Second Sunday of Easter Yr C 2025

Title

The Resurrection of Jesus Integrates Us into His Mission

Outline

One aspect of Divine Mercy is that Jesus regathers his disciples

It is true that they fled or if they dared to follow Jesus towards his trial ended up denying him. It is also true that they do not “get” the empty tomb and even the first appearances to women and so are slow to understand. But he keeps on regathering them. In John ch 20 he appears to the core group. He does not just speak peace rather than rebuke, not just gives them convincing evidence, but recommissions them on mission, his mission, filled with the Holy Spirit who brings his presence, and endows them with his power. Then the next week he goes after the one who “missed the meeting” and rather than saying, “Too bad for you,” brings him to a deeper, clearer confession, “My Lord and my God.” The core is regathered and recommissioned so that his presence and mission will continue in the world in a less visible and less local manner.

But the presence of Jesus takes different forms

In Acts we read about signs and wonders which - and this is the point - added “believers in the Lord, great numbers of men and women.” People are drawn by need, experience Jesus through the apostles, and come to faith. But it will also attract the attention of the authorities, result in persecution, and ultimately via a martyrdom scatter bearers of the good news through the whole Roman world.

In Revelation John already in exile, isolated from the church, and is given a awe inspiring vision of Jesus so that he can communicate it to the churches via a letter, a letter with 7 addressees containing an apocalypse. Jesus was present in exile and he empowered John, not to get free to heal folk, but to carry on Jesus’ mission via letter writing.

So what can we learn

First, that Jesus does not abandon us in our failures but rather in his divine mercy gathers us to himself to re-empower us for his ministry within our respective callings.

Second, that power is given, not for its awe inspiring effects or to exalt us, but for its evangelistic effect. We have few reports of healings etc. within the church and those we have usually result in evangelistic effects.

Third , persecution and the presence of Jesus can fit together, for he uses the persecution for his mission and our good.

Finally, we need to live in the light of the resurrection of Jesus with our goals and purposes set resolutely on union with our living Lord.