As we celebrate Diving Mercy Sunday, the Apostle Thomas provides us with a powerful example of the mercy of Christ in action. We don’t know why he was absent from the upper room when the Lord appeared the first time. Was he out shopping for the group? Was he on a “spy” mission to try to see if it was safe for all of them to leave the room? Did he simply need space to grieve and so went off by himself to do so? Whatever the case, he is skeptical about the reports of the others that the Lord was risen and had appeared to them. Christ’s reaction to Thomas is wonderful. He isn’t angry for his questioning. He doesn’t judge him for lack of belief. Rather he gently invites him to resolve his doubts. And Thomas responds with one of the great testimonies of faith in the scripture. “My Lord and my God!” We see a similar gentleness with the woman caught in adultery or the Samaritan woman at the well. He doesn’t condone their sinfulness, but he kindly urges them to repent and receive the mercy won for us on the cross. As a result, each of us can expect the same sort of response from the Lord. Whatever our failures and sin, we never should fear that they will not be forgiven. No matter how far or for how long we have strayed, Christ wants only one thing: that we return to the house of His Father and He is there holding the door wide open for us. I have often had people in confession break down and cry for joy at the realization that their sins, though numerous and serious, have been forgiven in the mercy of Christ. Throughout this Easter season, let us celebrate what is ours, forgiveness in the Blood of the Lamb!
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