During the Easter season, we will hear about different occasions in which the
disciples have a difficult time recognizing the identity of the resurrected
Jesus in their midst. We
hear of such an occasion today in our Gospel account of the disciples traveling on the road to Emmaus. Like
those disciples, we might have difficulty seeing Jesus in our midst sometimes. It is easy for us to see Jesus at work in
certain people, such as the way Mother Teresa worked with the poor or the way
some of our public school teachers devote their lives to nurturing and
educating the children and youth of our community.
But
do we see Jesus in those who challenge us or who are perhaps on the
margins of our society, such as in the homeless person who is struggling with a
drug or alcohol addiction, in the young man in prison whose anger has gotten
himself into trouble yet another time, in the immigrant who is struggling to
feed his family and to build a new life for himself in our country, in the
youth who is lashing out at the world and trying to sort out all the confusing
messages he hears in society, or in the young woman who faces an unplanned
pregnancy and who is considering an abortion? Can
we see Jesus in all people, in the commonness we share with them as part of
God's creation, in the calling all of us have in reconciling our humanity in a
return to a spiritual wholeness with God, our Father & our creator?
Jesus
aligned himself with the least in his society, with those at the margins, with
those who were struggling to find God in their lives, and even with those who
had turned their back on God. He
ate with and befriended tax collectors, prostitutes, & Samaritans – those
viewed as ritually unclean in ancient Israel. Jesus
tried to ease the burden of those that suffered. He
stood in solidarity with the outcasts and the marginalized. He
brought healing and forgiveness to those who were ill in mind, body, or spirit.
Where is Jesus present in our lives in a way
that perhaps we are overlooking him? May we
know Jesus through the many surprising ways he is present to us in our
daily lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment