*****
“The disciples recounted how they had come to recognize him in the breaking of bread…”
“Breaking bread…” Sharing food, sharing drink, sharing a meal. Something so simple, but it is in the context of such a common, ordinary, everyday human experience that the Risen Christ reveals himself!
Of course, “breaking bread” isn’t just about food and drink. It speaks of relationship; it speaks of intimacy; it speaks of welcoming another; it speaks of being home with another; it speaks of sharing who we are with another.
In the space of any given week how many times do we ‘break bread” with others? Ever stop to think how the Risen Christ may be trying to reveal something of himself in the context of these common, ordinary and everyday human experiences in extraordinary ways?
*****
“Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples...”
Familiar with the term “one-hit wonder?”
“A one-hit wonder is a person or act known mainly for only a single success. The term is most often used to describe music performers with only one hit single. Some one-hit wonders are the result of novelty songs during fads. Examples include Rick Dees’ "Disco Duck", related to the disco craze of the 1970s; C. W. McCall's "Convoy", related to the CB radio craze of the 1970s; and Buckner & Garcia’s "Pac-Man Fever", related to the 1980s-era arcade game Pac-Man.”
“Some artists, such as the Big Bopper, had their careers cut short by death (in the Big Bopper's case, in a fatal plane crash that also killed two other musicians), while others, such as New Radicals and The La's, broke up immediately after their one hit. In the 1960s and early 1970s, session bands such as Edison Lighthouse or Alive N Kickin' producing just a single 45 record were common. More commonly, however, one-hit wonders are serious-minded musicians who struggled to continue their success after their popularity waned.”
“Because one-hit wonders are often popular for only a brief time, their hits often have nostalgic value and are featured on era-centric compilations and soundtracks to period films. One-hit wonders are normal in any era of pop music, but are most common during reigns of entire genres that do not last for more than a few years, such as disco, new wave and grunge.” (Wikipedia)”
When it came to post-Resurrection appearances, Jesus was no one-hit wonder. Between the time of his Resurrection and his Ascension, Scripture records at least ten distinct appearances at different places, different times and to different people. Jesus spoke to, ate and drank with and embraced a wide swathe of people during these appearances - some small and intimate, others large and public.
Of course, our Catholic-Christian tradition contains countless accounts of how the Risen Jesus continues to reveal himself in the lives of ordinary people in everyday circumstances. Put another way, when it comes to post-Resurrection appearances, the hits keep coming.
How might the Risen Jesus reveal himself to you today? How might the Risen Jesus reveal himself to others through you today?
*****
“Perceiving them as uneducated, ordinary men, the leaders, elders and scribes were amazed [at] the companions of Jesus…”
Recall the words of Jesus in Chapter 11:25 of Matthew’s Gospel: “I thank you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and the clever, and you have revealed them to children…”
William Barclay made the following observation about Jesus’ statement:
“Jesus is speaking out of his own experience, the experience that the Rabbis and the wise men rejected him, and the simple people accepted him. The intellectuals had no use for him; the humble welcomed him. We must be careful to see clearly what Jesus meant here. He is very far from condemning intellectual power; what he is condemning is intellectual pride. As Plummer has it, ‘The heart – not the head – is the home of the Gospel.’ It is not cleverness which shuts out; it is pride. It is not stupidity which admits; it is humility. A man may be as wise as Solomon, but if he lacks the simplicity, the trust and the innocence of the childlike heart, he shuts himself out.” (Daily Study Bible, Gospel of Matthew, Volume 2, pp. 13 – 14)
Francis de Sales tells us that love of knowledge is a good thing. However, knowledge is only valuable to the extent that it empowers us to love. It’s not enough to know about God – we are invited to love God.
And to love one another!
*****
“He showed them his hands and his side.”
In the wake of Jesus' crucifixion and death, the apostles were locked away together in fear. They were afraid that they might suffer the same fate as their teacher.
Despite their anxious seclusion, Jesus breaks into their lives. Not merely into the physical space in which they were taking refuge, but he also breaks into the space of their minds and hearts. Jesus attempts to calm their fears; he challenges them to be at peace; he does this in a rather confrontational and mysterious manner: by showing them the wounds in his hands and side.
The transforming power of the Resurrection did not remove the scars of Jesus' woundedness, the lasting marks of pain, disappointment, misunderstanding, rejection, humiliation, abandonment, suffering and death. Notwithstanding these wounds, however, Christ's resurrection powerfully demonstrated that pain, sadness, suffering and injustice did not, ultimately, enjoy the last word. While suffering is clearly a part of life, there is much more to life than suffering.
