Just a Closer Walk With Thee: Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Easter

 Acts 2:14, 22-33

Ps 16:1-2,5,7-8,9-10,11

1 Pt 1:17-21  

Lk 24:13-35

 

“Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and proclaimed . . . . “

 

Is this the same man who denied Jesus three times? Is this the same man whose incomprehension provoked Jesus to say, “Get behind me satan?”  Is this the Peter, who swore he did not know this Jesus of Nazareth now proclaiming that He is risen from the dead?  

 

Peter, whose nerve failed him at the first hint of threat, is now professing Jesus as the one  of whom David spoke.  Fearful of being known as one of His disciples 

while huddled around a fire in the courtyard of the Chief Priest during Jesus' trial, 

Peter is now preaching what, to many ears, was blasphemy. He was telling all who could hear that Jesus had risen from the dead.  Talk about a makeover! What did Peter look like as he made these bold and dangerous statements? What was his body language?  He probably did not resemble the cowering man in courtyard who said, “I do not know Him.”  Something fundamental had changed.  The change was not subtle. Peter was taking an enormous risk when he spoke the way he did. Now guided by the Holy Spirit it is obvious that Peter understood that which he had failed to comprehend earlier.  

 

The scene is expertly set for contemplation.  One can sense the men's despondency. Their weariness is palpable. There are hints of disbelief and fear 

as they make seven mile journey from Jerusalem.  Are they walking away from Jerusalem because their hopes have been destroyed?  Are they retreating because Jesus was not the Messiah of their dreams?  What were they “conversing and debating” about?  Conversing is a neutral word but debating suggests disagreement and attempts by each to change the other’s mind.  

Who was winning?   

 

They became silent when Jesus appeared. They were shocked that the stranger 

was not aware of the events in Jerusalem. Like the entire Jewish nation the two disciples had hoped for the Messiah.  Many of those hopes were driven by the politics of the day; and by Israel's desire to be free of the yoke of Roman domination.  They hoped that the one of whom David spoke would be a perfect combination of military leader, super-politician, and social reformer.

 

We want all of that today, but we also want the one of whom David spoke 

to have a sufficiently relaxed moral compass that would enable him endorse any course of action no matter the fundamental wrongness of the act.  

Anyone who calls out the wrongness of abortion, killing the sick elderly, or the evil of preparing children for so-called sex reassignment is castigated by some as being non-Christian and lacking in love. 

 

Jesus fulfilled none of Israel's expectations or demands.  Jesus will fulfill none of those expectations today.  Given that he seemed to be apolitical it is ironic how often Jesus’ message is politicized and twisted to promote a particular agenda. 

 

One of the disturbing pronouncements of today is the thunderbolt judgment: 

"You cannot call yourself a Christian if you do not  . . . . . .  (fill in blank with  pet agenda)."  This kind of statement is breathtakingly manipulative. 

 

Jesus was not the Messiah Israel wanted.  He was the Messiah Israel needed. 

Jesus is not the Christ we want Him to be; He is not the Messiah we try to force Him to be in our attempts to remake God in our own image.  He is the Christ we need, but we are unwilling to allow him to be that Christ. 

 

When we pray we are on the road to Emmaus.  In prayer we are able to recognize the One who joins us along the way.  We continually meet Him on the road though we may not recognize Him at first.  We encounter Him in a particular 

and intimate manner every time we partake of the Eucharistic Feast, in the breaking of the bread.  

 

Recall the dialog just before communion as the Sacred Body and Blood of Our Lord are elevated above the altar. 

 

"Behold the Lamb of God, 

Behold Him who takes away the sins of the world. 

Blessed are those who are called 

to the supper of the Lamb." 

 

And attend to the response you give.

 

"Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, 

but only say the word and my soul shall be healed."

 

He is Risen.  He is truly Risen.  Alleluia, Alleluia. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpjf_t5tU9w

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The photos are from Loyola, Spain in 2019 (last time I was out of the country).  

Tabernacle at the main altar in the basilica. 

The chapel in which we had daily Mass during the conference. 

A stone staircase leading to the basilica. 

Graveyard on the grounds. 

Gate to another part of the graveyard. 

Fr. Jack, SJ, MD