The first reaction of the disciples who saw the risen Christ in today’s Gospel was being startled and terrified. Even with the announcement from the disciples who encountered the risen Lord on the road to Emmaus, they still thought they were seeing a ghost. Jesus simply shows them his body, invites them to touch him, and eats there in front of them. All of reality had changed. To help them put aside their doubts and questions Jesus explains what was written in the Scriptures about him. He opened their minds to the new reality and their mission in that new reality. The old reality was full of ghosts, fears, lost or punished spirits, terrors, the impossibility of getting to heaven, judgement, and separation from God and heaven.
The risen Lord is not a ghost or spirit. He shows them that death and sin have been conquered by his obedience on the Cross. The door to heaven is open again. The Lord’s first words are peace and forgiveness.
For the first community of faith in Jerusalem this personal experience of the risen Lord in their lives was so intense that they had to share their joy. The accounts of their encounters with the risen Lord are linked to being sent to announce their joy. Today the risen Lord sends them to preach forgiveness and repentance.
The ancient form of Christian greeting during the Easter season is a proclamation of this most basic aspect of our faith and also part of our commission to proclaim our faith: Christ is risen. He is truly risen. The Easter season helps us renew our focus on the risen Lord but it also helps us remember that we are sent to proclaim the resurrection to all those around us. This attitude of running out to announce our joy in the risen Lord begins with our families and closest friends. Take some time today to ask yourselves how you share and announce your faith within your family.
“Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer
and rise from the dead on the third day
and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins,
would be preached in his name
to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things.”
Image: https://mjdasma.blogspot.com/2020/04/reflection-for-april-16-thursday-in.html