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Reflection By Bev O'Brien
First Reading Acts of the Apostles 3:13-15. 17-19
Second Reading 1 John 2:1-5
Gospel Luke 24:35-48
In today’s Gospel reading Luke tells us that the disciples are all gathered together again in Jerusalem (following Jesus’ death and his resurrection), discussing the empty tomb, the news brought to them by the women who had gone to the tomb and the appearance of Jesus to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus and how they recognised him in the breaking of the bread.
Then Jesus is suddenly amongst them. How hard for the disciples to get their heads around the appearance of their friend and teacher in their midst. Today we’d be suspicious of special effects or artificial intelligence or Candid Camera. Would we have needed to touch and feel Jesus’ crucifixion wounds, to help us begin to accept this seemingly impossible situation?
And then . . .
. . . Jesus explains his resurrection as the fulfillment of the Law of Moses, in the Prophets and in the Psalms. How awesome would it be to have been there to sit at Jesus’ feet and hear his life and ministry explained in that way by himself! Jesus ‘opened their minds’ to understand the scriptures. It was so necessary for the disciples to have this knowledge and understanding; to know that in Jesus’ name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all nations, beginning right where they were, in Jerusalem.
And then . . .
. . . You are witnesses to this.
And here’s the challenging bit for us. I dare say that there’s quite a large number of us who feel that they ‘are not qualified’ to be preaching the Good News of Jesus to anyone else (perhaps the disciples felt that way at first, too). How fortunate are we that some among us have answered God’s baptismal call to take on the challenges of the priesthood and the diaconate!
So, that leaves all the rest of us! How may we by our actions, by our lives, bear witness to the Good News of Jesus? I feel that God calls on each one of us to respond with affirmative action, and that often we are asked to participate in and assist others in ways that are ‘outside our comfort zones’. I’ve come to suspect, over the years, that being comfortable isn’t high on God’s list of priorities for us. When we respond gracefully to pleas for help to be active in our parish life by assisting Father in the many and varied roles that help keep a parish and a diocese alive, then we are responding to our baptismal calling, and we are surprised by what we can do after all.
When we are asked to help, perhaps we’re like the disciples, we become agitated and have doubts rising in our hearts. When we respond positively to being asked to be witnesses I’m certain that, like the disciples, we too will be astonished by a joy so great we can hardly believe it. May we be prepared to respond with a ‘yes’ to God each and every day of our lives.
