Third Sunday of Easter

Luke 24:35-48

Dear Friends, In chapter three of the Book f Genesis Adam and Eve eat the apple in the hope of “By the sweat of your face shall you get bread to eat, until you return to the ground from which you were taken; for you are dirt and to dirt you shall return.” (Gen 3:19) And so death entered the scene!

becoming God. The rest of the chapter lays out in broad strokes the consequences of their illusion of self grandiosity which we call sin. The ultimate result is in 3:19:

Then in chapters four to eleven in Genesis evil crescendos from the murder of Abel by Cain to the destruction by the flood and finally to the pervasive chaos of the tower of Babel.

Then in a total change of events Abraham pops onto the scene at the beginning of chapter twelve and is given a call and a promise. This saving action of God is the foundation of the whole Bile that leads to the saving presence of Jesus. Thus the Resurrection needs to be understood as God’s response to the sin, evil and death that came from our first parents. The Resurrection is the divine answer to the mystery of good and evil. God has spoken the last word and it is not death but life. Injustice, conflict and division, violence and poverty will pass to the new reality of healing and mercy, reconciliation and peace.

In the Resurrection all things have changed. The Church invites us to ponder, reflect and pray about this great reality for the seven weeks of Easter.

So in today’s Gospel as the two disciples of Emmaus join the others, Jesus appears and says, “Peace be with you.’ (Lk 24:36) There is no finger pointing, no judgment of their cowardice and fear and ignorance. The greeting of peace is a simple, profound acceptance of their broken humanity and invitation to healing and change.

“Then Jesus opened their minds to understand the scriptures. And he said to them ‘Thus it is written that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all nations.’” (Lk 24:45-47) 

So we too must have our eyes opened to the scriptures. The journey from the fateful apple of our first parents to the fried fish of our Risen Savior in today’s Gospel, is a journey of the saving and merciful grace of a loving God. We are called to new life and new hope. The closed door of death has become a passageway to new life without end in the Risen Christ. Alleluia!!