HOMILY FOR THE THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER YEAR A ON 25TH APRIL
2020: SUNDAY EMMAUS
READINGS
First: Acts
2:14.22-33
Second: 1 Peter
1:17-21
Gospel: Luke
24:13-35.
INTRODUCTIVE
WORD
Dear
people of God, today we celebrate the Third Sunday of Easter and therefore we
continue with our journey of rejoicing in the victory of the Risen Christ. This
Sunday we are invited in a special way to establish a direct contact with
Jesus, to walk with him and to live our daily life with him by deeply
encountering him in the Scriptures and in the Eucharist. Thus, invited to have
our living hope in the Risen Christ. Last Sunday I mentioned that we cannot
know Jesus and have a direct experience with him unless he himself reveals
himself to us through the power of the Holy Spirit. We can be staying with sick
persons in homes, we can be meeting the needy or serving them every day, we can
be seeing those suffering due to different reasons but we need to be
enlightened by the Holy Spirit in order to see Jesus in them and discover that
Jesus reveals himself to us through such persons. Jesus invites us in a special
way to recognize that He is always with us as.
MEDITATIVE
EXHORTATION
In
the Acts of the Apostles, St. Peter proclaimed the distinctive death that Jesus
met after being delivered to lawless men who crucified him. The death of Jesus
had a great significance since it was different from that of other prophets
like David. It was a glorious death since God had a plan for him which was
beyond that of David and other prophets who had worked wonders among the people
of Israel. The death of Jesus was foreseen and God had earlier spoken through
his prophets about the fact that his servant’s soul can never see corruption
nor be abandoned in the nether world. Therefore, Peter and other disciples gave
witness to the God who raised Jesus whom they had crucified and buried. They
were giving witness to the mighty works of God who exalted Jesus and put him at
his right hand where He received the promise of the Holy Spirit.
My
dear people of God, we have been reading and continue to meditate about Jesus’ Resurrection
and his appearance to the disciples. We know that it was Mary Magdalene who was
witnessed the risen Lord first and later she went to inform the other disciples
about what she had seen and later on Jesus appeared to the eleven when Thomas
was not with them.
Today
we see Jesus manifesting Himself to the two of his disciples from Jerusalem on
their way to Emmaus. The Resurrection of Jesus had shocked everyone including
his disciples. Therefore, it was an incident that everyone was debating about
without getting the right conclusion. Like these days; we have the story about corona, the story of
the Resurrection of Jesus had not been clearly grasped by all the people in
Jerusalem. Thomas himself had doubted when the other disciples told him that
they had seen the Lord. Then, the two disciples were discussing on the same
reality as they continued with their journey to Emmaus.
In
the midst of their journey and discussion, Jesus Himself drew near and walked
with them but their eyes were blinded from recognizing Him. They did not know
that Jesus was walking with them and they still continued to walk in their
unbelief since they had not fully experienced the Risen Christ and could not
believe the message brought by the women. They were not fully convinced about
the risen Lord as they travelled to Emmaus. They were conversing and discussing
among themselves and we need to know that Jesus knew what they were discussing
but He went ahead to ask them what their story was about. With his question, they
stopped and looked down cast –a sign of surprise, wonder, shock, as they
wondered at this person who was ignorant about what had happened to Jesus. They
went on to share with him about Jesus who was mighty in power, a prophet yet
sentenced to death by the chief Priests and the rulers. They expressed their
disappointment, their loss of hope in Him because they had always thought that He
was the One to redeem Israel.
THUS,
in life we can lose hope just as it happened to the disciples because they had
hoped in Jesus who betrayed them by his agonizing, shameful and unjust death.
They could not suspect that the dead crucified Jesus was the One to redeem
Israel and the whole human race but at the breaking of bread, they came to
believe this reality. When things don’t go as we expected, we can become
hopeless and think that the doors to life are closed. But I tell you, when all
this happens, just look at the risen Lord and remember how He defeated the
shameful death that was brought to him. We are called to be people who hope in
the risen Lord who paid a price for our salvation and redemption. Even right
now, we have nothing to do in the midst of the corona pandemic but to put our
hope in the Lord and to surrender to his will.
