HOMILY FOR DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY YEAR C
THEME: THE MERCY OF GOD
BY: Rev Fr Stephen ‘Dayo Osinkoya
HOMILY FOR SUNDAY APRIL 24 2022
Acts 5:12-16
Psalm 118
Revelation 1:9-11, 12-13, 17-19
John 20:19-31
Every second Sunday of Easter is a special Sunday. First, because it completes the eight days of contemplating and assimilating the mysteries of Easter (the octave). Second, because it is also known as Divine Mercy Sunday.
In our liturgy today we are invited to contemplate the mercy of God. In a very tangible way we experience this mercy in the sacrament of reconciliation. In the gospel, Jesus gives the authority to forgive sin and administer the mercy of God to the Church, through his apostles, saying: Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven… (Jn. 20:23)
By participating in the life of the community, we afford ourselves the opportunity to connect with one another and with the Lord. This is what the gospel presents to us: The disciples gathered together on the first day of the week (Sunday). Because it was in the Lord’s name they gathered Jesus stood among them, as he had earlier promised: Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them (Mathew 18:20).
Just like some Christians who would regularly absent themselves from church and parish programmes, Thomas was absent too. As a result of his absence, his doubt about Jesus resurrection remained and his faith not strengthened like the others.
But unlike many unwise Christians, Thomas being a wise sceptic must have resolved never to miss Sunday worship. He was richly blessed with an encounter with the risen Lord.
The mercy of God that we celebrated today is expressed in the manner in which our Lord Jesus Christ treated the doubting Thomas: …Put your finger here, and see my hands… Jesus did not condemn Thomas, rather, he submitted to the criteria for believe that Thomas set. God our father is always is always treating us gently, bringing us back to Himself, when we are drifting away.
Today, our Lord Jesus is pointing to his heart of mercy and love. And it is in the Church that he is calling us to come and experience his Mercy.
*Rev Fr Stephen ‘Dayo Osinkoya*