Third Sunday of Easter (Year B)

 Third Sunday of Easter April 14, 2024

Acts 3:13-15, 17-19; 1 John 2:1-5; Luke 24:35-48

(Image courtesy: Google)

The grandfather of the Jewish philosopher Martin Buber was lame. Once day they asked him to tell a story about his teacher, and he related how his master used to hop and dance while he prayed. The old man rose as he spoke and was so swept away by his story that he himself began to hop and dance to show how his master did it. From that moment he was cured of his lameness. When we tell the story of Christ, we achieve two things. We enable others to experience him and we ourselves experience his power even more. We can see that happening in today’s gospel.

In the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we witness Peter’s bold proclamation of the resurrection before the people of Jerusalem. He fearlessly declares that Jesus, whom they crucified, has been raised from the dead by the power of God. Peter’s message is not one of condemnation but of hope and invitation to repentance. He urges the people to turn away from their sins and embrace the new life offered through Christ’s resurrection.

Like the people of Jerusalem, we too are called to confront our own sinfulness and turn to the Lord in repentance. The resurrection reminds us that no sin is too great for God’s mercy to overcome. It is a testament to the boundless love and forgiveness that God offers to all who seek reconciliation with Him.

The disciples who were on the way to Emmaus were in a way lame in their understanding the scripture. They met the risen Lord and experienced a great joy and in the breaking of the bread their lameness disappeared. They came back to Jerusalem to share their experience with the apostles. Verse 35 and 36 say, “Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread. While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you’” (Luke 24:35-36). The disciples shared what they had experienced. The eleven were just in imagination what could have happened on the way to Emmaus. With the appearance of Jesus, there was no more imagination. The Lord is with them. All that lameness vanished. Faith is strengthened.

It is important for us to ask, was it so necessary for the Risen Lord to appear to his disciples in Jerusalem? The answer is yes, it was necessary. Every appearance of Jesus ends with a mission. For the sake of that mission, it was necessary. The mission of the disciples is not just going around and saying something about Jesus. The verse 48 says, “You are witnesses of these things.” The disciples are called to bear witness to what they have seen and heard. This is very much evident in the preaching of Peter in Solomon’s Portico. That passage we have as today’s first reading. Peter who was a coward, now boldly proclaims the risen Lord before the leaders of Israel. He condemns the way they have crucified Christ. Peter proclaims to them the resurrected Christ. In verse 15 Peter with a great conviction tells them, “To this we are witnesses.” Peter and the disciples are witnessing the risen Lord in their preaching and teaching.

Our Christian living is marked with the experience of the risen Lord. In today’s second reading, John tells us that if we live a Christian life only in our intellectual level, saying, “I have come to know him,” but does not obey his commandments, is a liar,” (1 John 2:4). Then how should we live a Christian life? We are called to obey his commandment of LOVE. We are called to bear witness to the LOVE that God pours on us at every moment of our life. The consequences of bearing witness to LOVE are We enable others to experience LOVE and we ourselves experience his LOVE for us even more.

We ask for the grace that we bear witness to the LOVE.

Happy Sunday