Third Sunday of Easter B [Lk 24:35-48]
18 April 2021
The Risen Christ Opens their Minds to Understand the Scriptures
1. Theme in
brief:
Light to understand the inevitability of
the cross
2. Focus
Statement:
The Risen Christ
opens our minds to understand the truth that as per God’s plan of salvation and
the testimony of the Scriptures, glory can come only through suffering, cross
and death.
3. Explanation of the text
When the travellers to Emmaus were talking to the eleven disciples of Jesus and their companions about their experience with the Risen Lord (24:33), suddenly he stood among them with his message, “Peace be with you” (24:36). Normally we understand by peace to mean quietness, tranquillity, mental calmness, freedom from disturbance and absence of war or fight. It means more than that: wholeness of body, mind and soul; abundant blessings of God and his salvation; an all-round wellbeing, harmony and building up of human relationships.
Further, today’s gospel text emphasizes on three points about the resurrection of Christ and its consequences for a believer:
(1) The truth or reality of the resurrection (24:37-43): It is neither a hallucination nor a figment of the disciples’ imagination. The Risen Lord tries to prove his identity by convincing them that he is not a ghost but really the same Jesus of Nazareth, but now glorified and transformed. They can touch him since he has flesh and bones which ghosts do not have (24:39); they carefully observe the scars of nails on his body as he shows his hands and feet to them (24:39-40); and he can eat broiled fish like any other living persons (24:42).
(2) The necessity
and inevitability
of the cross
in order to attain the glory of the resurrection (24:46): The cross was not
something like a last resort employed by Jesus when nothing else worked. It was
not only the greatest proof of God’s love for sinners but also was a part of
God’s plan
from all eternity. He opens their minds to understand the truth that glory could
come only through suffering and death (24:45). He enlightens their
minds to realize how God willed that sinful humans be saved precisely in
this manner and not in some other way. Passion-cross-resurrection (now called
paschal mystery) is the fulfilment of the whole of OT – the Law, the prophets
and the Psalms (24:44). Earlier also on the road to Emmaus Jesus had scolded two
fellow-travellers for not understanding the fact that suffering of the Messiah
was planned by God as testified by the Scriptures (Lk 24:27). Now he invites all
the eleven and their companions (including women, though not mentioned
explicitly) – who had gathered in an undisclosed location in
(3) The responsibility and urgency of continuing his mission that includes the following elements (24:47-48): (a) proclamation of his message; (b) calling people to repentance; (c) offering God’s forgiveness – now available because of Risen Christ’s victory over sin – to those who repent for their sins; (d) preaching and forgiving with the authority that comes from his name; (e) proclaiming his message to all nations (including the Gentiles), beginning from Jerusalem (the centre of Jewish faith and worship); and (f) becoming witnesses to his teaching and interpretation of the Scriptures (24:48). In simple terms, their message is this: “Because Jesus has risen, he has won a victory over sin. Now God offers an unconditional forgiveness to all those who believe in Jesus and repent for their sins. All that you have to do is to repent and accept his offer of salvation.”
4. Application to life
In the context of our faith in the Risen Christ, what exactly does his Easter greeting of peace mean for us? (1) It is an invitation for us not to allow our real and imaginary fears to take control of us, since we believe that God is in control of our lives. On the cross, it seemed as if God was out of control and could not save his Son. The resurrection proved that God does vindicate the just. The Risen Lord assures us, because he lives, he is present with us even when we feel his absence. When we entrust our entire life into his hands and allow him to do what he wants with us, where is the place for over-anxiety and hyper-tension? The peace that comes from this type of self-surrender brings us inner security just like a child feeling secure in its mother’s lap without any fetters, in contrast to outer security that comes from elaborate security-checks in our world. (2) Peace is also a greeting of God’s abundant blessings and promise of wholeness and wellbeing of body, mind and soul. Wellbeing and inner joy are experienced when we burn with zeal or enthusiasm for a cause. (3) Peace is also a challenge to become witnesses to his peace (Lk 24:48). Only when we share peace with those who are not so good to us or when we become peacemakers and refrain from becoming peace breakers, we become his witnesses.
As we read or listen to today’s gospel text we wonder at the Risen Lord’s symbolic invitation to his disciples to carefully observe the scars of wounds on his body by showing them his hands and feet (24:39-40). He might have shown them his nail-marks to remind them that redemption is brought about at a great price – through humiliation, pain, sorrow, suffering and a supreme sacrifice. It is a reminder for us that neither personal change nor social change can be attained without paying this price. Repentance – turning away from sin and turning to God in faith with a change in the direction of our life – cannot be achieved if we bypass the cross. We who have experienced God’s forgiveness in and through Jesus Christ cannot but heal the wounds caused by our broken relationships by forgiving those who have hurt us. Our world too, with so many wounds of divisions and conflicts, “stands in need of liberation” and a “healing touch” (as we sing in one of our hymns). We can become credible witnesses or signs of the presence of Risen Lord in our world by carrying forward his mission of reconciliation and liberation of the world from poverty, ignorance, violence, sin and evil.
