April 23, 2023

3rd Sunday of Easter

Our Journey

Deacon Kevin O’Boyle

Good Morning.

On this third Sunday of Easter, we continue our celebration of our Lord’s Resurrection. But our readings today take us from the first Easter Day to the First Pentecost, to a selection of Peter preaching the Resurrection. All emphasize the Resurrection, yet from slightly different times and places.

Our first reading from Acts is the story of Peter’s speech to the people in Jerusalem at Pentecost. The Apostles have just received the Holy Spirit and Peter is out preaching the Good News of Christ’s Resurrection to the crowds. Our second reading, while attributed to Peter, may in fact have been written down by his scribe or other.author and was likely done a significant time after Pentecost. The Gospel returns to the first Easter, but miles away from Jerusalem, on the Road to Emmaus. While varying in place and time, each of these messages add importantly to the story of Christ’s Resurrection and what it meant not only to the people of his day, but down through the ages to us. While time and space differ, the stories all reflect timeless central messages of Christ’s death and resurrection. And perhaps, in a way, that helps make our Gospel’s story of a journey an apt way to reflect on how our Lord’s triumph over death impacts our own lives. But first, let’s grab some pieces from the first two readings.

As I said, the first reading from Acts happens at the very beginning of the Apostles’ post Resurrection ministry. They are just emerging from the upper room after receiving the Holy Spirit. Political winds are still blowing against them, by the same powers that put Jesus to death. Yet Peter, empowered by the Holy Spirit, tells the crowd that the Jesus they crucified is now Lord and Messiah—and that they should repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus. The city is still full of travelers for the feast of Pentecost. They have journeyed and witnessed the horrors of Good Friday and are now challenged to accept the Resurrection and their own guilt. This feast has certainly been a special journey for them.

In our second reading, a writing attributed to Peter, word travels to the Gentile converts in Asia Minor urging them to be open to the God that raised Jesus from the dead. That their faith and hope will be in God. In essence they are called to listen and observe God acting that they might believe in Him who, in his great love for us sent his only begotten son to show us the path to God.

Finally, in our Gospel, the disciples are met on the road to Emmaus by that same Jesus who opens their minds to the scripture that speaks of him. It is often said that the Road to Emmaus story traces for us the order of mass. There are two stages- the liturgy of the Word that we experience first in every mass, and the liturgy of the Eucharist—the sacred food we share. What better way for us to prepare for our role as spreaders of the Word than by attending mass and receiving the Eucharist.

Each of us travels on our own path in life. As we sit together in this Church, we can say that at least to some extent each of us has encountered Christ in our lives. Perhaps, as frequently is the case, this was through our parents. Maybe it was a teacher, a friend, an ordained or lay minister, or even a book. Somehow the journey of our lives has intersected with faith and hope in Jesus. What is important today, as we hear stories of so many falling away from the search is that we realize that our own journey of faith was somehow sparked by another—and that we have the duty as Christians to share that spark with others. That does not mean you have to preach the Gospel with words, although there is nothing wrong with that. It does mean that we are called in our journey of life to give example to others, that they too might be attracted to what we believe. Christ told us to love one another, and that we would be known by that love. In a world sadly scarred by war, violence, abuse, poverty, and horrors such as abortion, we are called to let our voices be heard for love and the value of and sacredness of all human life. As Christ opened the hearts of the disciples on the road to Emmaus, and Peter called for repentance, let our actions and words, always couched in love, help others on their journeys. We have heard about several journeys today that were critical to the spread of faith. The journey of the people to Jerusalem for the feast who heard from Peter. The journey of those Gentiles in Asia Minor, where the words of Peter journeyed to and uplifted them. And finally, the road to Emmaus where Jesus himself opens the hearts and minds of the disciples he meets along the way. In every case, there are those who spread the word, and those who receive it. As we travel on our life’s journey, we will, at different times, be called to give the Word of God by our actions and maybe our voice; or to receive God’s word from another. In both cases, this may be by word or action. We must always be open to and live in God’s love while we discern the messages of our lives, and our role in giving or receiving them. Either our own souls, or the ones we are to spread Christ’s love to, are counting on us. And that is something to think about this week.

God Bless.