THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER
14 APRIL 2024
In the
passage preceding today’s Gospel, two of the disciples of Jesus had left
Jerusalem and were heading for the village of Emmaus, seven miles away. They were disappointed and broken. On their way, the risen Christ joined
them. With his risen body transformed,
they did not recognize him. Thinking
that he was a stranger, they told him their story. They had been disciples of Jesus and had been
convinced that he was the Messiah. But
he had been executed like a common criminal.
They were running away. After
listening to their pain, Jesus began to speak.
He connected the sayings of the prophets with his experience. Listening to him, their hearts began to burn
within them. Even though he indicated
that he was going further, he agreed to stay with them. When he took bread, blessed, broke, and gave,
they recognized him. Despite the danger
of traveling at night, they immediately returned to Jerusalem.
Today’s
Gospel picks up that story. As they are
telling the other disciples what happened on the way, the risen Christ stands
in their midst. They do not recognize
him. But he greets them with the words,
“Peace be with you.” Jesus breaks,
shares and unlocks for them the words of Scripture. They begin to understand, and in the process
are transformed themselves. Then they
share a meal with the risen Lord, whose transformed body contains the same
wounds that were visible on the cross.
Then the risen Lord gives them the mandate to preach in his name to all
nations, beginning from Jerusalem to go and transform all the world.
This is
exactly what happens at this Mass. We
began the Mass by being reminded that we are baptized members of the Body of
Christ with the sprinkling rite. Then we
heard the Word of the Lord. Saint Luke
emphasizes that the disciples are not seeing a ghost. They are encountering a physical person who
is eating with them. As soon as I stop talking, we will profess our faith and
offer our intentions. Then we will
celebrate the Eucharist. We do not
encounter the risen Lord in the same physical way that those original disciples
did. But we encounter his risen presence
in a very real way when we feast on his Body and Blood under the form of bread
and wine. Finally, we are dismissed from
this Mass to spread the Good News. We cannot
keep the good news to ourselves.
Throughout
this Easter Season, the Scripture readings invite us to renew our faith in the
resurrection of Jesus Christ. The first
reading for every Mass is taken from the Acts of the Apostles. In this second volume, Saint Luke helps us to
understand how the good news is spread from Jerusalem to the end of the earth
(Rome, at that time). The first members
of the Christian community have accepted
the testimony of the original witnesses.
They cannot keep their faith to themselves. Peter may have denied knowing Jesus out of
fear after the Last Supper. But he has
encountered the risen Lord and has known the Lord’s peace and mercy. He has received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. He is not afraid to proclaim the central
mystery of our faith to anyone who hears him.
He tells them that those who crucified him did so out of ignorance. But with the knowledge that the God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has raised him from the dead, he invites his
listeners to repent and be converted.
He speaks
this same message to us, who profess our faith in the resurrection while still
suffering wounds and being tempted to fall back into sin. The Letter of Saint John tells us that we express
our faith in the resurrection by keeping the commandments. When we are sent forth from this Mass, we
proclaim the good news by redoubling our efforts to love God and neighbor in
very specific ways.
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