To listen to this homily, click here.
Today’s celebration is always difficult to preach on. It’s not because there is too little to talk about, in fact, it's the opposite; there is too much to consider. God mercy is infinite. There is nothing you or I or any human could ever do that is beyond his power to forgive and heal. That blows our minds because we each have a limit to our mercy. There is a line someone could cross where they become irredeemable in our eyes. But this is not so with God. The only sin he cannot forgive, the only wound he cannot heal is the one that is not placed before him. And so preaching about God’s infinite mercy is a little like trying to contain the ocean, with all its life and richness, into a bottle - Where does one even begin?!
Let me start with a simple observation. It’s not infallible but it comes from being out in the world, hearing lots of confessions and generally spending time with folks, some of whom are confronting their sinfulness and others doing everything they can to run away from it and ignore it. Essentially it boils down to this; we are not a very merciful people. When I was picking up a pizza a few days ago, there were about 10 of us in line, waiting 15 minutes just to pick up online orders. The complaining comments made to staff, the walking out and refusing to pay for late orders was sad to see and hear. I am embarrassed to say I felt some of those same things in my heart even though I didn’t say them out loud. Why are we so easily offended and outraged when something is not ready the moment it was promised?
I also spent a lot of time in the car this past week. I cannot believe how aggressive people have become on all types of roads. 10 mph over the limit makes you a slow-poke and heaven help you if you don’t mash the gas pedal the instant a light turns green or floor it when the light turns yellow. Have you noticed how many people speed up when you try to change lines or merge into traffic? Maybe you do it too; if someone wants to get over they are going to have to get behind me! More often than not, the person driving like a maniac ends up at the very same light as the rest of us and only a few cars ahead on the highway. Why are we so impatient, willing to curse, speed, and even endanger our lives and those of others, to shave a few seconds off our travel, if that?
Then there are the arguments. Maybe it's about politics, maybe it centers around COVID and the different opinions about how to move forward, maybe it is cancel culture and whether a person who has made a mistake should be given another chance or ought to be fired and banished. In so many of these situations, we do not see a person with whom we disagree, we see a target to be destroyed. I am right, they are wrong and they are going down. Winning and being right are the ultimate goals and any damage that is done to lives, hearts or reputations is the price of entering the ring.
Maybe I’m just focussing on the worst parts of our society but I don’t think so. We are an angry, tense, selfish, and unmerciful bunch. In other words, you and I and every person in this world, we are sinners. This is nothing new but it should never be something we just accept and live with. God knows our wounds; he knows how sin hurts us and him and everyone else and He could not sit back and do nothing, even though nothing is what we deserved. Our Easter celebration, begun last week, highlighted the fact that God stepped in and stepped up to save us from sin, selfishness, and death. That intervention, that forgiveness, that redemption is what we call Divine Mercy and we need it now more than ever.
Forgiveness is not cheap grace that requires nothing on our part. Pay attention to every example of mercy in the bible. God does the heavy work of healing and forgiving but only when the person comes to him with a spirit of conversion and a desire to try and sin no more. Jesus never says, “you are healed, you are forgiven, now go back to what you were doing. You be you!” It requires accepting responsibility, being open to change and a willingness to forgive others unconditionally. If we forgive one another, God will forgive us. As Jesus taught us: Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. We offer mercy because we need mercy. We thirst for mercy because without it, life is cruel, exhausting, and brutal.
Asking God for mercy does not mean going on a guilt trip. It's not a matter of thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less. That's a lifelong journey that never ends. None of us have arrived at a point in life where we no longer need God’s forgiveness; if we think we have, we have grown blind to our sinfulness and we are missing out on one of the greatest treasures God wants to give. Many times we get sick of asking for mercy because it can be a messy, humbling process. We would be fine admitting we messed up if we only had to do it once and then could cross it off our list. But sinfulness and mercy don’t work that way.
Our world, our country, and even this parish community, we are tired, we are angry, we are afraid, we are hurting, and we are sinful. We need God’s mercy. In fact, it is the one and only thing that will address the ills that afflict us and cause so much pain, misery, and division. The wonderful news is that he cannot wait to give it. But Jesus never forces us to accept his gift. So, think about the things we carry within us every day that weigh us down and steal our peace and joy. What grudges do we refuse to let go of? What areas of our life remain selfish and self-centered? How might we need to ask the forgiveness of someone we have hurt or ignored? Maybe we struggle with past decisions? Maybe we have a sin we don’t really want to let go of? Perhaps we can’t quite put your finger on what is wrong but we know deep down that we are empty, sad, or unfulfilled.
Divine Mercy is fully manifested in the sacrament of confession but it begins with a relationship with God. Open your heart to Jesus, both the parts you like and the areas you’d rather forget. Give him permission to heal you. Ask him for the desire to repent and embrace conversion. Be willing to change. Trust that he wants you to love you more than you could ever imagine. Believe that there is nothing you have done that he cannot undo. Then, whether that is today or someday soon, receive his gift of Divine Mercy in the confessional and experience the freedom that will be prayed over you, “I absolve you of your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
