HOMILY FOR THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER, LITURGICAL CALENDAR YEAR B (SUNDAY OF THE DIVINE MERCY)
THEME: ‘You believe because you can see me. Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.’
BY: Fr Deotacious Chikontwe SMA
READINGS OF THE DAY
Acts 4:32-35
Psalm 117:2-4,15-18,22-24
1 John 5:1-6
John 20: 19-21
LITURGICAL COLOUR
WHITE
INTRODUCTION
Good morning my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the second Sundaybof Easter which is populary known as the Sunday of the Divine Mercy. All of our readings today touch on this attribute of belief and mutual trust which characterised the early Christian communities.
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WHY THE SUNDAY OF THE DIVINE MERCY?
The first Divine Mercy Sunday observance occurred in the year 2000, when St. John Paul II canonized Sister Maria Faustina Kowalska. The Polish sister received private revelations from the Lord about his great mercy in the 1930s.
The emphasis is on God’s mercy on humanity through His son Jesus Christ. God’s mercy is all-encompassing and capable of unity humanity into a community of love. As the Father sent me, so am I sending you. The Kingdom of God is a kingdom of nonviolence. Self-donation is a sacrifice of nonviolence.
FROM OUR FIRST READING
In our first reading this evening, we are told of how the earliest Christian communities lived their lives, detailing to us how they cared for one another and showed genuine care and charity in all of their actions. They shared their possessions and goods among them, with the Apostles governing over them and helping them to manage their lives. Every one who had extra with them shared with all those who had less or insufficient amount, such that as mentioned, everyone had enough for themselves and their needs.
FROM OUR SECOND READING
Our second reading of today, focuses on both corporal and spiritual works of mercy. John urges our obedience to the commandments given by God, especially the commandment of love as clarified by Jesus. Loving others as Jesus loves us demands that we treat others with Jesus’ mercy and compassion. John reminds us that everyone who claims to love God, especially one who believes that Jesus is the Christ, has to love all the others whom God has created. We are to conquer the world by putting our Faith in Jesus and in the Sacraments of Baptism the Holy Eucharist, and Reconciliation, the three sacraments of Divine Mercy that Jesus instituted.
FROM OUR GOSPEL READING
In today’s Gospel, Jesus greets his disciples with the gift of peace. Jesus then commissions his disciples to continue the work that he has begun; as Jesus was sent by God, so Jesus sends his disciples. He gives his disciples the gift of the Holy Spirit so that they will be able to accomplish this task. Jesus’ words to his disciples also highlight the integral connection between the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. With the grace of the Holy Spirit, we can share forgiveness and reconciliation with others.
CONCLUSION
Dear Brethrens, we are all reminded that our faith in the Lord must always be firm and strong, and we must remember that in our own limitations and inability to comprehend the whole truth of God, His many mysteries including that of His Resurrection and the nature and Aspect of His Divine Mercy, we must entrust ourselves ever more strongly to the Wisdom of God, to the teachings of the Church which we have received throughout all these years of our lives. Most importantly, we must also embody this faith and belief in our own actions, words and deeds in each moments of our lives or else, we are no better than hypocrites who claim to believe in God and yet did not have true faith in Him.
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