Thursday of Octave of Easter, April 12, 2007

Scripture: Acts 3:11-26. Psalm 8. Luke 24:35-38. Lectionary #264

Since we are doing a consecutive reading of Luke today both in the Acts of
the Apostles and in the Gospel, we continue our journey through the
resurrection narratives. Today we have Luke's second resurrection story or
appearance of Jesus. It seems that there are hints in the text that Luke
may have borrowed some of the content for this pericope from Mark and
Matthew or from an earlier oral tradition. I like the continuity that Luke
gives us in both of his works. Prayer is a continuous theme in Luke-Acts,
the Spirit, and even the Gospel outline of the speeches given in the Acts
of the Apostles by Peter and Paul. Today's pericope led me to appreciate
the way in which our literary artist and theologian Luke uses the five
senses to share this account of Jesus' visiting with his disciple on Easter
day. The five senses are quite helpful in our prayer and spiritual life;
in meditating on the Resurrection we do well to use them just as the
narrative does. The tactile and visible manifestations of Jesus and the
Spirit are essential to the sacraments which touch us through our senses.
I came to realize this through the sacrament of reconciliation which
touched me more deeply this Lent than ever before. Jesus brings us his
Shalom, his peace and tells us that he is not a ghost. All of the senses
are mentioned and certainly the broiling of the fish has the scent sense or
smell involved too though not mentioned directly in the text as are the
other four senses. As the disciples experience Jesus through their senses
a great joy invades them so that they are able to leap beyond their
unbelief that Jesus could rise from the dead. Finally, their fright,
panic, doubts, and startlement are gone and the see and experience the
Risen Lord, their Savior. It helps our spiritual life in reading such a
beautiful account and we can go to the sacraments and through our faith
touch the living Jesus. This leads us to inner peace, to a convinced sense
of being forgiven no matter how far we may have strayed, and to a feeling
that the comfort of the Spirit is with us. We touch Jesus' hands and feet
with the disciples and come to believe. One of the apostolic fathers of
the Church wrote this in his letter to the Smyrnans in Turkey, "Immediately
they touched him, and through this contact with his flesh and spirit,
believed." (Ignatius of Antioch circa 110 A.D.). Stuhlmueller adds, "The
Spirit must reveal what the flesh touches." So let us "reach out and touch
Christ in someone today." Amen. Alleluia.