When we gather
at Mass, our Eucharistic Feast,
Our
Thanksgiving celebration,
We express our
gratitude for all that God has given us.
One of those
gifts is the recording and the preservation
And the
interpretation
Of the history
of His relationship with His people.
The
Scriptures—and in particular the Gospels.
We’re now in
the midst of the Easter Season.
So, as we may
well expect, the Gospel passages selected for these weeks
Have been
saying a lot about the Resurrection.
And Jesus’
actions and words during those final days on earth.
The days between
the Resurrection and the Ascension.
Those topics
will continue through the remaining weeks of Easter.
Along with some
flashbacks to things Jesus said earlier,
About who he was.
About his
relationship to the Father.
And his
relationship to us.
The Church has
selected and organized these Gospel passages,
As well as other Scripture readings, for each Mass throughout the year.
They’re
compiled in the Lectionary that we
read from at Mass.
The Gospels are
also broken down and ordered in an additional book,
The
Book of the Gospels.
In today’s
Gospel we hear that Jesus opened the
minds of his disciples
So that they might
understand the Scriptures.
The Church
tries to open our minds to understanding the Scriptures.
It offers us
those installments, those episodes, each day.
(Of course, we’re
always free to read an entire Gospel from start to end.
And that’s something
we should do from time to time.
They’re not terribly
long.)
A few
years ago, I was surprised to learn from some Protestant pastors
That they all
follow a Lectionary that’s based upon ours.
Even though
they were Methodist and Presbyterian and Episcopalian,
They could
meet for coffee every week and share ideas about their plans
For preaching
the next Sunday.
So, the same Scripture
we hear at Mass is also being heard and discussed
At all Masses around
the world.
And at many
other Christian services around the world.
Following our
Lectionary,
We hear mostly from John during Easter Season.
But today we
hear from Luke.
The Scripture
readings sound very familiar.
Not only
because we hear them every Easter Season,
But also, because
they address the most central elements of our faith.
Truths we hear
repeated or supported in other parts of the Gospel.
And in our
Creed and in other prayers at Mass.
Affirmations
that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God—God Himself.
And that he
died for our salvation and rose again from the dead.
Another reason
today’s Gospel passage might seem particularly familiar
Is because we
heard a very similar passage from John just last Sunday.
Both Gospels give
their account of Jesus appearing to his disciples.
Suddenly
standing among them in their locked room.
In his
glorified human body.
Greeting them
with, Peace be with you.
Speaking of
the forgiveness of sins.
Showing them the
remnants of his crucifixion wounds.
Telling them
to go out and spread the Good News.
Last
week John added a few other details,
About Jesus
breathing the Holy Spirit upon them.
And about
doubting Thomas.
This week Luke
adds some detail about
The disciples
who had met Jesus on the road to Emmaus.
And about
Jesus eating a piece of fish to prove he wasn’t a ghost.
Depending on
which Mass we went to on Easter Sunday,
We heard from
Luke or Mark.
Those of us
who are able to go to daily Mass heard from
Matthew and
Mark during Easter Week.
We’ll hear
from Mark again on the Feast of the Ascension.
But this is
primarily the season of John.
As we see with
John’s and Luke’s accounts of the locked room,
The four
Evangelists don’t report exactly the same details
Throughout
their Gospels.
Matthew, Mark
and Luke are quite similar in their accounts.
They report
many of the same stories and statements,
In roughly the
same sequence.
John is less
similar to the other three.
But all four
give their account of the key truths of Jesus’ mission.
And the key
truths of the Easter Season.
They all tell
of the empty tomb;
The encounters
with the risen Jesus;
The disciples’
initial fear and disbelief,
And their
eventual, confident belief.
They tell of
our salvation;
Of the
institution of the Church;
Of God’s
continued presence with us through the Holy Spirit;
And of our
commission and call to go out and spread the Good News.
The
Evangelists wrote not just for their contemporaries,
But for future
generations—for us.
And sometimes they’re
surprisingly direct in addressing us.
They step out
of their narrator role
And deliver a
direct, personal message for us.
Of
the Evangelists’ motivation and purpose.
Addressing
us directly by the title Theophilus—
Which
means: Friend of God, or Lover of God, or
Loved by God.
Luke
tells us:
Since many have undertaken to
compile a narrative
Just as those who were
eyewitnesses from the beginning
I too have decided, after
investigating everything accurately anew,
To write it down in an orderly
sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus, So that you may realize the
certainty of the teachings you have received.
He
adds a note on the Evangelists’ purpose.
He
tells us:
Now Jesus did many other signs in the
presence of [his] disciples
But these are written that you
may [come to] believe
That Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of
God,
And that through this belief you
may have life in his name.
Matthew also, closes
his account of the Gospel with a personal message.
A directive
and an assurance addressed directly to us.
A message
found in all the Gospel accounts, but perhaps best presented
Here by
Matthew.
A call to action.
A call to
respond to the Good News we’ve received.
Matthew
doesn’t step out of his narrator voice like Luke and John did.
He instead
presents Jesus’ own final words at the Ascension.
Parting words
directed to each of us:
Go,
therefore, and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them
In
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit,
Teaching
them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And
behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.
Third Sunday of Easter
