A Franciscan Parish

Browsing Father Larry Janezic, ofm

Second Sunday of Easter / Divine Mercy Sunday

Seeing and Believing  

I remember one phrase that I would hear from my parents, “seeing is believing.”  I heard that phrase most often as child when I promised to do something.  I would promise to clean my room,  go to bed earlier, or stop eating too much candy.  My parents would be skeptical and they would say.  We will believe it when we see it.  I have come to appreciate that they were very wise in saying that.  There were many times when I made promises I didn’t keep.   

On this second Sunday of Easter, we hear in the Gospel a very familiar story about St. Thomas.  He would not believe that Jesus appeared to the disciples after the Resurrection.   Thomas insisted that he put his hand in the wounded side of Jesus and his fingers in the nail prints of his hands.  Perhaps Thomas expressed a heathy skepticism knowing that the Resurrected Christ had to be the Jesus who died on the cross in Calvary.   In some ways, Thomas demonstrated a depth of belief.   In the Resurrection appearances of Christ in the Gospel, we read of fear and an initial inability to recognize the Risen Lord. Recognition comes through various signs (i.e. breaking of the bread, Jesus eating with the disciples, Jesus interpreting the Word).   For Thomas, a sign of the risen Lord was the suffering Jesus.  He saw and believed.  

In the Gospel, Jesus announced that the Messiah would be crucified and then rise from the dead.  Thomas believed in that pronouncement of Jesus.  The Resurrected Jesus must be the Jesus who was crucified.  The instrument of the cross lead to the promise of new life.  His seeing was believing.  It reminds me of the attitude of my parents, a certain skepticism in my promises until I followed through. The story of the Passion of Jesus expresses a cruel reality in the death of Jesus.   How can new life come from such an inhumane and indignant treatment of Jesus?  It is not difficult to imagine that the disciples experienced fear and despair. However, it is through the experience of fear and despair that the realized promise of new life becomes even more astounding. 

For the past 20 years this Second Sunday of Easter has also been a time to recognize the Divine Mercy of God.   This observance was initiated by Pope John Paul II some days after the canonization of St. Faustina Kowalska.   She was a mystic of the early 20th century who had profound experiences of the mercy of God in Jesus Christ.   Pope Francis in his document on mercy, Misericordiae Vultus (the Face of Mercy), inaugurated the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy in 2015.  Pope Francis teaches us of the quality of mercy demonstrated by God.  God’s omnipotence is expressed in his mercy.  In our spiritual journey, our most essential experience of God is with the God who shows us mercy.   Not that we have earned it, but it is just the way God is.  

Our experience of a merciful God can be astounding, especially when we feel that we have distanced ourselves from God. That astounding experience can be likened to the astounding experience of belief by St. Thomas.  He believed because he saw and gave witness to a Jesus crucified and risen from the dead.  Perhaps in the experience of the present health crisis we witness sickness and death.  It is one of the darkest times that I have ever experience.  Yet in the midst of that darkness, we witness a Christ who is alive.   Maybe in these days of sadness and fear, we can reflect on Christ who is alive.  We may ask ourselves how Christ is alive for us.  We see the goodness of people, the outreach of charity, the dedication of public service people and hospital workers. We also experience a better appreciation of our families and friendships, and a longing to come together. This is our experience of new life in the face of suffering and death. 

Fr. Larry Janezic, OFM  

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