Homily – 2nd Sunday of Easter – Year A – Fr Jeremiah Browne (National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies #southafrica #Botswana #eswatini #Swaziland)
There is a moment most of us recognise, even if we rarely name it. It is the moment when something inside us begins to close. A disappointment. A failure. A hurt we did not see coming. From that point on, we become more careful. More guarded. Less willing to risk. We tell ourselves it is wisdom. In reality, it is often fear or doubt taking control. Today’s Gospel (John 20:19–31) speaks directly to this point. The scene is a locked room, filled with uncertainty, doubt and fear.
The disciples are behind closed doors. Not just physically, but inwardly. Everything that they had hoped for seemed to collapse on the cross. So they retreat. They hide. They protect themselves from further disappointment. Fear begins to shape their decisions, convincing them that staying closed in is safer than risking hope again.
Fear has narrowed their world.
That experience is not far from our own. At times, we too find ourselves closing doors – perhaps not physically, but inwardly. After being hurt, we become cautious. After disappointment, we lower expectations. After failure, we begin to doubt ourselves. Fear and doubt, if left unchecked, begin to shape how we live. They reduce our capacity to trust, to hope, to live our best life.
It is into that space that Jesus comes. Remember that this is the first time that Jesus meets the disciples who abandoned him – since they walked away, rather than remaining loyal. If it was you, in that situation how might have you reacted? Would you not be tempted to remind them of their failure, to question their friendship, to at least ask for an explanation?
Yet Jesus does none of that. He doesn’t remind them of their failure or question their loyalty. He doesn’t stand at a distance or wait for them to prove themselves. He comes close. He stands among them and offers the very thing they need most: peace.
That moment reveals something essential about God’s Mercy. Mercy is not earned. It is not given to those who have everything together. It is given precisely in our weakness, in our fear, in our failure. Jesus doesn’t wait for perfect faith before he comes. He comes so that faith can begin again. He speaks peace into their fear, not because they deserve it, but because they need it.
A truth that we often overlook is the fact that doubt and fear expand to fill the space that we give them in our lives. Left alone, they grow. They begin to shape our choices, our relationships, even our image of God. We begin to imagine a God who is distant, demanding, or disappointed in us. Perhaps a God who judges us for our past failures. Yet the risen Jesus shows us something entirely different. He comes not to condemn, but to restore. Not to shame, but to heal.
The gospel goes on to tells us that one of the disciples, Thomas, is missing. Thomas is often remembered as the one who doubted, yet there is something honest about him. He doesn’t pretend. He doesn’t simply follow the crowd. He voices what many feel – but don’t say: “Unless I see… unless I touch… I will not believe.” Faith is not always neat or straightforward. It includes questions. It includes moments of uncertainty. Somehow, Faith and doubt can, and do, coexist.
What is striking, though, is how Jesus responds to Thomas. He doesn’t reject him or shame him for his doubt. He doesn’t say, “You should have known better.” Instead, he comes back for him. He meets him in his uncertainty and invites him closer: “Put your finger here… do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
Thomas’ response is a profound professions of faith: “My Lord and my God.” It comes not from certainty alone, but from encounter – from a moment of connection with Jesus. That is the turning point. Faith grows not because every question is answered, but because we recognise the presence of Christ standing before us, even in the midst of our questions.
That same invitation is offered to us today. We may not see or touch in the same way that Thomas did, but Christ still comes. He comes in the Eucharist. He comes in the quiet moments of prayer. He comes through the people who walk with us, support us, and remind us that we are not alone. He comes, again and again, into the locked rooms of our lives.
Divine Mercy Sunday reminds us that the heart of God is always open. Even when we close doors, God doesn’t close his. Even when we hesitate, God continues to come towards us. No matter how many times we close the door, he continues to stand among us and say, “Peace be with you.” No failure is final. No fear is too great. No doubt is beyond his reach.
So today, what might the Holy Spirit be asking of your life? Is there a door that I have closed, that you hide behind? Has fear narrowed my world? Does doubt taken more space than it should?
Let us pray for the grace to be open ourselves, to the great gift that God offers, because where Christ enters, peace follows. Where mercy is received, new life begins.
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Please consider praying a decade of the rosary on a daily basis for the evangelising Mission of the Church and the Pope’s intentions.
The Pope’s prayer intention for April is for priests in crisis
Let us pray for priests going through moments of crisis in their vocation, that they may find the accompaniment they need and that communities may support them with understanding and prayer.
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Blessed Pauline Jaricot, Pray for us. 🙏🏼🙏🏼
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