The one who has risen is the same Jesus of Nazareth that the disciples have known, loved and followed on the roads of Galilee.  To be his witness means to see to it that other folks catch the Good News. 

Those who make up a group can easily catch each other’s fears or courage, and also doubts and certainties. That is to say, those in a group tend to feed off each other’s feelings, good or bad.

And this may well be what takes place with the Eleven and the other disciples. For as the risen Jesus stands all of a sudden in their midst, shock and fear take hold of them. They think they see a ghost.

So, to calm them down, he tells them to look at his hand and his feet, and to touch him. For it is he that is before them, not a ghost; he has flesh and bones. He, then, shows them his hands and his feet, signs of his  love to the end.

But they do not yet catch the peace that he has meant for them from the start. For, due to joy and surprise, they still cannot believe what they see and hear.

So, to carry on, he asks for something to eat. And he eats in front of them a piece of baked fish. Then, he goes ahead and opens their minds to grasp Scriptures. To grasp all that God has foretold, through the law, the prophets and the psalms, about his Son and Servant. For to be witnesses of the risen Jesus, it is not enough for the apostles and disciples to eat and drink with him. They must also grasp what God has foretold and fulfilled.

Do we eat and drink with Jesus and grasp Scriptures, and bear the signs of his love and keep his word? If we do, then we are his witnesses, too.

Lord Jesus, keep feeding us with your word and with your body and blood, so that we may know you better and more intimately every time and get the drive to strive to make others catch your Good News. Make us like you especially in showing love and compassion, so that others may believe us as your witnesses (SV.EN I:277). And help us, so that we do not stop to work, to suffer, though we do not see the end or the fruit.

14 April 2024
Third Sunday of Easter (B)
Acts 3, 13-15. 17-19; 1 Jn 2, 1-5a; Lk 24, 35-48