, as we reflect
upon today's readings, let us ponder upon our role in the Church. The
commission that Jesus gave to the disciples to be His Ambassadors is a command
to all the Christians to all the centuries to follow.
May the grace of God be with each and every one of
you to choose your calling.
Satish