"Jesus came and stood among them"
John 20:19
St Ignatius Loyola asked people that make the Spiritual
Exercises "to share in the joy and peace of the risen Christ. This
joy, like any grace we pray for, is a gift from God; we cannot
earn or force it. We simply try to be open to receiving Easter joy
by contemplating Christ as he shares the joy of the Resurrection
with others". You can imagine the great consolation of Jesus´
disciples to see their Master has not only come to life but returns
to stand in the middle of them as we are told in the Gospel of
John.
This consolation is greater when the Risen Lord three times
greets them and gives them His peace. It is worth noticing that
this gift of peace is not a simple greeting but a wish that comes
from the One that lives forever. The first reading introduces us
to the early Church when it beautifully explains that the
believers "had everything in common." They knew that if
everybody shared, none would be in need. That is why our faith
in the Risen Christ leads us to share with others and it must
bring peace to each of our brothers and sisters in the Church
today.
In this Octave of Easter we can say that our God is "the God of
Life." All Scripture is full of references to the Spirit of God. The
Spirit of the Risen Jesus is the same Spirit that breathed life into
the human person first created out of the clay of the earth. We
are now all called to be disciples of Jesus receiving this Spirit of
Life. “Here, in Jesus´ first appearance to the disciples after the
resurrection, he breathes on them and gives them the Holy
Spirit. It is a re-creation of sorts”. The breath of life creates the
community of believers because "whoever believes that Jesus is
the Christ is born of God" (1 John 5: 1). The challenge therefore
is to be witness of God of life in the way we treat each other
with the love and mercy of Christ Resurrected.
A contemporary theologian says that "God is joy, God is hope,
God is courage". Today we can be assured that it is only through
the resurrection of Jesus that God is manifested in the joy, hope
and life for us all. His resurrection helps us to persevere so that
all may have life and peace. It also creates the Church of Jesus,
that is, the community of men and women of goodwill.
Today when we celebrate the Divine Mercy, let us remember the
abundant mercy of God toward men and women of all time.
Jesus preached forgiveness in his journey through Galilee and so
did his first disciples. Now he tells his disciples; "Receive the
Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them.” May
our acts of mercy to our brothers and sisters mirror God's mercy
to us and enable to become instruments of his peace.
Fr. Hernan P., S.J.