This chapter is packed!
We have Luke’s account of the Resurrection in vv. 1-12.
Notice the first verse: on the first day of the week- that is, Sunday. The
significance here is huge for all sorts of reason. Think back to Genesis,
remember the 10 commandments, remember Jesus’s teaching about the Sabbath… this
was the only day that Jesus could have Resurrected from the dead- it just makes
sense. We now gather on this day to remember
the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, on this the first day of the week. I like
to think of it this way: Sunday does not mark the end of the weekend and Mass
is not the last thing we do before going back to work or school or whatever.
Instead, Sunday is the first day of the week in which we prepare for the week
ahead and receive our nourishment from God’s Word and Eucharist as food for the
journey as we make our way through the week.
Jesus first appears to a pair of disciples as they make
their way to Emmaus (vv. 13-35) and then to the rest of them in a locked room
(vv. 36-49). Luke notes that all fo this happens on Sunday afternoon and into
the evening.
Some salient points here: notice the emphasis on Jesus
“opening up the Scriptures” to the two disciples. Jesus unpacks for them the
Old Testament and in doing so makes room for the New Testament that will
become, in a way, our bread and butter by way of Scripture. That’s what we
strive to do every week when we gather for Mass. We ask the priest to open up
the Scripture for us so that may learn from Jesus and apply his teachings and
our faith in him to our everyday life.
Jesus then ascends into Heaven at the end of this chapter.
He has ascended but will indeed come back: his coming in the Pentecost which is
recounted in the Acts of the Apostles in a prefigurment of his second bodily
coming at the end of the age. And so we wait, confident in his promises. We
remember what he told us, what he promised us and we Hope in those things.
Point for Prayer
Risen Jesus, I hear your first risen word, Peace. I am
grateful for this most needed gift of peace. You reconcile me to you, to
others, and to myself. As your peace takes more and more possession of me, I
will be able to bring that to others. I praise you forever. Amen”(216).
No comments:
Post a Comment