Saint Gertrude Parish - Lasne

HOMILY OF POPE FRANCIS

Today, the risen Lord appears to the disciples who had abandoned him and offers them his mercy, showing them his wounds. The words he addresses to them are punctuated by a greeting that appears three times in today's Gospel: "Peace be with you!" (Jn 20:19, 21, 26). Peace be with you! This is the greeting of the Risen One, who comes to meet all human weakness and error. Let us then follow Jesus' three "Peace be with you!"s: we will discover in them three actions of divine mercy within us. First, it brings joy; then it inspires forgiveness; and finally, it consoles in sorrow.

1. First, God's mercy brings joy, a special joy, the joy of feeling freely forgiven. When, on Easter evening, the disciples saw Jesus and heard him say to them for the first time, "Peace be with you!" they were filled with joy (cf. v. 20). They had shut themselves in the house out of fear; but they were also locked in within themselves, crushed by a sense of failure. They were disciples who had abandoned the Master: at the time of his arrest, they had fled. Peter had even denied him three times, and one of their group—one of them, indeed!—had been the traitor. There were many reasons to feel not only afraid, but like failures, like scoundrels. In the past, they had certainly made courageous choices; they had followed the Master with enthusiasm, commitment, and generosity, but in the end, everything had collapsed; Fear had prevailed, and they had committed the great sin: leaving Jesus alone at the most tragic moment. Before Easter, they thought they were destined for great things; they argued about who was the greatest among them, and so on. Now, they have hit rock bottom.

It is in this atmosphere that the first “Peace be with you!” occurs. The disciples should have felt ashamed, but instead, they rejoice. Who can understand them? Why? Because this face, this greeting, these words shift their attention from themselves to Jesus. Indeed, “the disciples were filled with joy,” the text specifies, “when they saw the Lord” (v. 20). They are turned away from themselves and their own failings and drawn to his gaze, where there is no severity, only mercy. Christ does not condemn them for the past, but he gives them his everlasting kindness. And this revives them, fills their hearts with lost peace, makes them new people, purified by a forgiveness given without calculation, a forgiveness given without merit.