Homily [A] 3rd Sunday of Easter
Year B: Fr. Michael Ufok Udoekpo
·
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 ate
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. Chris reassures us that the author of life. 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 an 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 is 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, the Jesus of the Gospel and Acts of the Apostle witnessed by Peter is
the Jesus of the 2nd reading that had washed away our sins. We are
called to know and trust him.
As
the 2nd reading (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!”
Reflection Questions:
- 1. How often do we recognize God’s Plan, His Will and His Hiddenness in our Lives?
- 2. How often do we see ourselves in the Disciples on the way to Emmaus?
- 3. And how often do we assist suffering members of our faith community to see their fates and challenges in light of God’s plan of redemption?
·
Acts
3:13-15, 17-19;
·
Ps
4:2, 4, 7-9;
·
1John
2:1-5a
·
Luke 24:35-48
Christ,
Author and Prince of Life!
Another way of looking at today’s scriptures,
as a whole, is by recognizing from our different areas and walks of life the
thematic unity of divine necessity, plan, will, promises and fulfillment evident,
particularly in the Gospel and in Acts of the Apostle. In these readings God has
a plan for his son and for us that must surely come to pass. The events of Good
Friday and the joy of the Easter Sunday-Resurrection are good examples for us. The Christ
crucified, is alive as planned by God in his redemptive planning. This makes His Incarnate- Son the author, founder and prince of life
(archēgon tēs zōēs) for those who believe in him and trust in God’s plan
of salvation (Acts 3:13-15, 17-19).
This is Luke’s message in today’s worship. As
noted in Luke 24:35-48, 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. While they were conversing,
as any of would do, the Lord appeared again and said to them “Peace be with
you! He showed to them how wounded he was on the cross by those who misunderstood
him. He also ate baked fish in front of the disciples to prove to them
that he was truly alive. He shared scriptures with them. In v. 44 he reminded them that the laws of Moses,
the Torah, and the Psalms and prophetic messages, about him, the messiah, were
meant to be fulfilled (plērōthēnai).
In the 1st reading, Luke’s 2nd
volume, Peter, in his preaching and speech in the temple area, understood,
demonstrated that God has a plan of salvation for us, for the church, that goes
back to the stories of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob Moses, and the prophets recorded in the Old Testament scriptures. These stories
have been fulfilled in the events of Christ, that the Messiah will be persecuted,
crucified on our behalf (1 John 2:1-5a), but will rise again as the author and
prince of life ([archēgon tēs zōēs] for believers (Acts 3:18; cf. Stephen
and Paul speeches as well in Acts 7 and 13).
I have no doubt the resurrection of Christ made
Christ’s disciples (those women, those on Emmaus journey, Stephen, Paul),
including Peter, better disciples. It strengthen them and increased their hope
and faith in the Risen Lord! Each of us is 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 scriptures we hear and read and sing today, to change
us, strengthen our faith and urge for holiness and longing for the kingdom,
everlasting life, with the author of life, as stressed by Pope Francis in his
Apostolic Exhortation, Gaudete et Exultate (2018).
Granted that we are confronted with daily
challenges of loss of our loved ones, jobs, threat of wars, terrorism, violent,
selfishness, inhumane acts etc. we
should not forget that the Author of life is in our midst. Again, even if we
are not able like Peter to run around preaching on the streets, temple areas,
market squares, synagogues and churches, as much as we can, with perseverance,
patience and meekness 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 and plans. These are all signs of our recognition that,
Christ, the Messiah, and the Author of life is Alive in our midst, where ever
we are.
“May
the Lord, the Author of Life bless you
and keep you.
May he make his face shine upon you, and be
gracious to you,
May the Lord lift up his countenance upon
you and give you peace!”
Reflection Questions:
- 1. How often do we recognize God’s Plan, His Will and His Hiddenness in our Lives?
- 2. How often do we see ourselves in the Disciples on the way to Emmaus?
- 3. And how often do we assist suffering members of our faith community to see their fates and challenges in light of God’s plan of redemption?
