When I was 19, I spent my first real summer away from home. I decided to do a summer household program in Minnesota with Saint Paul’s Outreach, the Catholic group I was involved in during college. That summer I lived with a number of other young Catholic men in a house near the University of St. Thomas campus in St. Paul, and I worked in a screen printing factory. That is a story for another homily. But as I prayed with the readings for this Divine Mercy Sunday, I recalled another experience from that time that I wanted to share with you.
My friend Andrew and I had a lot of fun together that summer, and one memory that stands out the most occurred on a canoeing outing along the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin. As we rowed down the river, we came upon a fairly sizable series of cliffs. Young people from another group were jumping off some of the cliffs into the water, so of course several of us immediately got the idea to try it out ourselves. In an effort to be at least somewhat safe, we consulted with a nearby fisherman who had a depth tracker. He assured us that the river was deep enough there for cliff jumping, so off we went. (Let me just say, for any young people reading this, now that my adult brain is fully developed I realize that cliff jumping can be risky and I don’t recommend doing it, but at that time I was young and reckless.)
We went ashore and climbed up to the first cliff, which was maybe about 20 feet above the water. Looking over the edge at the water below was a little bit freaky, but Andrew and I both just backed up and jumped off. It was definitely a thrill. Then, as we swam back ashore, we saw people jumping from a little bit higher up. So we both went together and jumped off another cliff that was maybe 30 feet up from the water. Again, that one was pretty scary, but with Andrew’s encouragement, we went for it. Finally, after doing that second jump, we saw some wild guy emerge even higher up, who jumped off of a branch from a tree growing out of the cliff. At this point, we both looked at each other and said something like, “well, I’ll do it if you do it.”
So up we climbed, weaving our way through some paths leading to that highest jumping point. We had to hop onto a little piece of the cliff that was separated from the rest of the cliff by a small gap, and then climb up onto the tree growing out from that part of the cliff. I can remember standing on that branch and clutching the trunk, looking down at my friends in the canoe cheering me on (who looked pretty small from way up there) and then back at my friend Andrew. Feeling a sense of confidence, I took a deep breath and jumped. I will say that I paid a price for that final jump. I landed in the water at a weird angle and sprained my shoulder from the impact. It hurt for weeks afterward.
Again, I wouldn’t recommend taking unnecessary risks, especially when you’re young and you feel invincible. But that experience helped me realize the importance of the encouragement of friends. Growing up and trying out new things often occurs because we do them with others. That day, my buddy Andrew’s encouragement helped me work up the nerve to do something crazy. Those same friends also helped me take bold steps forward in my faith walk with Jesus, and I am forever grateful to them for that.
Today we hear of the Apostles having several dramatic experiences of the risen Jesus. They are hiding behind locked doors out of fear that those who conspired to put Jesus to death would do the same thing to them. They are cowering, afraid and without direction. Undeterred by the locked door, Jesus steps into this mess. He comes into their midst and gives them a very traditional Jewish greeting, “Shalom.” This word, translated for us in English as ‘peace,’ means much more than just the absence of conflict. It is a term denoting wholeness and wellbeing. So with this greeting, Jesus walks into their uncertainty and doubt and assures them that He can make them whole. He doesn’t want to leave them in fear, but wants to fill them with everything they need to flourish and carry forward His mission.
So Jesus shows them His wounds to give them a dramatic visual reminder that what had broken His body was now conquered. In His glorified and risen body, the risen Christ assured them, as He now assures all of us, that the sufferings of this world aren’t greater than God’s power to overcome them. And He didn’t want that message and the power of His resurrection to just stay with them. He tells them that He is sending them out just as the Father sent Him. And to equip them for this mission, He breathes on them as a sign that He is giving them a special share in the Holy Spirit. The word ‘spirit’ in Hebrew is ruah, which can also be translated as ‘breath.’ Then He tells them: “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Here, the Church has always recognized that Jesus was giving the Apostles a share in His authority to forgive sins. It is this authority that has been passed down through the ages from the first Apostles to the Bishops as successors of the Apostles, and to the priests who are their ordained co-workers. This marvelous gift allows men ordained to the priesthood to make Jesus Himself personally present to people in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. When you hear those words of absolution from me or any priest in Reconciliation, you can be confident that they are efficacious; that in that moment, Jesus Himself is speaking His forgiveness into your soul to bring peace, healing and wholeness just as powerfully as when He came to the Apostles behind locked doors centuries ago and said, “Peace be with you.”
This is how our God works. He is unfailingly merciful with us. Mercy is what happens when love encounters suffering. Today, the final day in the Octave of Easter, we celebrate what is called Divine Mercy Sunday, where we recognize that through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we have access in a new way to the overflowing love of God which comes to bring healing and restoration wherever sin, suffering and death have left their ugly mark. Jesus knows how much we all struggle due to sin, but He doesn’t stand apart from that struggle, He meets it head on. He steps into our lives and assures us that He is here, He loves us and that His love can heal us and carry us forward.
Think of how Jesus dealt with Thomas. If it were me, I would probably have rebuked Thomas for his stubborn refusal to accept the testimony of his brothers. But Jesus deals with Him in great mercy. He lovingly comes and simply gives Thomas exactly what He was looking for, that firsthand experience of the Resurrection.This is the mercy that Jesus continues to extend to all of us in our hang-ups and weaknesses. Jesus knows how easy it is for us to doubt that He is truly here. The beauty of the Sacraments of the church is that they are intentionally physical. Jesus chooses to come to us in ways that we can see, taste, hear and touch. This is why He gave the authority to forgive sins to the Apostles and their successors, so that people could hear those beautiful, powerful words, “I absolve you from your sins,” and know that they are truly absolved. This is why the Lord commanded the Apostles at the Last Supper to “Do this in memory of me.” At this and every Mass, through the gift of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, we can be sure that we encounter once again the Lord’s power to transform what appears to be bread and wine into Jesus Himself, risen, alive and with us, able to be touched, seen and even consumed. He gives us the Sacraments in His mercy to assure us that even in the midst of our doubts and problems He remains with us. He has not abandoned us, but walks right with us to forgive us, feed us, and empower us to go out into the world to help others come to Him. His mercy heals our hearts to send us out on mission.
Just as the presence of my friends encouraged me to step out and try something new, so the Lord invites us all this Sunday to be strengthened in the knowledge that He is here with us. I ventured out to do something dangerous, and in a way, the Lord invites us to do the same. We live in a world that in many ways is hostile to the message of the Gospel. But there is nothing to fear with the power of Jesus alive in us through the Holy Spirit. Unlike the unnecessary risk of jumping off of that cliff, the Lord’s presence gives us everything we need to successfully take steps of faith out into the unknown. Let’s trust in His mercy for us and the whole world this Sunday and ask Him to show each of our hearts His love in fresh ways, that we might share Him in boldness with those around us.
+ Heavenly Father, thank you for your Divine Mercy which heals us. Jesus, thank you for letting your heart be pierced on the Cross, opening up the fountain of your mercy for the whole world. Holy Spirit, help us to sense the presence of the risen Jesus and the power of His mercy as we encounter Him in the Sacraments. We ask this through Christ, our risen Lord. Amen. +