3rd
Sunday of Easter (Year A)
First
Reading: Acts 2:14, 22-33
Second Reading: 1
Peter 1:17-21 Gospel Reading: Luke 24:13-35
“THE
EMMAUS JOURNEY”
Possums
are smart animals. You wouldn’t think so, because, you hardly ever
see one, except when it’s dead on the road. There’s a joke that
goes, “Why did the chicken cross the road? To prove to the
possum that it could be done!”
But
possums, it turns out, are smart. They won’t enter a hole if
there's just one set of tracks going into it. They know there's
something in there. But if there are two sets of tracks, the possum
will enter and not be afraid.
The
message of Easter is that we can enter the grave - we don’t have to
fear death because there are tracks leading out of the tomb. And this
is the message that we need to hear this Easter Season -
“Jesus is risen! He is risen indeed!”
We
are in the Easter Season and this is the 3rd
Sunday. During
these weeks after Easter, the Church puts us in touch with the first
men and women who experienced the Risen Jesus in order to deepen our
appreciation and understanding of the mystery of the resurrection. In
the First Reading from Acts of the Apostles, set on the day of
Pentecost, Peter's proclamation to the people of Jerusalem explains
that the crucifixion and resurrection were part of the plan of God,
foretold by the Sacred Scripture. We see here the Spirit in action,
empowering Peter to speak fearlessly. In the Second Reading from his
1st Letter, Peter
reminds the Christians that Jesus through his blood has paid the
ransom for us and the saving hope is given to us. He tells that all
our faith and hope as believers are centered on this mystery of the
glorious resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Gospel Reading
from Luke, we have the beautiful story of two disciples walking with
Risen Jesus on the road to a village called Emmaus. During their walk
with the Risen Lord their eyes were kept closed from recognizing him.
But later that day, when he was at table with them, their eyes were
opened while he broke the bread and they recognized him, but he
vanished from their sight.
PETER'S
SERMON ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST:
The
First Reading of today taken from the Acts of the Apostles tells us
about Peter's first sermon. Imagine
what it must have been like to hear the Gospel message directly from
the mouths of those who had personally encountered the Risen Christ
and who's lives had been changed by God’s Holy Spirit. This
sermon was addressed particularly to the Jews who had gathered in
Jerusalem nearly two months after the Passover festival to
commemorate the ancient Jewish festival of Pentecost. On the
day of Pentecost, Peter stood along with the eleven, raised his voice
and proclaimed that Jesus had been raised from the dead. He explained
to the crowds that Jesus who had been handed over to those who
crucified him outside of the law according to the definite plan and
foreknowledge of God. He quoted the words of king David in Psalm 16.
This message of Peter was a call to penance and conversion. However,
on behalf of God, it was a message of love, mercy and forgiveness.
Addressing some of those who had killed Jesus, the only begotten Son
of God, Peter expressed that the Lord would forgive them if they had
a change of heart. God would welcome as His children all those who
would embrace the truth, believing that Jesus Christ was the promised
Messiah and Savior.
OUR
FAITH AND HOPE ARE IN THE RISEN JESUS:
Today’s
Second Reading from the First Letter of Peter echoes the spiritual
knowledge, understanding and wisdom that Peter received by the grace
of God. To him was given an in-depth perception of the redemptive
plan of God. He tells the Gentile believers and us too, that God has
specially chosen us in Christ. He asks us to invoke the Father, the
one who judges all people impartially according to our deeds during
our earthly exile. He advices us
to conduct with reverence which is noticeable. He reminds us
that Jesus through his blood has paid the ransom for us and the
saving hope is given to us. He tells that all
our faith and hope as believers are centered on this mystery of the
glorious resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Before
creation, God foreknew that sin would enter the world and that Christ
would redeem mankind. This knowledge has now been revealed to the
world at the end of the ages for our sake. For we know that the
almighty God who raised Jesus from the dead and gave him glory. So,
by setting our faith and hope in the Risen Jesus, we shall also be
raised from the dead and glorified according to our deeds.
“THE
EMMAUS JOURNEY”:
In
the Gospel Reading of today from St. Luke we hear about “The
Emmaus journey.” The
story as given by St. Luke is very familiar to us, and is powerful
and evocative. Two little known disciples, Cleopas and an unnamed
disciple are trudging along the road towards Emmaus, a village
located seven miles northwest of Jerusalem. It was the day of the
Resurrection, but these two wandering disciples did not grasp the
entire situation. The cruel death of Jesus completely shook them.
They were totally perplexed and confused and their hope was
shattered. Disbelief has overpowered them. They are leaving Jerusalem
and its disturbing events, because, for them, Jesus’ death was an
unmitigated tragedy.
a)
“What are you discussing as you walk along?”
Now,
as the two disciples were walking down the road discussing all the
events of Jesus' death and the rumors of his resurrection, a stranger
(Risen Jesus) drew near and walked with them. Then he asked them,
“What
are you discussing as you walk along?” They
were taken by surprise when this person expressed his ignorance of
what had happened in Jerusalem, "About
Jesus of Nazareth."
As they themselves were dejected and disillusioned at this time they
chose to discuss the terrible events of the past few days with him.
They told how their chief priests and rulers handed him over to a
sentence of death and crucified him. Like many Jews, they were
convinced that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah. But with his
death, their hope was dashed to pieces. They also told that they had
heard some rumors of a
'resurrection'
but of him they saw nothing.
b)
“Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things
and enter his glory?”
