OUR JOURNEY OF FAITH AMONG THE SADNESS AND DISAPPOINTMENT OF LIFE
The road to Emmaus is our journey of faith amidst the sadness and disappointment of life. A lot of a journey through with a heavy burden of emotional luggage. They weigh and deprive us of life’s joy, happiness and peace. Hence, many of us go through life in a very miserable way carrying the endless burden of pain, shame, guilt and cares.
The disciples’ journey to Emmaus amid apparent hopelessness is also our journey of faith in the mysteries of Christ, especially his resurrection. Often in life, we travel with a deep sense of grief, sadness, and disappointment over things that have happened to us.
Therefore, we walk between doubts and confusion, waiting for someone to clear all the vagueness of life, faith and its mysteries.
OUR THEME
The major themes of this third Sunday of Easter are the gift of forgiveness in Christ Jesus. The repentance of sins and the receiving of forgiveness through Christ Jesus. As well as, the life we lived in Christ Jesus as redeemed people from sins, death, evil and the devil. A life in Christ Jesus through the empowerment of trust confided in us by the Risen Christ.
Indeed, Easter is joyful and hopeful. Peaceful, and graceful feast of our eternal victory in Christ Jesus. Yet, it presents us with an everlasting challenge of what kind of life, we live, in Christ Jesus. Spiritual life in the imitation of Christ and testimonial life before our brothers and sisters in the Christian community. This is the sign of our redeemable life in Christ Jesus.
We are invited as well as challenged to be conscious of the living and active presence of the Resurrected Christ through the action of the Holy Spirit in us and our surroundings. To be aware of his eternal promises to us, to be truly repentant of our sins and be renewed in Christ Jesus. To be able to bear witness to the Risen Christ through the imitation of his life in the Christian community and the world at large.
In general, our Scripture lessons for today have one common, encouraging theme: No matter what happens in our lives, the risen Jesus is always with us. God is always near to those who seek Him and want to live in His presence, doing His will.
FIRST READING: ACTS 2:14; 32-33
Jesus’ greatest moment was when God raised him to glory. His resurrection shows the Father’s plan for all of us. The first reading, from Acts, taken from the beginning of Peter’s first public proclamation about Jesus, tells us how God raised Jesus from death, thus fulfilling the Messianic prophecies about the promised descendant of David. The Refrain for today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 16), has us singing, “Lord, You will show us the path of Life.”
SECOND READING: 1 PETER 1:17-21
EASTER VICTORY FOR CHRIST
The Easter victory of Christ is principal to conquer sins and its consequence death as well as its initiators’ devil, demons, evil spirits and evils themselves. This is the reason for our all-out bursting joy and happiness this season. It is the reason for Alleluia: the Easter song of victory.
However, this song of Alleluia and victory cannot be sung without us living as people redeemed by Christ. That is, the Easter victory is assured in Christ Jesus, but the Christian (a follower of Christ by conviction) must or should appropriate this victory unto his or her life.
In other words, the Christian life in Christ Jesus should reflect absolutely and the life of Christ in all its entirety. The Christian life is an imitation of Christ’s life spiritually, religiously, morally, ethically or humanly without alteration or shadow of darkness or sins.
THE GOSPEL: LUKE 24: 35-48
In our Gospel text today: Lk 24, 35-48, the risen Christ not only encouraged the community depressed by his passion and death. He also opened their minds to understand the Scriptures about Christ and the mysteries of his death and resurrection.
An interesting point to note this Easter is that…of the four evangelists, Luke was the only one who gave us the account of Jesus’ appearances to his disciples for forty days before the Ascension.
It is important to note that Jesus visited them constantly for forty days to clarify their doubts and confusion. He explained the Holy Scriptures to them, made them recognize him in the Fraction of Bread (Eucharist), and promised them the gift of the Holy Spirit that will lead and guide them to the truth and the hidden mysteries of faith.
The central message of today’s reflection is that the Risen Christ walks, comforts, encourages, stays and prays with us on our faith journey through life. Even when hopelessness and helplessness are abiding in and with us on every side of life.
As we too journey through this bitter valley of life full of sorrow, pains and seemingly hopelessness. Let us ask that Christ abiding Presence may bring us joy, peace, strength and courage.
THE RISEN CHRIST AND THE APOSTLES AND DISCIPLES
Faith in the mystery of the resurrection is at the centre of the Christian testimony and life. Though, it is a very difficult thing to come by an explanation for the mystery. The early Christian communities battled prettily well with this mystery of their faith and life in Christ Jesus.