Just as Jesus opened the minds of his disciples, today also he opens our
minds to understand the centrality and the necessity of the cross in our life. Cross was an integral part of Jesus’ life and will remain so in the life of his disciples. It
is no wonder that the shadow of the cross – in the form of sacrifices and
self-denials to be made; suffering, opposition, rejection, humiliation
and persecution to be endured
– always follows those who faithfully continue the prophetic mission of Christ. It is
inevitable
that anyone who works for God with total commitment and speaks for him or
stands for his cause will face the same ordeal. These crosses are essential to
bring about new life and transformation. God always vindicates the path
of righteousness chosen by his prophets and sees to it that the truth they
proclaim or uphold will finally win. Yes, the shadow of the resurrection and
the hope it generates is mingled with the shadow of the cross, if only one has
faith to see such a hope.
Tell me, where on earth can we totally escape from the shadow of the cross? Cross is both necessary and inevitable for any of the following matters:
(1) for a personal conversion, because we need to go through the pain of dying to our selfishness/egotism
or renouncing our sinful attitudes; (2) for social change and progress, because we may have to abandon
some of our deep-rooted and age-old social structures/ customs/ traditions and
give up evil practices that block such a change; (3) for maintaining an
atmosphere of love and unity in our families, because we need to give up our own
self-interests and sacrifice our time for genuine relationships; (4) for
fighting or protesting
against social evils, injustice, crimes, discrimination, etc.,
because we may have to face opposition, criticism intimidation and threats for
doing it ; (5) for bringing peace and reconciliation, because it demands the pain of sacrificing our
self-interests and the humiliation of forgiving a wrongdoer; etc.
When we go through the valley of darkness, it is very difficult to understand that the crosses in our life are signs of God’s love and plan, and that he wants to bring something good out of them. This is what Jesus was trying to explain both to the Emmaus wayfarers and to the eleven apostles and their companions as per today’s gospel. A question haunts the minds of every virtuous person even today, just as it might have haunted the disciples at his crucifixion: “Why should this particular tragedy/ misfortune/ terminal illness/ fatal accident/ injustice/ nightmare/ trauma happen to me? Do I deserve this ordeal? What wrong have I done?” Just as Jesus said that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer the agony of the cross in order to attain glory, can we turn back to our past life and say about a tragic/ sorrowful event or a bitter experience we had gone through, “It was necessary for me; it was for my good; I learned a lot from it; today I am what I am because of it?” Taken in this spirit, even our fault turns out to be a “happy fault” as the Easter Proclamation (called ‘Exultet’) says. It proclaims that Adam’s sin was truly necessary, because it earned for us so great a Redeemer.
I wonder whether I would have become a priest at all and would have shared this kind of Gospel Reflections with you if my father would not have died when I was two years old. My mother told me that he wanted me (his youngest son) to do higher (secular) studies to bring honour to his family and take care of it financially. I used to wonder why God took away my father at such a tender age because my mother and all of us had to undergo a lot of hardships in the absence of the head of our family. God had a different plan for me. Now I understand that my father’s death was necessary to realize God’s plan for me. He wanted to make me a priest and send me as a missionary to Odisha. After my father’s death, my mother inspired me to become a priest against my father’s wish. Of course, it has taken me so many years and so much faith to realize this. We need to take a great leap of faith to understand that whatever God does is for our good, if not at the moment of a personal tragedy, much later when our emotions get settled down. It is the Risen Lord who enlightens our minds to understand the meaning of suffering and its redemptive value. He assures us that we shall see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Like the disciples, we too have quite a few doubts and fears. We doubt whether our present condition will improve; whether a particular and acute problem will be solved; whether all our efforts will be fruitful; whether our plans will succeed; whether God will take care of our needs; whether there is a God who allows the just to suffer and why does he allow it; whether we shall see a corruption-free State; whether the terrorist activities and the rate of violence/crime will come down in the world; whether global warming and climate change will be contained; etc. When we are attuned to the voice of the living Lord coming to us through his Word, we get his invitation to move from doubt to faith in him. Just as he told his disciples as per today’s text, he tells us also: “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts” (24:38)? Then he invites us to experience his powerful presence in the Eucharist with all the tenderness: “Touch me and see” (24:39).
5. Response to
God's Word
Do we allow our fears to control our lives instead of entrusting our life to a caring and providential God? When doubts, trials and sufferings come, do we entrust our life into God’s hands in such a way that we allow him to do what he wants with us, instead of getting drowned in over-anxiety and hyper-tensions? Do we actively promote peace around us and refrain from becoming peace breakers at all cost? What are the wounds of divisions and conflicts in our neighbourhood or society that need a “healing touch?” How can we carry forward Christ’s mission of reconciliation and liberation in a world wounded by poverty, ignorance, violence, wars, sin and evil? What are the crosses that we think are inevitable and necessary to work out a personal and social change? When we reflect on tragic/ sorrowful events or a bitter experience in the past, are we able to say, “It was necessary for me?” What is our response to the Risen Lord’s question: “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?”
6. A prayer
Risen Lord Jesus, open my mind to
understand the place of crosses and suffering in my life as per your plan. Fill
me with your power so that I become a bold witness of change and reform,
forgiveness and reconciliation to all the people. Touch me and heal me so that
I may heal the broken world. Amen.
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