Acts 3:13-15,17-19

Chapter three of the Acts of the Apostles describes how Peter and John healed a lame man who sat begging each day at the gate of the temple. The people were astonished at this miracle. Peter used the opportunity to give a sermon encouraging the people to believe in Jesus. We hear a portion of his sermon in today’s passage.

1 John 2:1-5a

On the Sundays of this Easter season we are reading from the first letter of John. It was written for the community which produced the fourth Gospel. At the time, this community was seriously divided. Some members believed that as long as you had faith in Jesus, it didn’t matter what you did in daily life. Today’s passage refutes that opinion.

Luke 24:35-48

Bishop Untener's Homily

In the old days, the Bishop used to ask questions at a Confirmation. If I were to ask one today it might be: "Who was present in this room when Jesus appeared?" The answer isn’t given in today’s passage, but a few verses earlier Luke told us. He said that the two disciples from Emmaus "returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them."

A lot of followers of Jesus came with him when he left Galilee up north and came south to Jerusalem for the Passover. This included the twelve (now the "eleven") and many others who were not apostles -- regular folks like us. We’re all represented in this Gospel passage.

• It says that Jesus "opened their minds to understand the scriptures." He does that for all of us today, especially at Mass when the Word of God is proclaimed.
• It says that he sent them to be "witnesses of these things." We’re all sent to live this "way of life" in our regular lives.
• And in the next sentence after today’s passage ends Jesus says, "And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you." He’s talking about the Holy Spirit, and he sends it upon all of us.

These are great gifts he gives us – all of us – and during these 50 days of the Easter season we bask in them, enjoy them. During these 50 days of the Easter season we live in the wonder and awe of how important we are in God’s eyes, and how good the Lord is to us.

If I were to ask questions of you, there’s another one I might ask. "Why do you think this passage was included in the Gospel?" Now I have to explain that one. The Gospels include only a small part of what Jesus said and did. At the end of John’s Gospel the author says: "Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book." So, the authors had to pick and choose. They chose sayings and events that were especially important to our faith. So... what was important about this one? Why wasn’t it enough for Luke just to tell the story of the disciples who met the Risen Lord on the road to Emmaus?

When you give this some thought, it’s not too hard to figure out. Luke wrote his Gospel some 40 plus years after the death and resurrection of Jesus. Most Christians at that time were born after his death and resurrection, as we were. And it can happen that some people begin to think of the resurrection in what might be called "foggy" terms. Jesus "sort of" lives on as a human being. They might even say something like "his memory lives on."

Luke wanted there to be no mistake on this one. He wants everyone to know the identity and physical reality of the Risen Jesus. Jesus is more than a memory. Jesus lives, and not just in some vague existence, but as a human being – wondrously transformed – but still a human being... the human being who was born in Bethlehem, raised in Nazareth, who was a carpenter, who sailed on the Sea of Galilee, who ate and drank with sinners and, Luke wanted us to know this, who still eats and drinks with sinners at every Eucharist, namely us.

Luke wants us to hear Jesus say to us what he said to his followers gathered in that room: "Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have." Jesus is more than a memory.

The disciples caught on. In this scene Luke describes them as "incredulous." In the next scene Jesus ascends to heaven and, it says, "they did him homage." They recognized who he was and what he was – the Lord Jesus Christ wondrously and fully alive with a transformed human life.

Luke began his Gospel with a dedication to a certain "Theophilus," and says that he has written a narrative of these events in an orderly sequence "so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings you have received." Luke did it for all of us, so that our faith will not be foggy, vague – but strong, reassuring, and true.

Did you notice that in this scene not a word is spoken by anyone but Jesus? It is he who has come to them, not the other way around. It is he who takes all the initiative. It is he who provides the assurance.

During these 50 days of the Easter season we simply enjoy the Lord’s presence. It is the Lord who comes to us – especially in the Eucharist. It is the Lord who takes the initiative and blesses us with his presence. It is the Lord who provides the assurance.

We simply open ourselves up to receive it. We enjoy it. We take it all in. And we believe.

May this holy Easter season smile upon you. 

Originally given on May 7, 2000