No wonder, according to the gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke except John who puts the resurrection, Pentecost and the ascension together on the same day. The synoptic gospels put the three feasts on different occasions and contexts. Jesus took his time and energy to appear and reappear to his disciples and apostles to enlighten, reassuring as well as strengthen their faith in the mystery of the resurrection before the Ascension.
The road to Emmaus is one of the most beautiful moments of the Resurrected Christ’s encounter with his depressed and disappointed disciples. This passage tells and reminds us of some awesome things about Christ.
THE RISEN CHRIST IS EMPATHETIC
a. He is always walking to meet us and to accompany us in our faith journey still when we are conscious of his living presence with us and among us. Mt. 1:23; Is. 7:14
b. He is a sensitive and empathetic God-Man who makes sense of things and can relate, feel and connect with us in every situation or circumstance of our lives. 1 Peter 5:7
c. He knows of our struggles, crisis, sorrows, depression, despair, pain and disillusion to be there for us and with us. Matthew 6:32
d. He is sensitive to our stories and histories and offers us consoling and soothing words to come to terms with their mysteries. John 5:7
e. He knows when, where and how to enter our lives, and our situations and be with us. Matthew 11:28-29; Matthew 28:20
f. He is the most courteous advocate or mediator, as he does not force himself on us but respects his limit and our boundaries when we struggle with life´s disappointments. He always waits for us to invite him in. Revelation 3:20
g. He knows when to reveal Himself to us, especially amidst our worries, anxieties, and hopeless moments through His sacraments, his Word and ever-abiding Presence.
h. It tells us also that Jesus´ encounter with us is always transformational. That is, it turns our sorrow into joy, our anxiety into peace, our uncertainty into security, our darkness into light, etc.
i. We learn also that the glory of the Christian life is in fellowship and sharing faith experience with those who have the same faith and hope as us. Hebrews 10:25
j. We encountered one of the greatest untold stories of the world. How Jesus decided to make one of his first appearances to Peter. The man who had denied him. It is the glory of Jesus that the penitent sinner gets back his self-respect. John 21:1-19
One would think after the shameful, bitter and cruel treatment and death by the Jewish religious and Roman civil authorities Christ would be embittered and resentful towards his disciples who abandoned him at the neediest time of his life. Yet, none of these, but all-embracing of them. This is the Christ who died for all to be saved.
The context of today´s gospel is very comforting and consoling to disciples, apostles and indeed all of us, who struggle with the mystery of the resurrection. Fearful, dejected, and worried disciples and apostles of Christ had themselves locked up in the Upper Room. They were horrified and terrified by what the Jewish and perhaps Roman authorities would do to them.
THE EMMAUS STORY
The Emmaus story is like a gospel within the gospel. It is so rich a lesson that it serves as a summary of our bonding with Jesus Christ. For these disciples on the road to Emmaus, the future looked grim indeed. For the previous few years, life had been exciting and they were captivated by the Gospel message of Jesus.
But it emerges that they hadn’t grasped some vital parts of what he had said. We can empathise with them because mostly we too tend to pick and choose the parts of His message that please us and fail to take seriously other words of the Lord.
The Emmaus story speaks to people of all ages. We can see ourselves in these two weary travellers on their journey, the faith and hope they have lost, the future they have hoped for falling apart. And yet they met an unknown friend walking the road with them, who gave them a fresh insight and connected the new world with the world they knew.
And, of course, he is present in a particular way in the Eucharist, in the breaking of bread, full of the many meanings that breaking bread had for Jesus himself, during his life and after the resurrection.
We can ask ourselves: Can I truly preach, teach or live forgiveness of sins? Do I trust that my sins are forgiven? Do I know that Christ died and then was raised to life and through that, our whole world was changed forever by his love and forgiveness?
OUR BEAUTIFUL QUOTE IN THE BIBLE ABOUT GOING THROUGH LIFE
The Psalmist in Psalm 84:6 invites us to go through life making our bad experiences a place of joy for all. Hence, he asserted: Those who are passing through a valley of weeping, make it a fountain of springs. Yes, the autumn rain covers it with blessings.
OUR PRAYER
Lord, Peter, the apostles and the first Christians could bear witness to the Risen Christ with unwavering faith and conviction. Help me to have a personal encounter with the Risen Christ in the Liturgy of the Word of God and the Liturgy of the Eucharist in the Holy Mass that we celebrate, so that we can recognize him as our Lord and Saviour everywhere and always. Amen
