The Prison Was Empty Too

First published May 1, 2019 by Philip Cheung.

The Apostles were put into jail for preaching the Good News. But we are told in the Acts really why they were put into prison: "The High Priest rose up and all his companions...filled with jealousy, laid hands upon the Apostles and put them in the public jail" (Acts 5:17-18). They were jealous - jealous that even though they had seemingly put Jesus to death - for they denied His Resurrection - the people were still interested in this Jesus and what the Apostles had to say about Him. They couldn't understand why. The people were interested in the Truth, and it was this Truth that attracted the crowds.

Even though the Apostles were thrown into jail, they did not lose hope and give up preaching. In fact, an angel led them through the locked doors and encouraged them to go back to the temple area and preach! "Go and take your place in the temple area, and tell the people everything about this life" (Acts 5:20). Just as the tomb was empty, so was the prison cell. Truth cannot be contained, it must be lived and preached. They tried to kill Jesus and yet He Resurrected. They tried to lock up the Apostles and yet they stood preaching in the temple area.

After the Apostles were rescued from prison we might think they would rather go to a safe place and hide, just as they did when Jesus appeared to them after the Resurrection. But, no. They were commanded to and they willingly went back to the temple area and took their place there and preached the Good News. As followers and disciples, we must take our place and take our stand in the areas of our lives and proclaim the Good News. The Good News that Jesus died, descended to hell, and rose from the dead. The Good News that God sent His only begotten Son into the world not to condemn it but to save it, and to give all those who believe eternal life and not damnation. The Good News that the Father loves them and calls them His beloved sons and daughters.

Brothers and sisters, the tomb was empty. The prison cell was empty. We must allow God to free us from the prison cells that entrap us, the slavery to sin. May we ask the Father to lead us out of the prison cells of darkness and slavery to sin and into the light and freedom of the children of God, and so to preach His Good News to all peoples.

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.

Cancelled Yet Unsilenced

“Observing the boldness of Peter and John
and perceiving them to be uneducated, ordinary men,
the leaders, elders, and scribes were amazed,
and they recognized them as the companions of Jesus.
Then when they saw the man who had been cured standing there with them, they could say nothing in reply.”

Acts 4:13-14

After curing the crippled man at the gate of the Temple, Peter and John were arrested by the Jewish leaders. They were questioned and asked by what power or name did they perform this miracle. Peter answered them emphatically that the crippled man was healed by the name of “Jesus Christ the Nazorean whom you crucified.” The Jewish leaders were not amused, but they also saw the cured man before them. They were speechless, but instead of acknowledging the saving power of Christ, they instructed Peter and John to not teach in name of Jesus anymore. Peter and John said they could do no such thing because they must obey God and that they could not deny what they had seen and heard. So, the Jewish leaders “cancelled” them and tried to silence them, but they remained unsilenced.

In 33AD the Jewish leaders cancelled Jesus and all those who preached in His name, but their cancellation could not silence the Truth. In 2022AD, the world is still cancelling Jesus. But will we be silenced? To be Christian is to be countercultural because the culture of this world is a culture of death, a culture that strives to do away with objective truth. But as Christians we know that without the Truth, nothing else matters because without Truth, who is Christ, there is no life.

Brothers and sisters, if we are to live out the baptismal promises we renewed just a few days ago and to bear witness to the Truth, we will be cancelled. We will be cancelled because the world does not know Christ, and because they do not know Christ, they do not know the Truth. In being ignorant of the Truth, they search for freedom in every place and in every way, but they will never be satiated because only the Truth can set them free. Our world has confused freedom with bondage and Truth with pleasure. That is why we will be cancelled. But, we do not need to be silenced.

In the face of persecution, Peter and John refused to be silenced. Later on we come to know that the early Church too refused to be silenced even to the point of death. They were cancelled but they could not be silenced. And because of their persistence and fidelity to the Truth, we are here today. Brothers and sisters, we must not submit to being silenced. Jesus was silent as He suffered so that we who now share in His Resurrection no longer need to remain silent! We must go out and tell those who do not know Christ the great things He has done for us and how a relationship with Him has transformed our lives. We must not remain silent. This, however, is not a plea to shove our faith down anyone’s throat or to argue combatively with those who reject Christ. This is rather an invitation to speak loudly and to proclaim boldly the truth of Christ by the way we live, to show others with our lives the love of Christ.

Brothers and sisters, reason and science may change minds, but only faith and encounter can change hearts. Many souls will be lost because of this ignorance of the Truth as a result of this “cancel culture,” and so we must never remain silent. Souls are at stake, brothers and sisters. The enemy may try to cancel us, but He can never, ever silence us, because it is Christ who works and speaks through us. Let us offer up ourselves as that instrument of Christ today.