April 7, 2021

Easter Wednesday

1st Reading: Acts 3:1-10

Calling on the name of Jesus, Peter cures the lame man at the temple gate

One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, at three o’clock in the afternoon. And a man lame from birth was being carried in. People would lay him daily at the gate of the temple called the Beautiful Gate so that he could ask for alms from those entering the temple. When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked them for alms. Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.” Then he took him by the right hand and raised him up; and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. Jumping up, he stood and began to walk, and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. All the people saw him walking and praising God, and they recognized him as the one who used to sit and ask for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Responsorial: from Psalm 105

Response: Let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice

Rejoice, O hearts that seek the Lord
Give thanks to the Lord, invoke his name;
make known among the nations his deeds.
Sing to him, sing his praise,
proclaim all his marvellous deeds. (R./)
Glory in his holy name;
rejoice, O hearts that seek the Lord!
Look to the Lord in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly. (R./)
You descendants of Abraham, his servants,
sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!
He, the Lord, is our God;
throughout the earth his judgments prevail. (R./)
He remembers forever his covenant
which he made binding for a thousand generations—
Which he entered into with Abraham
and by his oath to Isaac. (R./)

Gospel: Luke 24:13-35

They recognised him at the breaking of bread

Two of the disciples of Jesus were on their way to a village called Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking together about all that had happened.
Now as they talked this over, Jesus himself came up and walked by their side; but something prevented them from recognising him. He said to them, ‘What matters are you discussing as you walk along?’ They stopped short, their faces downcast.
Then one of them, called Cleopas, answered him, ‘You must be the only person staying in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have been happening there these last few days.’ ‘What things?’ he asked. ‘All about Jesus of Nazareth’ they answered ‘who proved he was a great prophet by the things he said and did in the sight of God and of the whole people; and how our chief priests and our leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death, and had him crucified. Our own hope had been that he would be the one to set Israel free. And this is not all: two whole days have gone by since it all happened; and some women from our group have astounded us: they went to the tomb in the early morning, and when they did not find the body, they came back to tell us they had seen a vision of angels who declared he was alive. Some of our friends went to the tomb and found everything exactly as the women had reported, but of him they saw nothing.’
Then he said to them, ‘You foolish men! So slow to believe the full message of the prophets! Was it not ordained that the Christ should suffer and so enter into his glory?’ Then, starting with Moses and going through all the prophets, he explained to them the passages throughout the scriptures that were about himself.
When they drew near to the village to which they were going, he made as if to go on; but they pressed him to stay with them. ‘It is nearly evening’ they said ‘and the day is almost over.’ So he went in to stay with them. Now while he was with them at table, he took the bread and said the blessing; then he broke it and handed it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognised him; but he had vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road and explained the scriptures to us?’
They set out that instant and returned to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven assembled together with their companions, who said to them, ‘Yes, it is true. The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.’ Then they told their story of what had happened on the road and how they had recognised him at the breaking of bread.

A life-changing encounter

The Emmaus story is a living parable for Christian discipleship. It suggests that if we travel life’s journey in company with others, sharing our faith and doubts with them, Christ will be walking beside us, opening our minds to his saving truth. Just as he gave understanding to the two on the road to Emmaus, so he does for all who take time to listen to him. His promise remains, “I am with you, always!” In those early years they had many proofs of his powerful presence, as seen by various miracle stories in the Acts of the Apostles. Today’s story dramatises Peter’s healing powers once he called on Jesus’ name. Not only is the crippled man cured, he jumps up and enters the temple with them, leaping and praising God. The people’s amazement gives Peter a chance to explain to them the source of his healing gift: he has it from the risen Christ, now even more effective than he was during his mortal life.
Spiritually, we are all on an Emmaus journey, a camino or pilgrimage of faith. We may be perplexed by some of the things that happen to us, maybe the loss of a job, a career failure, even the collapse of a relationship or being let down by friends. We have been shocked by sexual-abuses in our own Church. We are rightly troubled by new viruses spreading in our world, by the injustices in society, climate change and the ongoing destruction of the environment. When so much of the outlook seems gloomy we may feel as helpless and downcast as those two disciples on the road. Like them, we need the light that Christ offers. When we cannot make sense of things we need to lean on him for support. We need to search the Scriptures together and enjoy his company in the breaking of bread. And then we can go out and share his good news with others.
The two disciples were leaving Jerusalem because it had such painful memories for them. It was just outside the city walls that the one they loved and trusted, whose message gave such hope and meaning, had died. Jerusalem had killed not only Jesus but the hopes of his friends, and cast a shadow over them.
Although they didn’t realize it at the time, Jerusalem was not just the place where Jesus was put to death; it was also the place where he rose from the dead and where the risen Lord would gift them with his Holy Spirit. It was the centre from where his message would spread out to the world. The Lord journeyed with these two disciples to help them to see that there was more to Jerusalem than they realized. Often the places we try to get away from, which seem dreary and dark, are where the seeds of new life will be found, for God can always bring light out of darkness.