April 16, Second Sunday of Easter
Sunday of Divine Mercy
Acts 2:42-47, 1 Pt 1:3-9 and Jn 20:19-31
What a most reassuring fact, ‘that Jesus came to the apostles even as they locked themselves because of fear’. Such is the mercy of God. He comes to us to free us from whatever imprisons us.
Yes, we all have our own imprisonments. Some of us are imprisoned in our ambitions. So, we do everything at all cost to get to our ambition. Some of us are imprisoned in our material accumulations. So, we are afraid to have less. Some of us are imprisoned in our conveniences that we are so afraid to suffer. Some of us are imprisoned in layers of lies that we are so afraid of the truth. Some of us are imprisoned in wrong identities. So, we fear to embrace the reality of our person. Our lack of faith imprisons us like it did to Thomas. We cannot seem to see beyond what is not visible. Don’t many of us always ask for a sign? There’s more to the list. But the common denominator is that all these that imprison us are identified with sin.
It is sin that robs us of our freedom. It is sin that blinds us from seeing beyond this world. It is sin that numbs us from experiencing peace. Sin cripples us.
So, what frees us from all our forms of imprisonments? The second reading tells us. It is the mercy of God. Blessed are we who by the power of God are redeemed and ransomed by the blood of Jesus. In the Gospel, Jesus offered His peace to the disciples and instructed His disciples to do the same. Jesus, too, comes to us and offers His peace. In our darkest moments, He comes to us. Unfortunately, we often do not recognize Him or refuse to recognize Him.
How does life look like when Christ’s peace reigns? How does life look like when we allow God’s mercy to flow into our hearts? How does life look like when we truly believe?
The first reading describes it to us – a life of sharing, a life broken for others, a life of detachment from possessions, a life that is devoted to God, a life that sings only songs of gratitude, a life free from the clutches of sin. Beautiful, indeed!
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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