Apr 26 2020 Reflection

Sunday 26 April 2020

First Reading: ACTS 2:14, 22-33
Responsorial Psalm:
Lord, you will show us the path of life.
PS 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11
Second Reading: 1 PT 1:17-21
Gospel Reading: LK 24:13-35

Today’s Note: Third Sunday of Easter

Gospel Reading:

That very day, the first day of the week,
two of Jesus’ disciples were going
to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus,
and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred.
And it happened that while they were conversing and debating,
Jesus himself drew near and walked with them,
but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.
He asked them,
“What are you discussing as you walk along?”
They stopped, looking downcast.
One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply,
“Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem
who does not know of the things
that have taken place there in these days?”
And he replied to them, “What sort of things?”
They said to him,
“The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene,
who was a prophet mighty in deed and word
before God and all the people,
how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over
to a sentence of death and crucified him.
But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel;
and besides all this,
it is now the third day since this took place.
Some women from our group, however, have astounded us:
they were at the tomb early in the morning
and did not find his body;
they came back and reported
that they had indeed seen a vision of angels
who announced that he was alive.
Then some of those with us went to the tomb
and found things just as the women had described,
but him they did not see.”
And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are!
How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!
Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things
and enter into his glory?”
Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets,
he interpreted to them what referred to him
in all the Scriptures.
As they approached the village to which they were going,
he gave the impression that he was going on farther.
But they urged him, “Stay with us,
for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.”
So he went in to stay with them.
And it happened that, while he was with them at table,
he took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and gave it to them.
With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him,
but he vanished from their sight.
Then they said to each other,
“Were not our hearts burning within us
while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?”
So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem
where they found gathered together
the eleven and those with them who were saying,
“The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!”
Then the two recounted
what had taken place on the way
and how he was made known to them in the breaking of bread.

Reflection:

Hear these words! (Acts 2:14)

Have you ever heard the word kerygma? It’s a Greek word that means “the proclamation.” The Church uses this word to describe the core message that Peter and the apostles preached after Jesus’ resurrection. Today’s first reading—from Peter’s Pentecost sermon—is one clear example of the Church’s kerygma, the key events that are at the heart of our faith:

• Jesus worked “mighty deeds, wonders, and signs” while he was on the earth (Acts 2:22). The Gospels are filled with stories of Jesus healing people, raising the dead, calming storms, casting out demons. All these miracles showed that Jesus was no ordinary man.

• Jesus was “delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23). Jesus’ death was not just a travesty of justice or an accident of fate. No, it was part of God’s plan. Jesus went to his death willingly, an innocent victim of the sin that was in the world, so that he could deliver us from that sin.

• “God raised him up” (Acts 2:24). Jesus is now risen from the dead. He broke the chains of death and revealed the promise of resurrection—both for himself and for everyone who comes to him. 

• Having ascended to heaven, Jesus has poured out “the promise of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:33). Because of that Spirit, every one of us can experience God’s life and love active within them. We can know forgiveness of our every sin, we can be filled with the hope of eternal life, and we can receive the power to live a new life here and now.

This kerygma is not just a set of truths to be believed. It’s the story of our redemption. It’s a series of promises that we can experience: Physical and spiritual healing. Forgiveness. Eternal life. The Holy Spirit.

This is your heritage. This is everything Jesus died to secure for you. This is how much he loves you and treasures you.

“Jesus, I am astounded at your love and generosity—toward me!”