4/14/2024 (Sunday) Today’s gospel reading: Luke 24:35-48

35 The two disciples recounted what had taken place on the way, and how Jesus was made known to them in the breaking of bread.
36 While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
37 But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost.
38 Then he said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts?
39 Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.”
40 And as he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.
41 While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?”
42 They gave him a piece of baked fish;
43 he took it and ate it in front of them.
44 He said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.”
45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
46 And he said to them, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day
47 and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
48 You are witnesses of these things.”

4/14/2024 (Sunday) Today’s gospel reflection / homily / sermon: Luke 24:35-48

In the gospel reading above, we encounter the disciples in a moment of profound transformation. This passage recounts the appearance of the resurrected Jesus to His followers, an event that bridges doubt with faith and despair with hope.

The disciples were gathered, sharing their stories of encountering Jesus on the road to Emmaus when suddenly, Jesus Himself stood among them. Startled and frightened, they thought they were seeing a ghost. But Jesus showed them His hands and feet—the scars that spoke of His suffering and His triumph over death—and encouraged them to touch Him, to see that He was indeed real. “A ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have,” He said.

With these words, Jesus was not merely calming their fears but was also teaching them a crucial lesson about the nature of resurrection and the reality of God’s promises. He even asked for something to eat, further proving His real, resurrected body, and in this simple act, He demonstrated that the divine can indeed touch the mundane.

Jesus then opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, connecting His suffering, resurrection, and the proclamation of repentance for the forgiveness of sins to all nations, starting from Jerusalem. He was appointing them as witnesses to these truths, empowering them to carry His message to the world.

Let this passage inspire us today. Like the disciples, we may face moments of doubt and fear, but the presence of the Lord is a reassurance of His reality and His victory over all that can dismay us. We are called to be a witness to this hope, to spread the good news that in Jesus, despair can turn into joy, and fear into mission.

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