Luke 24:35-48
Luke 24:35 The two disciples told what had happened on the road, and how Jesus had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
Luke 24:36 While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 37 They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate in their presence.
Luke 24:44 Then 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, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46 and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.
Luke 24:36 While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 37 They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate in their presence.
Luke 24:44 Then 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, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46 and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.
It is not easy to believe in the Risen Jesus. Ultimately it is something that can only be grasped and understood though the faith that Jesus himself awakens in us. If we never experience within ourselves the peace and joy that Jesus fills us with, it will be difficult to find proof of his resurrection from outside sources.
Luke wants to say something like this in today’s gospel. The disciples all have different stories to tell. They don’t know what to make of it all. Then Jesus appears in the midst of them and says: “Peace be with you”. To awaken our faith in the Risen Jesus it is important to be able to sense even today his presence with us and to spread around in our groups the peace, joy and security it gives us to know that he is alive, always close to us in these difficult times for our faith
Faith in the risen Christ does not come to us in a fixed or automatic manner. It begins to form in our hearts in a small and fragile way. As with the disciples, faith ordinarily grows in the midst of doubts and questions: is it true that something so great is possible?.
To believe in the Risen Christ is not something that happens in a day. It is a process that may take years. What matters is our inner attitude: always trusting in Jesus and making much more room for him in each of our hearts and in our Christian communities.
JOSÉ A PAGOLA—Following in the Footsteps of Jesus, Year B
In the gospels there is no great public event announcing a victory of epic proportions. The resurrection appearances are intimate experiences amongst his friends and followers. In our lives too, resurrection happens on a deeply personal level. Easter is not based on fantasy, it is rooted in experience. Those who experienced the presence of the risen Jesus were utterly transformed. It was a life-changing encounter which set hearts on fire.
We are continuously in a cycle of life, death and resurrection; we see it most clearly in nature. Death leads to new life. We can read about resurrection but only the raw experience of this cycle can help us to grasp the mystery. It does not leave us untouched, but rather makes a difference to who we are becoming.
Reflect on your experience of this cycle of life, death and resurrection. Hindsight helps us to realise where we were at any given moment. What emotion arise? Where do you see the Risen Christ present?
TRÍONA DOHERTY & JANE MELLETT - Go Deeper
This is the last scene in Luke’s gospel and is therefore a very important moment for presenting the themes at the heart of Luke’s proclamation one more time. It may be worth repeating again that the Resurrection Appearance Narratives are special to each gospel, reflecting the theology of the writer and the concerns at the time of writing. The first sentence comes from the end of the Emmaus story and makes an important link with this narrative.
From a technical point of view this is a conclusion with three functions:
KIERAN O’MAHONY OSA—tarsus.ie
Luke wants to say something like this in today’s gospel. The disciples all have different stories to tell. They don’t know what to make of it all. Then Jesus appears in the midst of them and says: “Peace be with you”. To awaken our faith in the Risen Jesus it is important to be able to sense even today his presence with us and to spread around in our groups the peace, joy and security it gives us to know that he is alive, always close to us in these difficult times for our faith
Faith in the risen Christ does not come to us in a fixed or automatic manner. It begins to form in our hearts in a small and fragile way. As with the disciples, faith ordinarily grows in the midst of doubts and questions: is it true that something so great is possible?.
To believe in the Risen Christ is not something that happens in a day. It is a process that may take years. What matters is our inner attitude: always trusting in Jesus and making much more room for him in each of our hearts and in our Christian communities.
JOSÉ A PAGOLA—Following in the Footsteps of Jesus, Year B
In the gospels there is no great public event announcing a victory of epic proportions. The resurrection appearances are intimate experiences amongst his friends and followers. In our lives too, resurrection happens on a deeply personal level. Easter is not based on fantasy, it is rooted in experience. Those who experienced the presence of the risen Jesus were utterly transformed. It was a life-changing encounter which set hearts on fire.
We are continuously in a cycle of life, death and resurrection; we see it most clearly in nature. Death leads to new life. We can read about resurrection but only the raw experience of this cycle can help us to grasp the mystery. It does not leave us untouched, but rather makes a difference to who we are becoming.
Reflect on your experience of this cycle of life, death and resurrection. Hindsight helps us to realise where we were at any given moment. What emotion arise? Where do you see the Risen Christ present?
