Divine Mercy Sunday

 

True love is the love of God.

Reflection on Today’s Readings, 2nd Sunday of Easter, Year B, April 7th, 2024
Texts: Acts 4:32-35; Psalm 118:2-4.15c-118,22-24; 1John 5:1-7; John 20:19-31

Every second Sunday of Easter we reflect on the mercy of God. Hence, today is also known as Divine Mercy Sunday. On this very Sunday the first reading reminds us of unity among the faithful. We read, “The company of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had everything in common.” This kind of community embodied mercy; it is a community where everyone has concerns for the other.  

Mercy is a quality of having a heart that feel for others. It is when we have heart that feel for others that we can be of one heart and soul. Mercy also encourages sharing one’s goods with those who do not have. Such a gesture is not just act of love but of mercy. In a way mercy is an aspect of love. Mercy is love in action. We cannot be merciful without love. Hence, on this day of Divine Mercy Sunday, the second reading speaks of love.   

True love is the love of God

The second reading reveals that what could bind us together heart and soul is the love of God. True love is the love of God. The love we are to show our neighbours is the kind we receive from God. This love consists in having faith in Jesus Christ and keeping God’s commandments. We love our neighbours with the love of God by having faith in Jesus Christ and keeping God’s commandments.  

St. John, in the second reading, reveals how keeping God’s commandments is not burdensome. It is by crucifying the worldly passions, which is by having faith in Jesus Christ. We read, “And his commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” 

Jesus Christ gives the Church the power to forgive sins

Today’s gospel reading also speaks of faith in Jesus Christ. We read, “Thomas answered Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have believed because you have seen me. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe’.” Faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and God is the victory over the world. This faith is an obedience to His rules and commands, a submission to His will.

Another act of mercy is forgiveness. Today’s gospel reading is about forgiveness. Jesus Christ gives the Church the power to forgive sins; He makes His Church the instrument of His mercy. He says, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sin of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sin of any, they are retained.”  

Prayer 

God of everlasting mercy, who in the very recurrence of the paschal feast kindle the faith of the people you have made your own, increase, we pray, the grace you have bestowed, that all may grasp and rightly understand in what font they have been washed, by whose Spirit they have been reborn, by whose Blood they have been redeemed. Amen (Collect) 

Fr. Andrew Olowomuke