3rd Sunday of Easter
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
OLR, NOLA
The
disciples are “startled and terrified.” They're troubled,
“incredulous for joy” and amazed. What has them all
discombobulated and witless? Days after his death and resurrection,
Jesus appears among them – in the flesh – and says, “Peace be
with you.” Believing that they are seeing a ghost, the disciples
freak out! And Jesus asks them, “Why are you troubled?” Well,
Jesus, maybe it's b/c you were scourged, nailed to a cross, stabbed
in the chest with a spear, buried in a new tomb, and then disappeared
after three days, leaving behind nothing but your burial clothes! Now
you're walking around, showing us your fatal wounds, and talking to
us as if nothing has happened. That's why were troubled! But Jesus
seems genuinely confused by their reaction to him, so he asks, “. .
.why do questions arise in your hearts?” See answer above: nails,
cross, spear, tomb, missing body!
Maybe a better question for us to consider is this: why
is Jesus confused by his disciples' surprise?
Why does he find it odd that they are frightened? After all, he
taught them that he must suffer, die, and rise again to fulfill the
law and the Prophets. Despite their dumbfounded surprise at his
reappearance, the disciples are witnesses to all these things.
And
so are we. No, we're not eyewitnesses in the same way that the
disciples were. None of us here were there back then to see and hear
the nails hammered into his hands and the spear pierce his side. BUT
we are witnesses now to the salvation his death purchased for us. We
are witnesses now to the mercy we've received b/c he freely chose to
become the Lamb of God. We are witnesses now to the love that both
the Father and the Son share with us in the Holy Spirit. We can speak
about our lives as sinners and give testimony to being freed from sin
and death through the waters of baptism. We can speak about the
challenges and victories of growing in holiness. We can speak about
the beauty of a life lived abundantly in God's grace. The truth we
find in the Word and the Sacraments of the Church. The goodness we
see in one another when we are at our best. And, yes, we can speak
too about our failures; those times we have been less than truthful,
those moments where we refuse to be charitable. We can even speak
about our doubts, our questions, and our battles to remain faithful.
Christian testimony is not propaganda bent toward making us Look Good
to the world. Christian testimony is truth-telling. Not “my truth”
or “your truth.” But The Truth!
This
brings us back to the disciples and their odd reaction to Jesus'
reappearance after so many days dead and gone. Jesus told them again
and again that he had to suffer, die, and rise again to accomplish
their salvation. He told them The Truth. Repeatedly. Their reaction
to his reappearance tells us that they didn't believe him while he
was with them. So, he returns – wounds and all – to show them.
But notice – not only does he show them his wounds as evidence, “he
open[s] their minds to understand the Scriptures.” He opens their
minds to Scripture to show them that “everything written about
[him] in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be
fulfilled.” In other words, he shows them the proof of fulfillment
written on his body, carved into his flesh, and teaches them –
again – that he is indeed the Messiah, the Holy One of God. We hear
Peter preaching, “. . .God has thus brought to fulfillment what he
had announced beforehand through the mouth of all the prophets, that
his Christ would suffer.” Suffer for what? For whom? For us!
Therefore, “Repent. . .and be converted, that your sins may be
wiped away.” We can bear witness to this truth.
As
we move rapidly toward Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit,
we can do a great deal of good by examining our witness to Christ's
sacrifice. Ask yourself: do
I live and speak in such a way that others can see and hear Christ in
me? Do
I live and speak in such a way that others see and hear the Father's
abundant mercy in me? Am I an instrument of grace for others? An
example? A model of righteousness? Or am I like the troubled
disciples, surprised by Christ and too afraid to come out of hiding?
Jesus says to his disciples back then and to us right now, “You are
witnesses of these things.” Therefore, bear witness and allow God's
love to be perfected in you!
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