TRÍONA DOHERTY & JANE MELLETT - Go Deeper
This is the last scene in Luke’s gospel and is therefore a very important moment for presenting the themes at the heart of Luke’s proclamation one more time. It may be worth repeating again that the Resurrection Appearance Narratives are special to each gospel, reflecting the theology of the writer and the concerns at the time of writing. The first sentence comes from the end of the Emmaus story and makes an important link with this narrative.
From a technical point of view this is a conclusion with three functions:
- To sum up: Jesus, the prophetic messiah, who started his ministry in Luke 4:16 and died as a martyr prophet like Stephen, in presented again in the light of the Old Testament.
- Elaboration This is focused on the disciples’ experience of the risen Lord. In the previous story the presence is highly elusive and in this story, very natural questions about the reality of his risen state are addressed.
- Engage the emotions: If you look back over the text, many words of emotion are to be found: peace, startled, terrified, doubt, joy, repentance, forgiveness. In the authors mind the disciples are now engaged as witnesses to the one they have directly encountered.
KIERAN O’MAHONY OSA—tarsus.ie
POINTERS FOR PRAYER
JOHN BYRNE OSA—Intercom
General Comments
On this Sunday we are still meditating on the resurrection of Jesus. As always, the secret of good meditation on this feast is to remember our own experiences of death and resurrection.
- Verse 35 is the conclusion of a previous incident. The two disciples had met Jesus when they were on the road to Emmaus. They had had a long and fruitful meeting with him but only came to recognise him at the breaking of the bread - a clear reference to the Holy Eucharist celebrated by the communities of Christians.
- When we are not expecting it to happen, even a good event can startle us. So it was with the disciples when Jesus appeared to them. He sought to calm them and helped them to see the good news behind what had initially alarmed them. Who has been a Jesus person for you by helping you to find meaning and good news in life?
- Jesus helped the disciples to find new hope, but he did not give them easy answers. He asked them to see the facts before their eyes. He wanted them to learn from the lived experience they were having. As a parent, teacher, friend or guide, have you been a Jesus person to another, helping him/her to find hope and purpose in life by learning from his/her experiences? Who has done this for you?
- Jesus opened their minds to ‘understand the scriptures’, and the effect was transformative. Perhaps there have been times when a new and deeper understanding of scripture has had a transformative impact on you. Recall the experience and give thanks for those who opened the scriptures for you.
- The resurrection experience empowered the disciples to be witnesses. Unexpected possibilities for the future surfaced when it seemed that hope had gone. When have new possibilities opened for you after a ‘resurrection’ experience: recovery of health when it did not seem possible, new opportunities after failure or disappointment, inner healing after a deep hurt, etc?
JOHN BYRNE OSA—Intercom
General Comments
On this Sunday we are still meditating on the resurrection of Jesus. As always, the secret of good meditation on this feast is to remember our own experiences of death and resurrection.
- Verse 35 is the conclusion of a previous incident. The two disciples had met Jesus when they were on the road to Emmaus. They had had a long and fruitful meeting with him but only came to recognise him at the breaking of the bread - a clear reference to the Holy Eucharist celebrated by the communities of Christians.
- Verses 36 to 43: Jesus interrupts the conversation of the disciples by appearing to them. He greets them with his customary words , "Peace be with you", telling them that they can be at peace with themselves, with one another and with God. They were in a state of "alarm and fright" but he spoke to them with patience and compassion.
- Prayer Reflection
- Lord, we remember with gratitude our resurrection experiences:
- one of our children was at death's door but got well and healthy again;
- failure left us down-hearted, our self-confidence destroyed;
gradually we got back our enthusiasm and felt able to take on new challenges;
- we hurt someone dear to us and thought we could never be friends again,
but we were forgiven and it was as if nothing had ever come between us;
- we spent years in bondage to drink or drugs;
we thought we could never get out of it; then someone restored us to healthy living.
We remember now the wonderful moment when we knew that life had come back.
We thought at first we were seeing a ghost, we were agitated and felt doubts rising in our hearts.
Hesitantly we were able to touch and see for ourselves.
Our joy was so great we still could not believe and stood there dumbfounded. - MICHEL DE VERTEUIL—Lectio Divina on the Sunday Gospels, Year B