Sunday April 14th, 2024
Third Sunday of Easter
Reading 1
Peter said to the people:
"The God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,
the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus,
whom you handed over and denied in Pilate's presence
when he had decided to release him.
You denied the Holy and Righteous One
and asked that a murderer be released to you.
The author of life you put to death,
but God raised him from the dead; of this we are witnesses.
Now I know, brothers,
that you acted out of ignorance, just as your leaders did;
but God has thus brought to fulfillment
what he had announced beforehand
through the mouth of all the prophets,
that his Christ would suffer.
Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away."
This reading is Peter’s response to today’s Gospel. Go ahead and ‘skip ahead’ and read the Gospel. Jesus physically presents himself to the disciples. While in their midst He opens God’s Word fulfilled to them. As you have been walking with me in Lectio Divina, in what way has the Lord revealed Himself to you and opened your eyes and heart to the truth of His Word? How can you be Peter? You don’t have to proclaim it in the streets or church, but what is one way that you can share what God has shared with you?
Responsorial Psalm
R. (7a) Lord, let your face shine on us.
When I call, answer me, O my just God,
you who relieve me when I am in distress;
have pity on me, and hear my prayer!
R. Lord, let your face shine on us.
Know that the LORD does wonders for his faithful one;
the LORD will hear me when I call upon him.
R. Lord, let your face shine on us.
O LORD, let the light of your countenance shine upon us!
You put gladness into my heart.
R. Lord, let your face shine on us.
As soon as I lie down, I fall peacefully asleep,
for you alone, O LORD,
bring security to my dwelling.
R. Lord, let your face shine on us.
Place yourself in the “shoes” of the psalmist. How does this Psalm begin? What state of mind is the psalmist in? What happens as the psalm progresses?
Reading 2
My children, I am writing this to you
so that you may not commit sin.
But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous one.
He is expiation for our sins,
and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.
The way we may be sure that we know him is to keep
his commandments.
Those who say, "I know him," but do not keep his commandments
are liars, and the truth is not in them.
But whoever keeps his word,
the love of God is truly perfected in him.
It is Easter and not Lent. I am going to encourage you with the Easter message of this letter. Do not get hung up at the conclusion of this scripture, “but do not keep his commandments are liars.” Step back to the Easter message of this letter, “But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. He is expiation for our sins.” Brothers and Sisters, we are all going to have triumphs of faith and we are all going to have failures of sin. In both we rejoice in Jesus the righteous one Who made the victories possible and Who makes the failures redeemable.
Gospel
The two disciples recounted what had taken place on the way,
and how Jesus was made known to them
in the breaking of bread.
While they were still speaking about this,
he stood in their midst and said to them,
"Peace be with you."
But they were startled and terrified
and thought that they were seeing a ghost.
Then he said to them, "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."
And as he said this,
he showed them his hands and his feet.
While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed,
he asked them, "Have you anything here to eat?"
They gave him a piece of baked fish;
he took it and ate it in front of them.
He said to them,
"These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you,
that everything written about me in the law of Moses
and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled."
Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
And he said to them,
"Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer
and rise from the dead on the third day
and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins,
would be preached in his name
to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things."
I love the line from earlier in this Gospel that is shared between the two disciples who were on the road to Emmaus, “Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked to us on the road, while He opened to us the Scriptures?” This life of Christianity often echoes this Gospel. We have highs and we have lows. It can sometimes feel like a seesaw, the change of disposition can be so rapid. Have you ever had the experience of the truth of scripture just tugging at your heart, perhaps your own heart burning with the truth of it. Suddenly it all seems to fit, we can see so much more clearly from the elevated perch of our teeter totter. Invariably we are pulled back to earth by some earthly struggle or opposition. Our hearts turn from burning with truth to doubt and questioning in a moments notice. What is one piece of scripture that is burning your heart with its truth right now? Write it down on a piece of paper with Jesus’ words below it, '‘Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your heart?” Spend time with this paper each day reminding yourself that Christ overcame this world so that we could too.
