May 8: Third Sunday of Easter

Scripture readings:

• Acts 2:14, 22-33
• Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-11
• 1 Peter 1:17-21
•  Luke 24:13-35

 

Synopsis:
Sin is separation from God, the consequence of which is death. After death there’s no more hope; the sinner is lost to God forever. But not any more! Jesus Christ exploded all that when he rose from the dead, shattering sin on the hard wood of the cross.

In this week’s first reading we hear Peter’s first public proclamation of the Gospel, which he delivered to a large crowd of pilgrims who had come to Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost. Peter tells them that even though Christ had been crucified, it was impossible for death to hold him. He could not be held by death because he was one with the Father from all eternity.

When we invoke God as “Father” we are united with his Son who ransomed us from futility and death. Therefore, as Peter says in the second reading, we are to “conduct ourselves with reverence.” Because we “believe in God who raised (Jesus) from the dead” we are moved to conduct ourselves accordingly, as sons and daughters of God destined for eternity (see Wis 2:23). 

This week’s Gospel is one of the most memorable accounts of the Resurrection. The road to Emmaus story reflects the pattern of Christian worship that’s defined the Church’s liturgy from the beginning.  Having witnessed Jesus’ death two days before, the two disciples are inconsolable and unable to recognize Christ. They are gradually led to an awareness of the risen Lord as he “breaks open the word” to them, explaining how the Scriptures anticipated everything that had happened.

But it’s not until he breaks bread with them that their eyes are opened and they fully understand. The proclamation of the word is completed by the Eucharist.  Together they constitute a single act of worship by which we, like the two disciples, come to recognize the risen Lord.

Key verse:
“Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the Scriptures” (Lk 24:27).

Catechism of the Catholic Church:
“The Church has always venerated the Scriptures as she venerates the Lord’s body. She never ceases to present to the faithful the bread of life, taken from the one table of God’s word and Christ’s body” (No. 103).

Pope Benedict XVI: 
“Word and Eucharist are so deeply bound together that we cannot understand one without the other: the word of God sacramentally takes flesh in the event of the Eucharist. The Eucharist opens us to an understanding of Scripture, just as Scripture for its part illumines and explains the mystery of the Eucharist. Unless we acknowledge the Lord’s real presence in the Eucharist, our understanding of Scripture remains imperfect” (“Dei Verbum,” 55).

Life application:
The liturgy of the word and the Eucharist are inseparable. The homilist should always strive to show the connection and catechize the faithful by “breaking open the word” for them. But we must do our part, too. Attentive listening and active participation are necessary. If you want to get the most out of Mass and the homily, spend some time reflecting on the Sunday readings sometime during the week, preferably in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

 

James Cavanagh is director of Evangelization and Catechesis for Metro-area Parishes of the Denver Archdiocese. Cavanagh’s column is distributed by the Denver Catholic Register.