3rd. Sunday of Easter (A)
(Acts
of the Apostles 2:14, 22-23; 1st. Peter 1:17-21; Luke 24:13-35)
As the two disciples walked towards
Emmaus they discussed Jesus and the events of His life and death so recently
experienced in Jerusalem and now so sorrowfully remembered. Reminiscences
though, no matter how loving, are not faith … how many lapsed Catholics fool
themselves by pretending that reminiscences of that sort show that though they
no longer go Church on Sundays, though they no longer receive Jesus in His
sacraments, though they do not always obey all (!) His commands, nevertheless
they still have true faith in their hearts! They could well say with the
two on the way to Emmaus in the Gospel story, not using indeed the same words:
We had hoped that He was the one to redeem Israel;
but expressing the same general
appreciation of Jesus from their life in the Church: ‘We had once hoped
to experience something of the presence of Jesus, we had hoped to find
joy and inspiration in our practice of the Faith but …
How did Jesus bring back those regretful
men bound for Emmaus? How does He seek to draw back our modern-day lapsed
Catholics?? How does He lead His faithful to what is better today???
He opened the meaning of the Scriptures
to those ‘Emmaus-bound disciples’ and they felt their hearts begin to warm
within them, ‘burn within them’ indeed. Their faith was being
rekindled! Nevertheless, Jesus would have gone on further, alone, and
they would not have recognized Him at all, had they not recognized and
appreciated the gracious gift they had been given.
This Man had found them ‘looking sad’ and
now as He was on the point of leaving them their hearts within them felt
strangely uplifted. They recognized that as a gift they had been
given and they felt they should acknowledge it; in fact, they positively wanted
and willed to show Him their gratitude so:
They urged
Him, ‘Stay with us, it is nearly evening and the day is almost over’.
Dear People of God, perhaps few of our
modern-day lapsed Catholics will ever turn to the Scriptures searching for God,
but nevertheless, they and we should always remember that that is where Jesus
can most certainly be found to guide and heal any who choose to seek Him there;
again, how many of our lapsed brethren are able, spiritually sensitive enough,
ready and willing, to experience and appreciate God’s blessings in their lives
as true blessings for which they must give thanks!
Notice, dear People of God, that Jesus
kindled their faith through an appropriate understanding of the Scriptures, and
that is what He is trying to do with and for each one of us who we today hear
Mother Church’s chosen readings and sometimes homilies during the sacrifice of
Holy Mass. Jesus is targeting you whether you have heard those readings
until you are ‘sick’ of hearing them, or whether you like the priest or not,
whether you think his words are convincing, his person acceptable enough, or
not …. Despite all that Jesus is targeting you at this time!!
However, it was in the sacrament itself
that the disciples actually recognized, found, Jesus their Lord and
Saviour. People of God, we must approach the sacrament – the
Eucharist – as indeed all the sacraments of course, with a faith and love
prepared to manifest themselves in obedience to God’s commands if we wish to
recognize Christ truly and embrace Him sincerely.
There are other considerations that could
be taken up from our readings today, for example, turn over in your minds the
fact that Jesus accompanies us – as He did those two going to Emmaus – if we
walk our way of life thinking on, communing with, Him whenever we find ourselves
free to share a moment or two with Him. And, of course, He guides us as
we read, study, turn to, the Scriptures… but make sure that you do not start
anything so formal and deliberate ‘expecting, demanding’ to hear, feel,
something from Him! Just do it like the blind beggar Bartimaeus (Mark 10:
46-48) who heard that Jesus was passing by and simply put himself in Jesus’
way by crying out:
Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!
Many ‘Catholics’ today are too
embarrassed, afraid to ‘draw attention to themselves as being Catholic.
Bartimaeus, however, had no such fears about what people might think of him,
indeed, about what people – even disciples – might say to him! It was
supremely important for him to draw Jesus’ attention! Jesus can most
surely be found, be it in the Scriptures or be it in life, by anyone who
can imitate that blind beggar.
And finally, Jesus gives Himself to us
in the Eucharist! The priest says before communion, ‘Lord, I am not
worthy that You should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul
shall be healed.’ But Jesus will have none of that! He doesn’t
simply want to simply heal, He wants to incite love in us by offering us His
own supreme and most Personal love. ‘Say only the
word’? Not enough!! I want love from you! Yes, love for Me,
and, with Me and in Me, love for My Father and for your Father!
