In our busy world, most of us are pulled in many directions; it seems like we finish one thing and we're already doing the next thing on our to do list. During Lent, we practiced the Lenten disciplines of fasting, prayer, and penance. On Easter weekend, the joy of the risen Lord entered into our hearts. But, Easter is more than Easter morning. Easter is a season that lasts all the way to Pentecost. During the Easter season, our Sunday readings tell us about the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus, helping us to reflect upon what the risen Christ means to us in our lives of faith.
Why would we need any further explanation? Christ has risen: is that so complicated? Peter tells us in the Acts of the Apostles in our Sunday readings that the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus. Christ is risen, but what did this mean to the followers of Jesus right after his resurrection? What does it mean to us today? That is what these post-resurrection appearances in the readings of the Easter season help us figure out.
There are a lot of emotions in today's Gospel, feelings that some of us also might have in our own lives. The disciples were terrified, thinking they had seen a ghost. They are troubled and skeptical. After seeing Jesus’ hands and feet, after starting to realize who he truly is, they are amazed and incredulous. The disciples are coming to terms with what the resurrected Jesus is all about; this is a radical new reality. Perhaps. we, too, wonder what relevance the resurrection has for us, how the risen Christ can transform our reality.
Luke's Gospel tells us that the risen Jesus personally opened the minds of the disciples to the fuller meaning of the words he spoke during his lifetime. He offered a deeper understanding of the prophets, the psalms, and the law in the Hebrew Scriptures that he had fulfilled. The experience of the risen Christ for these original disciples and for those of us who follow Jesus today is to open our minds and hearts to this.
Blessings to all of you on this third weekend of the Easter season as we make sense of the reality of the risen Christ in our lives.
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