After the fifty days of preparation, fasting, abstinence and
prayer, we now are entering into the joy of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Jesus Christ did rise from the dead! The Apostle Paul testifies to that
great event in 1 Cor 15:3-4: “Christ died for our sins, he was buried, and he
rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures”. The
resurrection of Jesus Christ is the central truth of the Christian faith. We
rejoice that ‘Christ is risen’. St. Paul writes: “And if Christ has not been
raised, our proclamation has been in vain and so is your faith” (1 Cor 15: 14).
The Easter joy of this year has a speciality. In this Extraordinary Jubilee
Year of Mercy declared by Pope Francis, the celebration of Easter becomes more
momentous because at Easter we celebrate the summit of God’s mercy being
manifested through His son Jesus to the humanity. This year, the Church focuses on several points which
require special attention to enable the celebration of Easter to be for all
believers a true moment of encounter with the mercy of God.
As Pope Francis reflects in the papal bull Misericordiae
Vultus, Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s mercy. These words of the
Pope might well sum up the mystery of the Christian faith. The great mercy of
God is shown to us in a perfect manner in God, giving His beloved Son to die on
the cross for our sins. The New Testament presents Jesus Christ as the ultimate
manifestation of God’s mercy, in whom we can see the mercy of God in a much
brighter light. Jesus not only proclaimed the message of his Father’s mercy, he
lived it himself. What Jesus proclaimed, he also lived. He was moved by
compassion when he met a leper (Mk 1:41) or encountered the sorrow of a mother who
had lost her only son (Lk 7:13). He had compassion for many who were sick (Mt
14: 14) and for the people who were hungry (Mt 15: 32). Mercy has become living
and visible in Jesus, reaching its culmination in him through his death and
resurrection. Easter is a time
to constantly contemplate on the mystery of mercy of God.
The message of divine mercy is neither a theory that is
alien to praxis and world realities, nor does it stop at the level of mere
sentimental expressions of pity. Jesus teaches us to be merciful like the
Father (Lk 6: 36). In the Sermon on the Mount, he declares the merciful blessed
(Mt 5: 7). Therefore, the message of divine mercy must reflect on the life of
every Christian. As Pope Francis reminds, mercy is the very foundation of the
Church’s life. The Church’s very credibility is seen in how she shows compassionate
and merciful love. We become true Christians only to the extent to which we are
able to show the merciful face of Jesus through our life.
Let me remind you of an incident. There was a huge
earthquake in one of the villages of Italy many years back. Due to the
earthquake, the whole village was devastated, including the beautiful parish
church which was situated at the centre of the village. The villagers were
scattered. After some years, they came back to the devastated home village and
they wanted to revive their life there. The first thing they wanted to rebuild in
the village was their parish church. While clearing the area, among the ruins
of the church, they have found the broken pieces of the beautiful statue of the
Sacred Heart of Jesus, which was placed at the altar of the old church. They
could not throw it away with the other things, because that statue was so dear
to their heart. After the renovation of the church, they have placed it in an
important part of the church and at the bottom they have written these verses: I have
no eyes, I need your eyes to see; I have no ears, I need your ears to hear; I
have no mouth, I need your mouth to speak; I have no hands, I need your hands
to work; I have no legs, I need your legs to walk; I have no heart, I need your
heart to love.
Yes, it is our turn to give Jesus our life to continue the works of
mercy in today’s world. This is the message of Easter. We have a lot of
examples around the world of saintly people who have dedicated their life for
Jesus so that the merciful works of Jesus may be continued through their life
in the present world. Blessed Mother Theresa and St. Damien are such people in
whom people could experience the same mercy and compassion of Jesus. In the
world today, sad to say, we must admit that the practice of mercy is
waning. However, without a witness to mercy, life becomes fruitless and
sterile, as if sequestered in a barren desert. The time has come for us to take
up the joyful call to mercy once more. It is time to return to the basics and
to bear the weaknesses and struggles of our brothers and sisters. Mercy is the
force that reawakens us to new life and instils in us the courage to look to
the future with hope. Easter time is an invitation to be born again in the resurrected
Christ and be true messengers of God’s mercy!
“According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born
again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
(1 Pet 1:3).
Article published in the magazine Pratheekshayude Poomottukal, Easter issue 2016.
