Cosmos-Liturgy-Sex

Here is the Third Sunday of Easter reflection, the last for this particular series.

You Are Witnesses to These Things

Rev. Msgr. Stuart Swetland, S.T.D.

Third Sunday of Easter, April 30

Acts 3:13-15; Psalm 4:2, 4, 7-8, 9; 1 John 2:1-5a; Luke 24:35-48

Today’s Gospel reading begins with two disciples explaining to the rest gathered in the upper room, how in the breaking of the bread, they had recognized the risen Christ who had joined them on their journey to Emmaus. All of the disciples had gone from anguish with Jesus’ death, to amazement and confusion with Mary Magdalene’s announcement that Jesus was alive and with Peter’s and John’s discovery of the empty tomb. Jesus met up with these two as they had walked, though they did not recognize Him. Still unknown to them, Jesus explained to them those Scriptures that had predicted the Messiah must die. However, they did not yet recognize him. It was not until Jesus gave thanks and broke the bread during supper that they realized who he was.

As the disciples in the upper room are listening to this second testimony that Jesus is alive, Jesus appears to them all and announces “Peace be with you.” Peace is a common oriental greeting; however, this peace is God’s shalom. Shalom is something real and substantial; if it is not received it will return to the giver (cf. Mt 10:13). It is shalom the world cannot give because it is real communion with God through the Holy Spirit (cf. Jn 14:25-27). Jesus had promised them this peace before he died, and he now confirms in their presence that his promise is fulfilled. The disciples’ response is one of terror; they still do not understand what all of this means. They do not yet receive this peace.

Jesus reassures them by showing them his wounds and by taking and eating some fish, confirming to them he is no ghost. Emotions in the upper room go from sheer terror to unbelievable joy, yet they still do not fully understand. Luke points out that it is not until Jesus opens their minds to the Scriptures that they come to understand. The first step was openness and trust in the Person of Christ. The second step is the reception of God’s grace. The understanding that comes from faith cannot be taken, it must be received as a gift. But this gift of grace ought not to lie fallow. John Paul II explains that faith is one of the few things that increases as you give it away.

St. Luke immediately connects this understanding of faith to the gospel proclamation: that the Christ had to suffer and die so that repentance and the forgiveness of sins might be preached to everyone in the world. The disciples “are the witnesses of these things.” In other words, they are the ones who are to spread this “good news” to everyone. It is not accidental on this Third Sunday of Easter, that the Gospel reading connects the first post-Resurrection Eucharist celebrated with the disciples on their way to Emmaus with the mission of the Church to take the gift of grace she has been given to go and preach to the nations.

We sometimes call our celebration of the Sacrifice of the Mass the Resurrection Feast. Christ’s death and resurrection is what we celebrate during this Easter season in a special way. Now, the term Mass comes from the Latin said at the end of the liturgy, ite missa est for “it is the dismissal.” Scholars find that this phrase was very early on connected to the understanding that the grace we receive through the Sacraments is meant to strengthen us in holiness but also such that we might be strengthened to go out and share the truth of the gospel with those in the world. Thus when they heard “dismissal,” these Latin speaking Christians heard not so much that the Mass was ended but the charge of a mission. We all are sent forth to give witness by word and deed.

This Sunday at Mass, remember that we are being given the grace to open our minds so as to understand the meaning and reality of the “good news.” We ought to take this grace with us, go out into the world, and bear witness to this truth. After all, we “are witnesses to these things”!