I remember when I was about 8 or 9 years old, I was in downtown Chicago with my mom. We were walking down a busy street when this very large man was crossing and coming toward us. My mom took my hand and leaned down to me and said in a very hushed voice: “You see that man coming toward us. Say hello to him and wish him a good morning.” My mom was a very vivacious friendly extrovert who never met a stranger. I was this shy introvert child who had trouble saying one word to anyone. Well, I knew this was something I had to do, so when the man reached us, I said hello to him and wished him a good morning. He responded to me with a big smile, “Well hello young man, good morning to you too.” As he walked away, I asked my mom why she wanted me to greet this stranger. She responded: “Doesn’t that man look familiar to you? That was Mayor Daley.” Looking back now, I cherish that memory, and it so reflect my mom’s friendly outgoing personality.
I did not expect to meet the mayor of Chicago crossing a busy street on an outing with my mom. The disciples did not expect to meet Jesus on the road to Emmaus as they fled the city of Jerusalem. They were sad, frighted, and dejected. The man who was their hero and spiritual leader had been put to death. Yet, they meet this stranger on the road who turns out to be Jesus. They were excited to tell their story to the rest of the group when they returned to Jerusalem. In the midst of this gathering, Jesus appears to them again. Luke’s Gospel states that “they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost.” Jesus showed them the wounds in his hands and feet, proving that he was not a ghost. He helped them delve into Sacred Scripture to understand what was happening and to allow them to grow in their faith and their belief.
Our life of faith can be full of surprises. It can be full of mystery as well. Perhaps we can better understand how we can approach our faith in the context of our first reading from Acts today. The crowds had just seen Peter cure a lame man in the name of Jesus in the Temple area. This miracle of healing drew the attention of the crowds. After talking about Jesus in relationship to the prophets and to Scripture, and explaining to them how the people were complicit in handing him over to death, Peter invites them to repent and to receive forgiveness from Christ, to believe in the new life he offers. I love the word “invite,” because Jesus invites us to believe and to enter into a relationship with him. The Church invites us into the community of believers, into the Body of Christ.
I know a lot people drove long distances to view the eclipse this past week. Some from the Jackson area drove as as far as Missouri or Arkansas or Texas to view this event. Someone who viewed the eclipse told me that it even moved her to tears, it was such a magical moment. And I am sure that photos and descriptions do not do justice as to what that event was like. A magical moment like the eclipse is like the mysteries of our faith that happen in our lives. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we never know who we are going to meet on our journey of faith. We never know how a certain prayer or passage from Scripture or spiritual book is going to touch us. We never know how God is going to touch us and speak to us on our journey. Celebrating the risen Christ in the Easter season is an invitation to open ourselves up to the mysteries of our faith, to those amazing faith experiences that await us.
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