No Resurrection, no mercy (Divine Mercy Sunday)

 Today is Divine Mercy Sunday,

a title applied by Pope Saint John Paul II in the year 2000, 

based on the messages Saint Faustina Kowalska received from Jesus; 

so you would expect me to talk about that. 

But it is also the second Sunday of Easter, 

which means it’s about the Resurrection. 

So let’s start there, and connect that to Divine Mercy.

They aren’t separate things; 

because the mercy that we look for from Jesus Christ is only possible, 

it is only real, if the Resurrection is real. 

One reason why the Resurrection matters 

is because it gives us ground for believing Jesus is who he said he is, 

and will do what he said he will do. 

The Resurrection is a reminder 

that we Christians propose a faith not only of ideas, but of facts. 

God became man at a certain time, in a certain place; 

that God-Man walked the earth in the Holy Land, 

he said things people later wrote down.

At a certain point, he was arrested, beaten, tried, executed…

and on the third day, his body came back to life. 

These are bold claims of fact, 

which if they are not true, then Christianity is false, 

and you and I should find something else to do on Sundays.

And, if it didn’t happen, and the Apostles knew they were lying about it,

Surely they wouldn’t stand by their own lie all the way to martyrdom?

So, Thomas’ response in the Gospel makes perfect sense.

You may recall when Jesus told the Apostles that Lazarus had died,

Thomas said, “let’s go die with him.”

But Thomas is not going to die for a rumor.

He wants to be able to say: “I put my hands in his side!”

One more point. 

What Jesus shows us in his risen, glorified body isn’t only about him; it’s about us. 

He shows what you and I can look forward to with confidence.

Jesus not only promised to rise from the dead himself; 

he promised to call us back to life as well. 

You and I will experience the very same – the exact same – resurrection as Jesus. 

Our bodies will, one day, come back to life, 

and our souls and bodies will be reunited. We will live forever. 

A lot of people – including many Christians – 

have gotten the idea that the body doesn’t matter.

Whether it’s what happens to the body after death, 

or the current “transgender” phenomenon that claims identity 

is determined by subjective beliefs, regardless of bodily facts.

This is an interesting intersection of science and faith.

Biology is science; it’s not a set of beliefs.

For us as Christians, we not only accept science,

it is an article of our Faith that our bodies 

are as much who we are as our souls.

God could have created us like angels, without bodies. But he did not. 

Instead, the God who created us as bodies 

gave himself flesh in the womb of Mary.

The same body that was offered on the Cross came out of the tomb. 

Jesus is serious when he tells us, 

you and I will have our bodies back one day. 

That’s why we always treat them as sacred, even in death.

This is why the Church insists we bury the deceased in the ground, even after cremation.

But take heart: when you and I get our bodies back,

We will no longer be subject to the frailties we experience now.

No more eyeglasses, pills or braces.

Now let’s talk about Divine Mercy.

God gives us every reason for hope.

Jesus not only promised us eternal life, he showed it to us.

This is why we love the words Saint Faustina 

includes on her image of Divine Mercy, 

and we make them our own:

“Jesus, I trust in thee!”