{"id":2133,"date":"2017-04-23T12:54:43","date_gmt":"2017-04-23T16:54:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/?p=2133"},"modified":"2017-04-23T12:54:43","modified_gmt":"2017-04-23T16:54:43","slug":"2nd-sunday-of-easter-divine-mercy-year-a-homily","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/2nd-sunday-of-easter-divine-mercy-year-a-homily\/","title":{"rendered":"2nd Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy, Year A – Homily"},"content":{"rendered":"

2nd<\/sup> Sunday of Easter, Sunday of Divine Mercy<\/a>
\nActs 2:42-47
\nPsalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24
\n1 Peter 1:3-9
\nJohn 20:19-31<\/p>\n

Last week we celebrated Holy Week that culminated in the death and resurrection of Jesus.\u00a0 The tomb was found empty.\u00a0 Some wondered if someone had stolen Jesus\u2019 body but we know that the empty tomb means Jesus is risen!<\/p>\n

This fulfills Jesus\u2019 words, \u2018Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.\u2019\u00a0 While the disciples had heard these words of Jesus, they were troubled in trying to understand.\u00a0 What does it mean to be raised up?<\/p>\n

The disciples are gathered together trying to make sense of what has happened.\u00a0 It is in this context that Jesus appears to them.\u00a0 Clearly, the body has not<\/em> been stolen.\u00a0 He is risen<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

Risen, he is not just spirit.\u00a0 To help them understand the Resurrection, he points them to his hands to see where the nails were driven on the Cross.\u00a0 He points to his side where he was speared.\u00a0 This is not just his spirit nor is it a new body.\u00a0 Jesus is raised body and soul to new life.<\/p>\n

This might be difficult to belief.\u00a0 It was for Thomas.\u00a0 Because of his disbelief, he is forever referred to as \u2018doubting Thomas\u2019 but would we have been any different.\u00a0 No one had ever risen from the dead before.<\/p>\n

Jesus shows us the Resurrection that we will share in after our physical death if we believe in him as the way and the truth and the life<\/em>.<\/p>\n

We think of the Resurrection as something that happens to us after<\/em><\/strong> our physical death but our life in Christ has already begun in our baptism.<\/p>\n

Life in Heaven will be glorious and joyful as we stand before God.\u00a0 Knowing of life in Heaven should shape the way we live in this world.<\/p>\n

The Acts of the Apostles<\/em> tell us about the life of the early church and the spread of the faith.\u00a0 Specifically, today we hear how the disciples lived a communal life.\u00a0 \u201cThey would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one\u2019s need<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

We might think of this as applying to those in religious life who take promises of poverty.\u00a0 That is one way of living this out but the passage applies to all of us in some way.<\/p>\n

When I say it applies to all of us, some might be concerned if I am going to advocate for socialism.\u00a0 I am not.\u00a0 In fact, if you read the Catechism of the Catholic Church<\/em> (2402-2406), our faith affirms the right to private property.<\/p>\n

Then how does this passage apply to all of us<\/em><\/strong>?\u00a0 I take it as an invitation for all of us to think about what we do have.\u00a0 It says that each received according to their \u201cneed.\u201d<\/p>\n

What do we need?\u00a0 How much of what we have do we need?\u00a0 How much do we have just to look good?\u00a0 How much do we hold onto?<\/p>\n

I went to a workshop this week where the speaker commented on how many mini-storage places continue to pop up.\u00a0 What are we storing in all of these storage buildings?\u00a0 Or perhaps you have a garage that you can\u2019t get the car in because it is full of stuff in boxes.<\/p>\n

Do we really need all of the things we have in storage?<\/p>\n

Maybe or maybe not.\u00a0 There might be seasonal items or maybe we are storing some stuff in between selling one home and buying another.\u00a0 Maybe we just have too much stuff.\u00a0 Maybe it is time to clean \u2018our closets\u2019 and give what we don\u2019t need to charity so that it can be used to help those in need.<\/p>\n

What our faith is calling all of us<\/em><\/strong> to in this passage from Acts<\/em> is simplicity of life.\u00a0 This simplicity of life calls us to set aside our pride and concerns.\u00a0 I say \u2018concerns\u2019 because sometimes we hold onto things we don\u2019t need to be prepared for bad things.<\/p>\n

It is good to be prepared.\u00a0 We should have some in reserve but not the point of greed or hoarding.\u00a0 The saying \u2018you never know when you might need\u2019 only goes so far as a reason to hold onto things.<\/p>\n

Life can bring challenges.\u00a0 As Peter writes we \u201cmay have to suffer through various trials<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 There is a point of being prepared and there is a point of trusting in God\u2019s mercy.<\/p>\n

When we hear of God\u2019s mercy, we might most often think of his forgiveness, certainly something we need at times but God\u2019s mercy is not just his forgiveness.\u00a0 It is the aid he gives to us, the concern he shows for us.<\/p>\n

Think of the disciples in the room where Jesus appeared to them.\u00a0 They were sitting behind locked doors \u201cfor fear of the Jews.<\/em>\u201d\u00a0 In his mercy, Jesus did not want the disciples to live in fear.\u00a0 He appeared to them so they could begin to understand what the Resurrection really is.\u00a0 Jesus came to help us know how we are called to live.<\/p>\n

Simplicity of life can help us know Jesus and to trust in him.\u00a0 If we spend all of time and effort trying to have \u2018more\u2019, then we bind ourselves up.\u00a0 If we live \u2018simply\u2019 we unlock ourselves to focus on what life in Jesus offers us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2nd Sunday of Easter, Sunday of Divine Mercy Acts 2:42-47 Psalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24 1 Peter 1:3-9 John 20:19-31 Last week we celebrated Holy Week that culminated in the death and resurrection of Jesus.\u00a0 The tomb was found empty.\u00a0 Some wondered if someone had stolen Jesus\u2019 body but we know that the empty tomb means …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘2nd Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy, Year A – Homily’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[29,82,150],"tags":[31,286],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pMTPk-yp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2133"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2133"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2133\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2135,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2133\/revisions\/2135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}