Third Sunday of Easter
Some things are meant to be savored. It takes time and gentle reverence to allow goodness to come to the surface. Maybe that’s the way we come to know the most important things in life.
If that’s true then we’re still moving toward an answer in response to that common question, “What just happened?” This is a great question still lingering for us in this third week after Easter. After all, why not mull over and savor something so “other worldly” as our belief that Jesus the Son of God died out of love for us and rose from the dead?
When searching for truth, we need the word of a reputable witness to point us in the right direction. We can be grateful that our Scripture readings for today provide this powerful testimony coming from firsthand experience.
Our first witness is St. Peter, the professional fisherman. He tended to say and do, immediately, even if it meant learning the hard way. He was an impulsive man. The Gospels show Jesus having to correct and redirect some of his immediate responses. However, after the death and resurrection of Jesus, Peter experienced an inner transformation. He became a man committed to his word. By preaching and writing he stood on his word and testified fearlessly that this Jesus indeed was the Son of God and moreover had risen from the dead.
Today’s Gospel about the journey to Emmaus, often considered a baptismal catechesis, is a thrilling and revealing experience that unfolds in front of us. It starts when a stranger is invited to join a personal faith conversation on the road. The conversation moved from personal grief and disappointment to awesome insight when the stranger shows them an expanded view of the Scriptures. The Word of God shared and applied suddenly moves the hearts of the recipients to offer hospitality, which is brought to perfection in the breaking of the bread.
We are there in the marvelous insight of the story that arches across the centuries to involve us. We cannot remain as mere spectators. We feel drawn into the scene which reveals the Risen Lord in the breaking of the bread. With hearts burning inside us, we now have the courage, the gift, and the desire to share what we know with our fellow travelers all the way to our eternal home.
Reflection by Fr. Daniel Petsche, OSB
Posted in Article for Easter, Daily Reflections