What
does the Gospel passage from St. Luke say to me and to you this morning? As
Jesus drew near the two disciples, they could not recognize him, they were
still blinded. This shows that Jesus is present and ever with us but do we
recognize his presence in our day to day life? Then ask ourselves what makes us
not to recognize Jesus, what are those blocks that hinder me and you from
perceiving and experiencing his presence in our lives? For the disciple it was
probably due to unbelief but Do we encounter Jesus in our neighbors, in the
sick, the lonely, the neglected, the suffering etc. The disciples had lost hope
because the one they thought was their savior had been put to death by the
authorities; we need to ask ourselves do we hope even where there is no reason
to have hope. Do we see Jesus walking with us as he did to the disciples or we
see him at a distance and like a stranger in our life? Then, do we genuinely
encounter Jesus in the scriptures and in the other events of life?
The
disciples continued to converse with Jesus without knowing his identity. This
can show that it is possible for us even to be coming to Church but without
encountering the Real Risen Christ. They even started to narrate to Him the
story of the women which had astounded them and how these women had seen the
vision of the angels who told them that Jesus was alive. They confessed that
some of them had gone to the tomb and had found the story right as narrated by the
women. Still we see that the two disciples who represent all the twelve in
opinion still found it had to believe. That’s why we find Jesus using a harsh
language towards them for their unbelief. He rebukes them for their foolishness
–slow to believe the words of the prophets and what was said about the messiah;
his crucifixion, suffering and glorification.
Jesus
began by interpreting for them the Scriptures and what was referred to him.
This was intended to open their hearts from unbelief to unbelief. It was after
this (the interpretation of scriptures) that these disciples saw the specialty
of the person they were traveling with. Their eyes were open but not fully and
when He gave an impression that he was going further, they begged him to stay
with them. This happened when they were approaching the place where they were
going. To stay with Jesus was a moment of revelation to them. It was during
this stay that he continued to teach them and to interpret for them the Scriptures.
In
the first stage of their spiritual journey they could not recognize Him. In the
second stage as he interpreted for them the scriptures, they began to see his
specialty and in this last stage, they fully recognized him while at the table
with (this is the Eucharist) them. When they were at the table with Him during
the breaking, blessing and sharing of bread –their eyes were opened to
recognize Him. They could now see that it was the risen Lord himself with them.
All this happened during the Eucharist and this shows how powerful it is when
we partake in the Eucharist –we encounter Jesus and he reveals Himself to us in
this meal. With this experience, Jesus vanished from their sight. But as we
heard, they had already had an experience with him while interpreting the Scriptures
for them. It’s this experience which remained with them after his
disappearance. Their hearts remained burning within them after he had vanished
from their sight.
My
question for reflection still is! Which effects does the word of God and the
Eucharist leave me and you? The two disciples could not hold the effects of the
two (breaking of bread and the scriptures) in them and it’s why they
immediately returned to Jerusalem to recount their experience to the other
disciples. It’s as if after the encounter, they did not reach Emmaus but returned
to witness and narrate to the other disciples what they had encountered at the
breaking of bread while with Jesus. Their first experience of unbelief had
vanished and they were now aware that the Lord had truly risen because of their
own experience and His appearance to Simon. Their personal experience of the
risen Lord strengthened their faith and gave them courage and zeal to go and
proclaim that experience. Therefore, me and you need to go back and proclaim
the risen Lord to others. We need to seek to have a personal experience of the
risen Lord by encountering him at the table of the Eucharist and in his word.
The
risen Christ wants me and you to be his witness by having our faith and hope in
him. Life has its own troubles and difficulties but our living hope in the Risen
Christ must keep us strong and focused. Our hearts need to burn within us at
every encounter with Jesus. Let’s ask the risen Lord who enlightened the hearts
of the two disciples to recognize him that he may Guide me in journey of faith
and witnessing to him. May he take away our unbelief and fill us with abundant
faith by giving us the grace to encounter in the scriptures and in the people,
we meet daily especially the need and all those who need our help in various
ways.
The Lord be with you.
By Deacon Peter
Wakubario, camillian
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