12 April 2026

12 April 2026 - Second Sunday of Easter - Divine Mercy Sunday

Transcript

Reading:  

1 Peter 1:1-2

Write:  

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the chosen sojourners of the dispersion… in the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification by the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling with the blood of Jesus Christ: may grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Reflect:   

We will be reading from First Peter every Sunday through the Easter season. Gee, I wonder if the church wants us to focus on that. Well, I’m going to! And I want to start by backing up to the very beginning of his letter, which I just read. We started our readings from First Peter this weekend with verse three. What I read to you is verses one and two. Let’s take a look at those before we dig into our reading today.

First of all, he uses the Greek version of the name Jesus gave him. In Aramaic it would be Cephas. Then he uses the title that he had been given. He is an apostle – one who is sent. Then he describes who he is sent to and who this letter is to: “the chosen sojourners of the dispersion…” I left out the locations. They are a bunch of regions in what is now Turkey and the surrounding areas. The locations are not as important as the two words “sojourners” and “dispersion.” We are all sojourners, travelers, heading toward heaven, and this is also what the dispersion is about. In one sense it refers to the fact that the Jews were scattered around the Mediterranean, referred to as “the diaspora” and they were longing for a return to Jerusalem. So the diaspora of Christians means that we were, and are, scattered and longing for the heavenly Jerusalem.

Then he refers to… the Trinity. Now it is true that the word Trinity is not in the Bible. But you cannot get a much clearer reference to an understanding of God as three-in-one. That is what verse two tells us: “in the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification by the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling with the blood of Jesus Christ…” Then he offers his initial blessing: “may grace and peace be yours in abundance.” 

Of course, today we would add another word: “may grace and peace and mercy be yours in abundance.” I had to say that because this is Divine Mercy Sunday. God is, of course, rich and infinite in His mercy.

So then we move into the reading we had for today. I could spend more time on this introduction, but I want to move on.

Because he is writing to “the dispersion,” he recognizes that there is suffering that is part of what it means to follow Christ. This is caused in part because of the way non-Christians rejected the Christian communities in this early time of the Church. And, Peter is warning that this rejection is part of the plan of God.

Apply:   

There are two major points in the reading we have for this weekend.

The first is his comparison to gold that has been purified by fire. 24 karat gold will not tarnish! It is only the imperfections in gold that tarnishes. Furthermore, he says that being fired by persecutions is so that we are able to praise, glorify, and honor… Jesus!

Praise, glorify, honor Jesus – when these are done in purity and love, they are like 24 karat gold. These are what is needed to make up a Christian’s life. We have to place the work of our everyday life in the process of these three things: praise, glorify, and honor Jesus. 

If you are cooking steaks for your family and friends, do it so as to glorify God.

As a bit of an aside, maybe you noticed if you have thanked me, for instance, on a good homily that I typically say, “praise God!” It is not that I don’t want to say thank you, but if I do something right it belongs to God, not to me.

I have a lot more impurities in my life that need to be purged. I don’t know how many karats of gold I am worth, but I’m sure it’s not twenty-four… yet.

The second point is previewed in time by Jesus’ comments to Thomas in our gospel today: “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” Peter said, “Although you have not seen him you love him; even though you do not see him now yet believe in him, you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, as you attain the goal of [your] faith, the salvation of your souls.”

The following section from First Peter is something that the church has skipped over between this weekend and next.

Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, live soberly, and set your hopes completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Like obedient children, do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance but, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct, for it is written, “Be holy because I [am] holy.”

God will get the grace to us so that we can be as holy as he needs us to be in a world today that… does not want to think about what it means to genuinely be holy as God is holy. Remember, I said before to be holy means to be other – other than the world as we pursue heaven.

We have an obligation to make ourselves receptive to the grace of God. As we are receptive, we find the impurities in our lives being… burned away. We become more like the twenty-four-karat gold that is the only kind valuable to heaven (another hint at the need for Purgatory).

Furthermore, through all that God has done for us, we can say we have seen Him. It may not be like the apostles who saw the risen Lord directly, but we have seen Him. We do know what it means to serve our God. We have witnessed his holiness, and we are called to reflect it to the world around us. This is the Easter message.

And to bring up something that has not been mentioned in a while: this is what it means to live in Metanoia. This is what it means to be fire tried gold – 24 karat gold. And remember our parish motto. One church: Encountering Jesus, Equipping Disciples, Living Mercy, and Sending Apostles. As Jesus sent out Peter, so he sends out us into a world that is neutral if not hostile to the faith.

And last. Have you started your free Hallow subscription that Midtown Catholic is sponsoring for all parishioners? There is still time to get started, even though you missed the Lent40 program.

Pray/Praise:   

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus you have called us to be purified by the power of your Holy Spirit. Help us to desire to be pure gold in what we say and do. This is what makes us valuable to heaven, and to earth. Help us to be people that others want to emulate, even – even if they want to fight us.

Your ways are not the ways of the world. We know that. Help us to change. To face Metanoia for our own sake and for the sake of your kingdom. Help us to be who and what you need today to change the world. Give us what we need – fill us with your knowledge – make us holy. Amen.

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