St. Francis de Sales wrote:
"We must often recall that our Lord has saved us by his suffering and endurance, and that we must work out our salvation by sufferings and afflictions, enduring with all possible forbearance the injuries, denials and discomforts we meet." (Introduction to the Devout Life, Part III, Chapter 3)
All of us bear the wounds of failure, deception, betrayal, disappointment and loss. Our hearts, our minds, our memories - our souls - have the scars to prove it. Like the apostles, we are also tempted to withdraw from others, to lock ourselves away in some secluded emotional or spiritual corner, living in fear of what other pain or disappointments may come our way. Of course, in withdrawing from life, we figuratively - in some cases, even literally - die.
The Scripture commentator William Barclay once wrote: “Jesus did not come to make life easy. He came to make us great!” Jesus clearly demonstrates in his own life that our wounds do not necessarily need to overwhelm or disable us. While these wounds may be permanent, they need not rob us of the power and promise of recovery, of renewal - of resurrection - unless we despair, and we allow ourselves to be defeated by the nails of negativity. When you come right down to it, the only thing greater than adversity is the ability – literally – to rise above it.
The wounds of our past continue to leave their marks in our present: they don't necessarily determine the course of our future. Turn to the love of Jesus who knows what it means to be wounded and who shows us how to move through and beyond them. St. Francis de Sales wrote: “Look often on Christ, crucified, naked, blasphemed, slandered, forsaken, and overwhelmed by every kind of weariness, sadness, sorrow and labor.” Jesus triumphed over and through the wounds of his humanity. So too, with God's help, can we.
To be sure, life can be tough. But as we see in the life of Jesus, there is something in life even stronger than being tough: transforming love!
What could be more merciful – more generous – than that?
*****
“They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness…”
Many of us have been brought up to believe that boldness is something that we should eschew. This unfortunate situation may be especially true for those who have ever been addressed at some point in their lives as a “bold, brazen article”! Certainly not an accolade that folks would normally seek!
Not so for Peter and John. No sooner had they been released from imprisonment that they resumed proclaiming the Good News publically with vim and vigor, apparently without much – if any – care or concern about their own health, wealth or welfare. There can be no doubt that the Pharisees, Scribes and Elders might have considered Peter and John to be – in their own way – “bold, brazen articles”! Then again, these same Pharisees, Scribes and Elders had the same opinion of Jesus.
It’s probably safe to say that on most days we preach and practice the Gospel in measured, discrete and considerate way. We’re not trying to make waves; we’re not trying to draw crowds. But there are times in our lives when it is both fitting – and perhaps even imperative – that we proclaim and preach the Gospel in ways that other people might consider bold, perhaps even brazen!
In those moments, do we have the courage to do so?
*****
"The community of believers was of one heart and mind...”
In his Treatise on the Love of God, Francis de Sales wrote:
“‘By the Word,’ St. John said, that is, by that eternal Word who is the Son of God, ‘all things were made.’ Therefore, since this Word is most simple and most single, it produces all the variety among things. Since it is unchanging, it produces all changes that are good. Finally, since it abides eternally, it gives to all things their succession, changes, order rank and season.” (TLG, Book II, Chapter 2, p. 106)
De Sales reminds us of one very important aspect of any community and/or family - diversity! While the early Christian “community of believers” may have been of one heart and mind, it’s tough to imagine that this oneness could be achieved without its share of challenges, conflicts and controversy. The fact that community always has its share of diversity begs the question: “What distinguishes a community that is “of one heart and mind” from one that is not? Perhaps it’s the ability – and the willingness – to agree on the things or values in life that really matter in order to build consensus around the issues that are really worth honoring as non-negotiables.
Today, consider: how does our community measure up?
*****
“Whoever lives the truth comes to the light so that his works may be clearly seen…”
In his Treatise on the Love of God, Francis de Sales wrote:
“When our mind is raised above the natural light of reason and begins to see the sacred truth of faith, O God, what joy ensues! As yet we do not see his face in the clear day of glory, but as it were in the first dawn of the day. If divine truths are so sweet when proposed in the obscure light of faith, O God, what shall those truths be like when we contemplate them in the noonday light of glory! We will see God manifest with incomprehensible clarity the wonders and eternal secrets of his supreme truth and with such light that our intellect will see in its very presence what it had believed here below!” (TLG, Book III, Chapter 29, pp. 189-190)
Living in the light of God’s truth enables us to clearly see God’s works in our lives. May our attempts at living in the light of God’s truth also enable other people to clearly see our works in their lives! After all, while we do walk by faith, we also walk by sight!
Today, how does what people see in me give witness to the truth of what God sees in all of us?
