Third Sunday of Easter, May 8th: Mother's Day
Peter 1:17-21. Luke 24:13-35:
Luke's last chapter is one of the most beautiful writings in the New
Testament. He is an artist who paints the appearances of Jesus fully alive
through his Resurrection. The scenes are captivating and full of color,
drama, and surprises. Jesus is alive. He is risen. Luke's theology of the
Resurrection gives us hope and joy for our lives here and now. He makes
sure that the apostles and the women disciples of Jesus awake to the fact
that Jesus is alive in a new and transformative way, but as the same Jesus
they knew and touched before his death on the Cross. We need this type of
inspired revelation to offset some of the disbelief we hear about
resurrection even from our Catholic people. The witness of those who gave
their life for this belief is convincing and truthful as we weigh the
evidence from not one Gospel but four Gospels that describe the experience
of those who were apostles and disciples of Jesus. Coming from so many
different perspectives and underlying the reality of their experience and
then even giving their lives for it is the strongest "proof" we have for
Jesus' rising from the dead. Paul, of course, adds to this by stating that
if there is not a resurrection then we should not practice Christianity for
we would be the most foolish of people. This makes sense unless we are
satisfied with just living a good life with some values and then calling it
all quits once we die. That is far from what the Gospels challenge us to
believe and to live out of that belief. Never give up the faith! Never give
up!
Even Jesus in today's narrative tells the two heading toward Emmaus how
foolish they are in not realizing that all that was happening to Jesus of
Nazareth was already promised through their inspired Scriptures of the
Torah, the Prophets, and the Psalms. Jesus is telling them that all parts
of the Bible attest to what God has promised them through the Messiah.
Luke helps us focus exclusively on Jesus who is fully alive. Irenaeus
picked up on this by saying the "glory of God is our being fully alive!"
Luke joins Jesus' resurrection to his ascension into the clouds and to
heaven. Yet, in Acts he , gives us enough time to reflect, ponder over,
and assimilate his resurrection narrative about Jesus. In this second
painting of the continuation of Jesus in the Church he first extends the
presence of Jesus for forty days thus allowing to meditate on this event.
It is too good to be true for many, but for those who have been recently
baptized this is absolutely Good News. Luke as an artist teases all of our
senses in order to help us experience what he is talking about. Jesus is
truly human. He speaks with his apostles, he questions them, he instructs
them about the fullest meaning of the Scriptures and breaks them open for
them. He dines with them when it is evening and when he breaks the bread
with them they realize it is the Lord.
In chapter twenty-four of Luke many of the earlier themes in the Gospel are
present; they will continue to develop in the second work of the
Evangelist, the Acts of the Apostles. Fr. Karris, a Franciscan, scripture
scholar tells us, "he (Luke) captures the cascading waters of his themes in
a single figure, that of the Risen Lord Jesus. We should sing, rejoice, and
dance at this Good News. And as the hymn which is sung at the open hour of
the Readings says, "Hail thee, festival day. Blest day that are hallowed
forever; Day wherein Christ arose, Breaking the kingdom of death." and in
the last verse: Jesus the health of the world, Englighten our minds, thou
Redeemer, Son of the Father supreme, Only Begotten of God." (text of
Venantius Honoris Fortunatus, 530-609 A.D.).
We do well to remember the last words of chapter twenty-four: "Then he
opened their minds to understand the scriptures. "So you see", he said,
"that scripture foretells the sufferings of the Messiah and his rising from
the dead on the third day, and declares that in his name repentance
bringing the forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed to all the nations
beginning from Jerusalem. You are to be witnesses to it all. I am sending
on you the gift promised by my Father; wait here in this city until you are
armed with power from above.
Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and blessed them with uplifted
hands; and in the act of blessing he parted from them. And they returned
to Jerusalem full of joy, and spent all their time in the temple praising
God." (Luke 24: 45-53). Amen. Alleuluiah.
posted by Fr. Bert SM at 11:28 AM
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