08/05/2011 - 3rd Sunday in Easter Season - Year A
1Reading Act 2,14.22-33 Psalm 15 2Reading 1Pt 1,17-21 Gospel Lk 24,13-35
Peter having received the Holy Spirit, speaking to the "Men of Israel, proclaimed
Jesus. He is the one whom God has made as our savior. He is, therefore, the one
we need to know and love to be saved. Of Jesus one must know and accept the resurrection
worked by God, after men killed him instead. Work of men is to give death, work
of God, is to give life. If God has given life to the one whom men have killed,
it is a sign that the man is to be loved and accepted and heard. Today's Gospel
shows us Jesus who is known and recognized by two disciples in disbelief and crushed.
They saw his death and remained convinced that his death was the end. It was the
end of Jesus' life, but also of their hopes, of their expectations, of their faith.
Cleophas and his friend, walking toward a village in the countryside, are an example
of all men who have lost all hope and see only darkness ahead of them. But the two
on their way, are approached and questioned by a stranger who walks with them. They
listen to him and ask him questions, then he scolds them and instructs them. His
instruction is based entirely on the Scriptures, which they knew, but which they
had not yet taken seriously and hence, fully understand.
The method of this traveler, whom we know who he was, is all to learn. First we
need to read attentively the Scriptures and teach them with love. They are fundamental,
we cannot go beyond them. Even if one comes to believe in Jesus before knowing the
Scriptures, afterwards he must learn them to deepen his knowledge and his love to
the Lord. Knowing the Scriptures is to learn the faith of Abraham and his obedience,
the faith of Isaac and that of Jacob, who humbles himself in front of the pride
of his brother, but not in front of idolatry and oppression of the unjust stepfather.
Knowing the Scriptures means to marvel at the story of Joseph sold by his brothers,
who not only takes revenge against them, but blessed them, recognizing that all
his suffering was providentially willed by God for the good of the whole family.
Knowing the Scriptures means to follow closely the path of Moses, from the Nile,
in which he had been abandoned, to the border with the Promised Land. And then the
one to know the Scriptures, is the one who shares in the faith of Elijah and that
of Elisha, and listen to the prophecies of the life and of the writings of David,
of Isaiah, of Jeremiah, of Ezekiel and Daniel. In each of these events is hidden
the mystery of the risen Jesus. He has been obedient unto death, gave himself to
be humiliated, but knew how to resist the threats of those who accused him of being
unfaithful to God. He was present in the story of Joseph, sold like him, and more
than him, he was not only the savior of his brothers, but of all men. He is Moses,
who as a child was to be killed, but then he became the true shepherd and guide
of us all. He, more than the prophets, has shown where faith can lead, or rather
the Father's love to those who believe.
Through the Scriptures Jesus warms the hearts of the two friends resigned to the
worst, to the point that they invited him into their home to take bread with them.
Here occurs the miracle that has now been repeated every Sunday and every day. As
he breaks the bread they recognize him: it is Jesus who thought dead. Instead, he
spoke with them, enlightened them and now gives them food. And the miracle continues
into the night, they reverse their steps to meet the community of disciples gathered.
Those who meet Jesus no longer want to be alone, but look for other believers. Who
encounters Jesus becomes a means of communion even at the cost of great effort.
Have you ever seen those who have met Jesus? Have not you noticed how they try to
meet other believers to share their experience of faith? If you have not already
done so it is a sign that you have not yet met the living Jesus, or you met him,
but you have not invited to stay with you.
Jesus, come and walk with me, come and teach me, and I'll be in your church as one
who bears witness to you, to your presence, of your love, of your wisdom!