Third Sunday of Easter Year B | Homily for 14th April 2024

 

My dear friends today we celebrate the Third Sunday of Easter Year B and the readings take us deeper into the mystery of the resurrection. In the first reading taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we have excerpts from the speech of Peter after a crippled beggar is healed. Peter insists that it is God who has performed the miracle and not himself. By recalling the names of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, he reminds the people of the long relationship that Israel enjoyed with Yahweh and how it was God who was faithful even when the people were not. Peter points out that the people were responsible for handing Jesus over to death despite Pilate’s verdict that Jesus was not guilty. Instead of the Messiah, the people demanded the release of Barabbas, a murderer. Though the early Christians saw the suffering and death of Jesus indicated in Old Testament prophecies, the Jews did not expect a suffering and dying Messiah. In the latter part of the reading, Peter calls the people ‘friends’ and accepts that they acted in ignorance and that the suffering of Christ had long been foretold by the prophets. Their ignorance, however, is not sufficient to remove their guilt. Repentance is required.

There are two aspects of repentance. the first is to turn away from sin, and the second is to turn to God.  To ‘repent’ is not just to express sorrow; it involves re-establishing one’s close relationship with God and submitting totally to his Way. Without turning to God, without surrendering to him we will not be able to change our lives. It's quite intriguing to think of what would we do if Jesus were to come in the flesh again into our world and do the things he did back then. What would our response be if he criticized our present social and religious norms? What would our response be if he criticised our present value systems? What would our response be if he criticized our consumeristic lifestyle and attitudes? What would our response be if he criticized our approach to our support staff and those who work for us?  Jesus was a radical figure for his times, to say the least. He ruffled many feathers back then and certainly, he would do that even today. We have to be aware of the fact that though we would like to identify more with Peter who speaks about Jesus, quite often we resemble the people in the crowd who rejected Jesus. Just as repentance was required of the people back then, repentance is required of each one of us today. We are invited to take a critical view of our lives today and ask ourselves in which area of our life is God inviting us to repent?

The second reading taken from the first letter of John continues developing the idea that 'God is light and there is no darkness in him.' All those who walk in light and do what is true have fellowship with God and with one another and all their sins are cleansed by the blood of Jesus. John exhorts every member to not sin. However, in case someone sins, then one should not despair, because we all have Jesus as our advocate by the Father and he has offered the atoning sacrifice for the sins of human beings and the whole world. Thus true Christians are exhorted to acknowledge their sins and depend on redemption brought by the death of Jesus on the cross.

John then tries to answer the question, how can one be assured that one knows God? Or how can one be assured that one is a Christian?” Some people back then were saying that they had knowledge of the Lord Jesus and that their knowledge was superior to all others. Perhaps John’s church was confused by such things. So John wanted to show the church how to know who knows the Lord and who does not. The litmus test is “Do you keep God’s commands?” Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. John testifies that those who truly know the Lord are those who obey his commands. When we know the Lord, we also know his great love and sacrifice. Knowing him and obeying him are not a burden but a joy— a joy to walk as he did. How did Jesus walk? Jesus walked in love and obedience to God. Jesus walked in compassion and forgiveness. Only if we can walk like Jesus can we be called Christians.

The gospel taken from Luke continues from the narrative of the two disciples' encounter with Jesus on their way to Emmaus. Jesus appears to the fearful disciples and greets them with peace. What follows then is quite an interesting exchange, and even humorous if you will, between Jesus and the disciples. Blame it on poor lighting perhaps, the disciples think that the resurrected Jesus was in fact a ghost. Jesus then has to show his wounds to them to prove that he was in fact not a ghost. And in case, there was any more doubt left, he ate fish in their presence. What is the significance of Jesus appearing in the flesh and showing them the wounds which he suffered on the cross? If we make a distinction between the historical Jesus and the eternal Jesus and say that the Jesus who died belongs only to the historical past and the one whom the disciples now follow is the eternal Christ, then the Christian life can take on forms of spirituality that are centred on the self - spirituality which does not include suffering for others, a spirituality without a cross, one without the need to get involved in the issues of life in this world. There can't be a Jesus without the wounds of the nails.

One of the greatest difficulties of the first Christians was that of accepting the Crucified as the promised Messiah because the Law taught that a crucified person was a “person cursed by God” (Deut 21:22-23). Jesus shows them what had already been written in the Law of Moses, in the prophets and the Psalms. Jesus risen from the dead, alive in their midst, becomes the key to opening to them the total significance of Sacred Scripture. Jesus’ life does not simply help us comprehend ancient Scripture’s true meaning, it also points us to the future. That’s why Jesus concludes with the charge to his disciples to be witnesses, proclaiming repentance and forgiveness to all nations in his name. He commissions us to bear witness to his life, ministry, and resurrection. Jesus still needs witnesses today. We who have received the gift of faith must share it with others. We need to ask ourselves, does my life reflect the resurrected Christ? We are witnesses not based on what we know, but on who we are, how we live, and our relationship with the risen Christ. Jesus is really real and truly alive! How could we perceive Jesus in our day-to-day lives? Where could we touch the hands and feet of Jesus today? Where and how could we provide food for the risen Jesus in our world today? I pray that through repentance we continue to grow deeper into this mystery, and may our lives be a witness to the resurrection of Jesus. May God bless us all.