Be generative, as your Father is generative

Apr 25, 2025

Divine Mercy Sunday (C)
Readings: Acts of the Apostle 5:12-16;
Revelation 1:9-13, 17-19;
Gospel: John 20:19-31

Lately, over the past years, one word keeps coming to mind. It’s something I’ve been sharing in my talks and recollections. That word is generativity.

It comes from my experience in ministry. When I reflect on what is most needed in those who serve, especially in parishes, I’ve come to see that what we really need are people who are generative. Another word that comes close is life-giving.

Why do I say this? Everyone can serve in a ministry or be part of a BEC. But that service can become self-serving, divisive, or even create more damage for Jesus to undo than the good it was meant to bring. After all, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

What makes a difference are people who bring something more into their service. They contribute to the good, the growth, and the flourishing of all they touch. They are people who create, if that makes sense, rather than just do things or criticise. Their presence brings light. You could say, they generate hope. They are life-givers rather than takers. They bring peace instead of conflict. They unite rather than divide.

They write new stories. They open new chapters. You do not get the same old fights, the same old complaints, the same old drama.

Can hateful people be generative people? Even if it is just hate generating more hate, conflict generating more conflict, bitterness feeding bitterness, from morning till night without end?

I suppose we can say that. But, let’s look to the story of Jesus.

If anyone has reason to be angry or bitter, Jesus does. Yet for all the hatred and rejection He faced, what we are given is a new story. Not a story of hate, anger, or disappointment. There is no “I told you so” or “look what you did.”

God opens a new chapter with us. It is a story of peace. Sure, there is forgiveness, and Jesus, who taught us to forgive, surely forgave us. On the cross He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

In the first reading, we see the Apostles opening a new chapter too. Having received the Spirit of God, they begin writing a new story.

A story of God at work through them. This weekend, on the Second Sunday of Easter, many parishes, including mine, are celebrating Divine Mercy Sunday. At the heart of this devotion is the call to be merciful to others.

This devotion reflects a pattern we see in God. A pattern of being generative. Jesus calls us to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Luke 6:36 even gives a different perspective to that famous call to perfection. It says, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” That is the call, not just to be good, but to be life-giving.

The mission to baptise, to preach, to witness, they are all calls to be generative.

The Christian difference is this. Our ability to generate, to give life, does not come from ourselves. It comes from being rooted in Christ. In Easter, we celebrate that the Giver has become the Gift. God who gives life has now given Himself to us.

So it is no surprise that unless we are tapped into that life-giving power of God who creates, renews, and sustains, it is very hard to be merciful, forgiving, and generative.

Happy Divine Mercy Sunday. And if I may add a line, I would say, Let us be generative as our Heavenly Father is generative.