Sunday Gospel Reflection by Bishop Parkes: Do you believe everything you read or hear? Social media today can be a landscape of half-truths or lies, made to look like solid truth that something happened. Even the so called “trusted media” can portray a slanted or biased view of events.
We are a joyful community of disciples proclaiming the Good News and inviting all people to encounter the love and mercy of Jesus Christ.
Read the Gospel reflection by Bishop Parkes below or click here to listen to it.
God’s Merciful Love
“Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” – John 20:29
Do you believe everything you read or hear? Social media today can be a landscape of half-truths or lies, made to look like solid truth that something happened. Even the so called “trusted media” can portray a slanted or biased view of events. We have become accustomed to the expression “Fake News”. So what are we to believe?
It’s human nature to doubt. We see this demonstrated in this weekend’s Gospel of Saint John. We find Didymus, also known as Thomas, questioning his friends if they really saw Jesus. So the following week, Thomas sees Jesus with his own eyes, and touches His wounds. By doing this, he truly believes. But Jesus tells Thomas, and us, “blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
Faith is a powerful thing, and so is mercy. To have faith, you must let go of what is logical and what you know to be true by your experiences and put your trust in someone or something that is beyond our ability to prove. As humans, we sometimes let people down. Friends and family put their trust in you. They have faith that you can do something, but often you fall short. You let them down or they let you down. Consequently, we have trouble having faith in others unless we really know them and trust them.
The same goes with Jesus. Do you really know Jesus and believe in Him? Do you really trust Him? Because of the great mercy of our Lord, He loves us despite of our doubt, our questioning, and our unbelief. We should take this as a life lesson to show mercy to others when they make mistakes or doubt our intentions or efforts. On this Divine Mercy Sunday, give thanks to God for His merciful love and patience with us, and ask Him to help us to be more forgiving and patient with others.
El amor misericordioso de Dios
“Dichosos los que creen sin haber visto”. – Juan 20, 29
¿Crees todo lo que lees o escuchas? Los medios de comunicación social de hoy en día pueden ofrecernos una gama de medias verdades o de mentiras y presentarlas de manera que parezcan verdades acerca de cualquier acontecimiento. Incluso los llamados "medios de comunicación fiables" pueden presentar una visión torcida o parcial de lo sucedido. Nos hemos acostumbrado a la expresión "noticias falsas". Entonces, ¿qué debemos creer?
Dudar es propio de la naturaleza humana. Lo vemos demostrado en el Evangelio de san Juan de este fin de semana. Encontramos a Tomás, desconfiado de que sus amigos habían verdaderamente visto a Jesús. Luego, a la semana siguiente, Tomás ve a Jesús con sus propios ojos y toca sus llagas. Y así llegó a creer. Pero Jesús le dice a Tomás y a nosotros, "Dichosos los que creen sin haber visto".
La fe es algo poderoso, al igual que la misericordia. Para tener fe debemos dejar al lado lo que es lógico y lo que sabemos que es verdad por propia experiencia, y poner nuestra confianza en alguien o en algo que está más allá de nuestra capacidad de evidenciar. Por ser humanos, a veces defraudamos a la gente. Los amigos y la familia confían en ti. Tienen fe en lo que puedes hacer, pero a menudo te quedas corto. Les decepcionas o te decepcionan. Como consecuencia, nos cuesta tener fe en los demás a menos que los conozcamos realmente y confiemos en ellos.
Lo mismo ocurre con Jesús. ¿Conoces realmente a Jesús y crees en él? ¿Confías de veras en él? Nuestro Señor, por su gran misericordia, nos ama a pesar de nuestras dudas, de nuestros cuestionamientos y de nuestra incredulidad. Deberíamos tomar esto como una lección de vida, para mostrar misericordia a los demás cuando cometen errores o dudan de nuestras intenciones o esfuerzos. En este Domingo de la Divina Misericordia demos gracias a Dios por su amor misericordioso y por su paciencia con nosotros, y pidámosle que nos ayude a ser más indulgentes y pacientes con los demás.
Reflection by:
Most Reverend Gregory L. Parkes is the fifth Bishop of St. Petersburg. Prior to his appointment to the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Bishop Parkes served as the fifth Bishop of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee from 2012-2016. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Orlando on June 26, 1999. Before answering the call to the priesthood, Bishop Parkes worked for several years in Tampa’s banking industry.
Important Courageously Living the Gospel Links:
Scripture Reflection
Prayer
Website
Scripture Reflection
Prayer
Website