Homily for 3rd Sunday of
Easter Year B: Fr. Michael U. Udoekpo
Readings: Acts 3:13-15, 17-19; Ps 4:2, 4, 7-9;
1John 2:1-5a Luke 24:35-48
Lord, let your face of the Resurrection shine upon us!
The Responsorial Psalm of today, “Lord,
let your face shine upon us” (Ps.4) sets the tone for the joy of the resurrection
we celebrate on this 3rd Sunday of Easter. This song, “let
your face shine upon us Lord” is a metaphorical and trustful prayer of the
Psalmist on divine benevolence, his blessings, his peace and love. It is a
wonderful reminder of the priestly blessings of the Book of Numbers 6:24-26: “May
the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine upon you, and
be gracious to you; May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you
peace!”
Today we are asking for the face of the
resurrected Christ to shine upon each and every one of us; the poor, the rich, young and old of all nations and continents! Of course, the
resurrection of Christ is factual and truthful! It remains the source of our
hope, the channel of our faith, and the conduit of our joy and peace. It brings
us uncountable blessings including the courage to trust him, to know him deeply
and be able to bear witness to Christ in our daily lives and in our communities,
in good times and in bad times, in old age and when we are young!
In today’s Gospel the two Disciples
of Christ, who were on their way to a village of Emmaus, 7 miles from
Jerusalem, recounted how difficult it was for them, initially to believe
the stories of the resurrection, especially as first told by the women. They did not understand
its meaning not until Our Lord himself manifested himself to them in the breaking
of the bread. In the Gospel, while they
were conversing, the Lord appeared again and said to them “Peace be with you! Such an umbrella of blessings! Peace be with
you! He showed them the wounds inflicted on him on the cross by his enemies! By
those who misunderstood him. He also eat
baked fish in front of the disciples! He
shared scriptures with them, the laws of Moses, the Torah, and the Psalms. What
a blessings! In other words, he shone his face upon the disciples!
Christ’s appearances after his resurrection
brought strength and energy to his disciples.
It strengthened their faith, and opened their eyes to know the Lord more
and more. Of course sharing a meal with one another, especially with the poor
and strangers, is fantastic way of expressing love and witnessing to Christ. Sharing a meal with our neighbors closes or at
least narrows the gap of doubt among members of the community! It enhances
friendship and gives us opportunity to know one another better.
In the case of Peter, the resurrection
of Christ made him a better Peter and ardent witness to Christ as evident in
the 1st reading(Acts 3:13-15, 17-19). After the resurrection Peter went about preaching the glory of the
empty tomb and rebuked those who ignorantly put the innocent Jesus to death.
All these, however, happened so that what he had long foretold, that the son
man will suffer, die, and be raised on the third day, might be fulfilled.
Each of us are called not only to be
like Peter, but also like those two disciples on the way to Emmaus, allowing
our encounter with Christ, through the passages of scriptures, we hear and read and sing today, to change us. Like the Disciples
of Christ who knew Christ more and by sharing, fish/meals with him, we want to
be transformed with a better knowledge of Christ and his values each time we
receive the Holy Communion. Of course, as the 2nd reading of today
(1 John 2:1-5a) would put it, “the way we may be sure that we know him is to
keep his commandments”, the 10
commandments, the teachings and precepts of the church, often better summarized
as love of God and one’s neighbors!
Even if we are not able like Peter
to run around preaching on the streets, market squares, synagogues and churches,
we can as much as we can share our meals and clothing with the poor. We can reach
out to them through our friends. We can pray for peace in the world. We can
visit our loved ones in hospital and stop by their sick beds for a few seconds
of prayer and support! We can also forgive those who may have offended us in
one way or other. We can dispose our
heart for the word of God. We can pray for those we have offended, to be
merciful unto us. We can always trust in God’s benevolence, knowing that he
will always shine his face upon us!
“May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you,May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace!”
