Homily Third Sunday of Easter (Lk. 24:35-48) “How Can I Know Jesus?
Homily Third Sunday of Easter (Lk. 24:35-48) “How Can I Know Jesus?”
Most of us have experienced picking a stranger up at the airport. If it is a crowded airport, we might want clues as to how we will recognize the person we are supposed to meet. Maybe we are told by the traveler, “I will be wearing a blue suit.” Maybe we will say in return that we will be holding a sign with their name on it. We must have some way of recognizing a passenger we have never seen, or not seen for a long time.
When we hear the resurrection accounts in the Gospels during Easter Season, we have a recurring theme. The Apostles do not recognize Jesus, or they are afraid of him. The Gospel today says that the people gathered in the upper room are startled and terrified when Jesus appears. Obviously, he looks different than when he was alive. How he looks different is never fully explained.
How do the Apostles come to recognize Jesus? We could say there are three clues. Clue number one is that he explains the scriptures to the disciples. He tells them that all that has happened, his arrest, conviction and execution, was supposed to happen because it was predicted in the Old Testament. He reminds them he had warned them before he died several times about the scandal of the cross.
The second way the disciples recognize the risen Lord, is through the Eucharist. We are told in several of the resurrection accounts that the risen Jesus ate with his disciples. His actions during the meal cause the disciples to identify him. Sometimes he breaks the bread a certain way. Other times it is just how he eats a piece of fish. The people who he appears to have eaten with him dozens of times. His mannerisms at table rituals confirm his identity.
The third way that Jesus reveals his identity is that he shows them the wounds of the crucifixion. We hear about that in the Gospel we read today. He encourages the apostles to put their fingers into his wounds to feel his flesh. We are left to wonder why the glorified body of Jesus was not made whole. In the Gospel accounts it is important fact that the wounds of Jesus remained after the resurrection.
We have an old movie that is shown repeatedly on television that is very Christological in its tone. The movie is called the Green Mile. The story is about the interaction between death row prisoners and their guards in a southern penitentiary during the depression of the 1930’s. A new prisoner comes on to death row who is named John Coffee. He is a large black man. He is a frightening figure. He gigantic person who has to duck to get into his cell. He is supposed to have murdered two children, yet he is soft spoken and gentle. No one knows where he has come from. He seems to have dropped out of the sky. As the movie progresses it is obvious that he has been falsely convicted.
John Coffee has miraculous powers. He knows what is going to happen before it happens. He can heal people who are deathly ill. The guards come to see him as a man of God. You can tell that they start to wonder if they are dealing with Jesus reincarnated. One thing that stands out about John Coffee is that he has scars all over his body. He also has suffered from emotional trauma. He wants a night light on when he sleeps. He cries easily. He seems rather depressed about the sin he sees in the world. By the end of the movie the guards are not frighted by John Coffee at all. His physical and emotional scars cause them to love him. And they are saddened when they must put him to death in the electric chair.
The apostles lose their fear when they probe the wounds of Jesus. What might this teach us? We might learn first that trying to be perfect does not lead to peace of mind. We are less fearful of people when we freely admit our wounds. We are more at home with people who admit that they do not know everything. As Christians we need to learn the lesson of vulnerability. When we become open with others, we become less fearful. We then have nothing to hide. We expend a lot of energy by trying to project an image of competence and confidence.
Our wounds are what make us real. When we are willing to let others touch them, it opens avenues of understanding. Jesus walked with people in their brokenness. He understands our scars because he has his own. His wounds are hard to look at. When we are willing to touch them and see them while considering our own struggles it changes us. We no longer fear the Lord, but we begin to fall in love with the Lord. As Paul writes in Romans 8:
“I am certain that neither death nor life, neither angels nor
Principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor powers,
neither height nor depth nor any other creature, will be able
to separate us from the love of God that comes to us in Christ
Jesus, our Lord.”
Reflection Questions:
- Am I more comfortable with a wounded savior? Why or why not?
- Do I feel comfortable sharing my shortcomings with others? What takes more energy to hide my faults or to be honest?
Dear Parishioners,
This week removal of the asbestos at the rectory on 17th avenue will be complete. We then will be tearing down the building beginning the first of June. Our plan is to level the site and to continue the planning for the gathering space. We are presently starting to work with an architect.
As I have sat at meetings during the past few months it has been said several times by the contractors on our facilities committee that one of ramifications of the COVID 19 pandemic and the resulting recession is that the cost of building materials (wood, steel, concrete, etc.) has increased dramatically if these materials are available at all. This has slowed construction of new buildings. Factories have been shut down, goods are not being delivered from other countries and a host of other problems have developed that were not anticipated two years ago. People who were planning to build new homes have had to call off their projects because of these issues.
Our facilities committee and development committees are analyzing the situation. The hope is that cost of building materials will decline. There is no way of knowing. I am very confident in the leadership of the parish as we wrestle with these unexpected surprises. We all pray for wisdom as we move forward with our building plans. No one could have predicted the issues which we now face.
The first two tiers of our three-phase plan have been achieved. The good news is that we have been close to budget. God has blessed our efforts. I will be having a more detailed summary of our costs for tier one and two projects in the bulletin soon. We have just gotten some final bills for the new rectory apartment in the Lee Center this week.
May Our Lady and all the Angels and Saints watch over you this week.
Fr. Mark