Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Apr 19 - Easter Wednesday

+ This is the day the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it.

We have two beautiful readings today! In the first reading we see how the Apostle Peter, with John, offers a lifelong crippled man a gift that is beyond silver or gold: having the man look at them, Peter said: we do not have silver or gold, but we do have the amazing and dynamic power of the Risen Jesus to give you: and we give it – and in his name, we command you to rise and walk.

And the man arose and walked! In fact, he jumped around for joy and then walked into the temple with the two Apostles praising God. All who saw this were amazed because they knew this to be the man who had been handicapped since he was a baby!

The Church offers us the same amazing and dynamic power of the Risen Jesus in its sacraments and activity of self-sacrificial giving and charity – so that we can be healed of what cripples and handicaps us. All we need do is believe in the One whose power is at work: Jesus the Risen Lord of Glory, his Father and their Spirit. There is not enough silver or gold in the whole world that can buy what our simple response of faith can attain for us!

And of course, the gospel passage is the beloved story of the walk with Jesus with two dejected disciples on the road to Emmaus on Easter Sunday afternoon. These two are among the clear majority who are scratching their heads and hanging them heavy as it seems that their hopes in Jesus had been dashed to the ground.

He said he would rise on the third day. What happened? We do not see anyone! But then Jesus himself – in his Risen presence – comes and walks right along with them – and he engages with them in a dialogue in which he could refresh their memories about the fulfillment of the Law and Prophets that Jesus was supposed to be (still not revealing himself to them as the one to whom they referred); and then when they invited him into their house for supper, and when he took bread and broke it and gave it to them – thus truly revealing who he was – they did recognize himat which point he vanished from their sight!

Then comes one of the most beautiful lines in all of scripture: Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us? They knew without a doubt that the man who walked and ate with them was Jesus, Risen from the dead. And they left at once and went to Jerusalem to tell everyone what had happened: and how they recognized him in the breaking of the bread!

This of course, is the very pattern of our Mass: from that Easter Sunday afternoon we get the framework for what we do here: read and reflect on Jesus (as he is present in the words of the ministers and priest) who opens the Scriptures and interprets them for us; and in the breaking of the bread: where the priest – in the very person of Jesus – once again feeds us with his own risen and real Body and Blood – so that we can grow more and more daily to resemble him, so that the Father will see him in us, and will welcome us to heaven to spend eternity in a forever of joy and glory!

Let us give thanks to the Lord, and invoke his name today; and make known among the nations (including our own) his saving deeds!       Alleluia! Alleluia!


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