But
Jesus was not about to allow them to wallow in their sorrow. So, he
said to them, “Was it not necessary that
the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”
Forthwith, Jesus did again what he used to do while still with them -
reach out to and teach them. So, beginning with Moses and all the
Prophets, he explained to them what was said in the scriptures
concerning himself. Exposing their lack of understanding and faith
about the Messiah, he told them that he had to undergo all sufferings
before entering his glory. He reviewed the Old Testament and the
Tradition to show to them that the Jerusalem events were in reality
his triumph over death to attain his glory. They must had been
convinced since later they said, "Were
not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and
opened the scriptures to us?"
c)
“Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost
over.”
As
they reach their destination, Jesus indicates he will continue on his
own. He really would have done so, if they had not invited him to
stay with them - “Stay
with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.”
Jesus never forces himself on us. But without him, a real darkness,
much more than the darkness of evening would have come down on these
two men.
And as they sit
at table, the stranger becomes the host and Master. He takes
the bread,
says
the blessing,
breaks
it
and distributes
it
to them. For the early Church, this pointed clearly to their own
Eucharistic celebrations. The disciples' eyes are opened. They now
really see the stranger for who he is – Jesus himself, with whom
they had been talking about all the time. At that moment, he
vanishes.
The disciples’ invitation
to the stranger they have met on the road has rich overtones of
meaning in this context as well. In Luke’s narrative, it indicates
the openness of the disciples to receiving a further revelation. And
in a larger context, it points toward the Eucharistic mystery, in
which Jesus indeed continues to stay with us.
Again, like other
resurrection
appearances, this one too is marked by delayed recognition. The
actions in which the disciples recognize Jesus are the familiar ones
which accompanied any Jewish meal, and which are highlighted in the
feeding of the five thousand, and the last supper: taking, blessing,
breaking, and giving. These four actions continue to be essential to
the celebration of the Christian Eucharist.
d)
“They set out at once and returned to Jerusalem.”
And,
after all these experiences, what do Cleopas and his companion do?
“They set
out at once and returned to Jerusalem,” from
which they were fleeing. Their
excitement was the power by which they could not but help themselves
to proclaim that Jesus had been raised from the dead! They were
greeted by the same insight on the part of the Eleven. The
return of the two disciples from Jerusalem to Emmaus was a pilgrimage
of faith - of lost and found faith.
IMPLICATIONS:
So,
what we can we take from the many themes that emerge from the
Scripture Readings today?
First,
we need to know that the
Resurrection of Jesus is a central event
– that it changed everything. We need to see
that it was foreshadowed in the Hebrew Scriptures and completed in
the life of Jesus.
The
Road
to Emmaus may feel like any other post-Resurrection
appearances,
but its impact is far-reaching. That walk to Emmaus is a metaphor for
our own life
journey of faith,
when the Lord catches up with us too. It stands as a symbol for the
whole Christian life. Life, as depicted in the Scriptures, is a
journey. We are called a 'pilgrim
people,' always
on the march to our heavenly home. Our
journey of faith is a journey of
learning and entering deeper into the mystery of the Risen Christ.
Gospels
come to life as we imagine ourselves taking part in them. In this
Gospel, with the two disciples walking on the road, we might picture
ourselves represented, on our life's journey. We
need, however, to realize that we are never alone in our
life's journey. He is with us all the time and in all situations.
But, as happened with the two disciples, we at times feel he has
abandoned us, he has let us down, he no longer cares. We
need to be ready to recognize him entering our lives so that we can
respond appropriately to him.
There
is a practical therapy to be found and used in Emmaus. It begins by
facing what we fear and escape from, even by telling ourselves or
others the happy ending. Christian reality has no need of refuge. We
need not fear. His word
taught them the meaning
of his life and gave hope
in their disappointment. Our lives may be crowded with
duties and customs and routines; our minds, full of disappointments;
our consciences, depressed, with sins. There seems little room for
hope in all this. What can we do?
The
Gospel goes on to tell of the next great step the two disciples took.
They invited the stranger into their home. As he walked along
with them he entered their lives where they were, namely, in their
distress. That is the point where we too should go to meet Jesus. We
can have him as a guest in our homes. Jesus always
wants to meet us where we are, not where we would like to be or where
we think we ought to be. He comes to us in ordinary life situations,
but he never forces himself on us.
When
we read the Emmaus story what strikes us as amazing is not that the
two disciples finally recognize Jesus, but that they fail to do so in
the first place. We know the end of the story and wonder how the two
disciples could fail to recognize such an obvious conclusion.
Yet how often in our lives do we fail to recognize the presence of
Christ?
Jesus
wants to communicate with us and he speaks to us and is truly present
in the Scriptures. More specifically, Jesus is present among
us in all our sacramental celebrations but especially in the
Eucharist. Jesus as Word and Eucharist is our food for our
pilgrimage to our true home. In the breaking of bread he unites the
Christian community into his Body and also keeps his promise to be
with us till the end of time.
The
disappearance of the Risen Jesus at the moment of the breaking of the
bread with the two disciples can be seen as sacramental pedagogy. He
intended to live on in the world through his disciples and therefore
he transforms us as his messengers in the world of today.
Finally,
“The Emmaus
Journey”
begins in blindness, gloom, disillusionment and despair. It ends with
the warming of the disciples' hearts, the opening of their eyes, and
their return to Jerusalem. Their encounter with the Risen Jesus had
made them see the events in Jerusalem from a
new perspective
- God's. Instead of looking at Jesus' death as the end of their
aspirations, they now view it as the beginning of a new life in the
Risen Christ. It begins with the shattering of an immature faith and
ends with the disciples giving witness to a mature faith. Their story
now is a new one—a story filled with life and hope. And this is the
Good News of today.
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