Through the Locked Door — Homily for Divine Mercy Sunday
Happy Divine Mercy Sunday, brothers and sisters! And Happy Easter! We are still in the Easter Season. The Church gives us a special Sunday for the Second Sunday of Easter – Divine Mercy Sunday, a day to reflect and give thanks for the great love and mercy that God has towards us, so much so that He suffered and died for us. Last Sunday we celebrated the fruit of that suffering and death: the Resurrection, and today we give thanks for that.
Do we have any magicians here? Anyone know how to walk through walls or doors? In today’s Gospel we hear that the disciples were gathered in a room behind locked doors out of fear. What happened? Jesus appeared to them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus “came and stood in their midst,” we are told. Jesus’s glorified body is different than our bodies. It is no longer bound by time and space. Jesus can even walk through locked doors! In other words, there is nothing that can stand in Jesus’ way, not sin, death, and not even locked doors. Jesus suffered, died, and rose from the dead so that the disciples no longer needed to stay in a locked room and be afraid. “Peace be with you,” He says to them. Peace, not fear. “There’s no need to fear, I am here.”
The disciples were afraid of the Jews perhaps because of what they might do to them now that their leader was dead (as far as they know). When Jesus was arrested the disciples fled and Peter even denied Him, and yet the first words Jesus spoke to the disciples were “Peace be with you.” Not “why did you leave me?” or “Why did you deny me? What happened?” But, “Peace be with you.” Jesus did not call out the disciples on their cowardice or weaknesses or abandoning of Him. Instead, he comforted them and calmed their fears, “Peace be with you.”
My brothers and sisters, Jesus says to us to today, “Peace be with you.” Is there something on our minds that causes us anxiety? Are we worried about something? Is there something that is causing us unrest? “Peace be with you.” Jesus went through the locked door and consoled the disciples. What are the barriers that are keeping us from living the life Jesus won for us with his Resurrection? Jesus can walk through those barriers too. He wants to give us peace so that we might live life fully and freely. Today we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. God is very merciful. There is no sin that can keep us away from the love of God. Jesus did not hold their cowardice and denial against the disciples. Rather He went to them, comforted them, and gave them His peace, His very self. When we approach God with a humble and contrite heart, and when we are truly sorry for our sins and for the times when we have fallen short, God does not shun us, rather He embraces us, saying “Peace be with you. I love you.”
Jesus’ divine mercy is a mercy that can knock down locked doors and fortified walls. His mercy is free, unconditional, and unlimited. He suffered, died, and rose again so that we can have this gift, a gift that leads us to eternal life. Although we may not know how to walk through locked doors, Jesus does and that is what matters. He can and He wants to. He wants to knock down all those things in our lives that keep us from Him and His love, but we must invite Him in. Are our hearts open? Jesus comes to us and says to us today, “Peace be with you.” What is our response?
Not only does Jesus give us His peace and mercy, He also gives us His body. In just a few moments, right there on that altar, the very same Jesus who died for us and who went through those locked doors, will once again comes to us and be made present to us. He joins together heaven and earth so that we might hear Him say to us, “Peace be with you.” When we receive Him today may we thank Him for loving us so much and may we also ask Him to break down the locked doors in our hearts that may keep us from Him, because He can and wants to. Happy Divine Mercy Sunday.
