Happy Easter! Yes it is still Easter. After spending the 40 days of Lent preparing ourselves for Easter we spend the 50 days of the Easter Season celebrating the core event of our faith. During this time the readings tell us about the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus to the disciples and what those appearances mean to us as followers of the “Risen One.”

First Reading: Acts 2: 14, 22-33

14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them, “You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem. Let this be known to you, and listen to my words.

22 You who are Israelites, hear these words. Jesus the Nazorean was a man commended to you by God with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs, which God worked through him in your midst, as you yourselves know. 23 This man, delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God, you killed, using lawless men to crucify him. 24 But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death, because it was impossible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says of him: ‘I saw the Lord ever before me, with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed. 26 Therefore my heart has been glad and my tongue has exulted; my flesh, too, will dwell in hope, 27 because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld, nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’

29 My brothers, one can confidently say to you about the patriarch David that he died and was buried, and his tomb is in our midst to this day. 30 But since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that neither was he abandoned to the netherworld nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 God raised this Jesus; of this we are all witnesses. 33 Exalted at the right hand of God, he received the promise of the holy Spirit from the Father and poured it forth, as you (both) see and hear.

NOTES on First Reading:

Peter proclaims the Kerygma or proclamation about Jesus which is the basic message at the center of early missionary activity. The writer (Luke) is concerned not so much with the history of what happened for its own sake but far more with the theological meaning of the events.

The proclamation of the Kerygma served also to make intelligible the procedure and actions of the apostles and the early believers as well as to express the collision of human plans and Divine plans in Jesus. Throughout, God is the Actor in the story. Christ is His Instrument. The events of history are ultimately shown to be under God’s control.

Both Luke (who also wrote Acts) and Mark place a greater emphasis on Jesus’ death as a salvation process taking place under God’s watchful direction rather than the sacrificial aspect of Jesus’ death as is emphasized by Matthew and John. Both aspects are true, of course. God’s judgment of Jesus did not agree with Man’s judgment of Him and in fact the Father reversed the judgment of man and restored Jesus to life. The resurrection and exaltation of Jesus was seen as the Father’s seal of approval on Jesus ministry and life.

The verb form used (in vs. 24) for “raised up,” is not the usual (“egeirein”) which means “arouse” used in 3:15; 4:10; 5:30; 10:40; and 13:30,37 one. The form used is “anistanai” which has affinities with Deut 18:15 in the Septuagint version. This form is also used in 2:32;13:33-34;17:31. This connection is pointed out more directly in Acts 3:22-26.

Verses 25-28 are taken from Psalms 16:8-11. Peter uses the Psalm argument to argue not that Jesus was raised but that He is the Messiah. The fact that David remained in his tomb indicates that he was not speaking of himself in these Psalms.

David was never called a prophet (30) in the Old Testament but Jewish tradition generally credited him with authorship of all the Psalms and he was considered prophetic by the Jewish people of the first century. This gift of prophecy would allow him to speak for the Messiah.

In verses 32-36 Peter summarizes the Kerygma. The witness and exaltation formulas are a traditional part of the Kerygma that predates Luke’s writing. See Phil 2:9 and Rom 8:34; Eph 1:20.

The expression (30), “at God’s right hand,” may be derived from Psalm 110:1. It originally expressed the position of the King as God’s viceroy in Old Testament thought. It was later thought of in terms of the Messiah and finally applied to Jesus by the Christians.

Second Reading: 1 Peter 1: 17-21

17 Now if you invoke as Father him who judges impartially according to each one’s works, conduct yourselves with reverence during the time of your sojourning, 18 realizing that you were ransomed from your futile conduct, handed on by your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold 19 but with the precious blood of Christ as of a spotless unblemished lamb. 20 He was known before the foundation of the world but revealed in the final time for you, 21 who through him believe in God who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

NOTES on Second Reading:

The impartiality of God goes as far back as Deut 10:17. Verse 19 parallels Jesus and the Passover lamb. See Lev 22:19-25; Exod 12:5,7; Rev 5:6,9. See also Isaiah 52:3 which is often seen as a prophesy of Jesus’ sacrifice.

In the thinking of 1 Peter the last days were inaugurated by the incarnation which was the beginning of this latest and greatest revelation. The redemption by the blood of Christ and His resurrection were the outcome of the eternal plan of the Father (1:20), who in this way consecrated His new people, the believers.

Gospel Reading: Luke 24: 13-35

13 Now that very day two of them were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, 14 and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. 15 And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, 16 but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. 17 He asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?” They stopped, looking downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?” 19 And he replied to them, “What sort of things?” They said to him, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him. 21 But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place. 22 Some women from our group, however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning 23 and did not find his body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive. 24 Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see.” 25 And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! 26 Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures. 28 As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. 29 But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. 31 With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. 32 Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning (within us) while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?” 33 So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them 34 who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

NOTES on Gospel Reading:

The journey is a common theme in Luke as is the concept of faith as seeing. Luke combines these themes as well as others in this story. The inability of the disciples to recognize Jesus is a common feature of the post-resurrection appearance stories. The disciples in this story don’t seem to have accepted Jesus as Divine and thus they are puzzled and discouraged by the recent events. Two disciples are leaving Jerusalem. Are they simply on a trip or are they giving up being followers of a dead leader? The text does not tell us but I suspect that they were returning to their former lives.

Luke ironically has the disciples recite an ancient form of the most basic Christian creed in verses 18-20. However, simply reciting the words of the creed does not give them the sight of faith. Luke’s irony deepens as the disciples recall events that fulfill Jesus’ predictions in 9:22;13:32-33;18:31-33. Recital of events that agree with predictions does not lead to the sight of faith either. Even the recital of the Easter gospel message (24) does not bring the sight of faith.

There are many reasons for the gospels’ portrayal of the disciples having such great difficulty in believing that Jesus actually rose from the dead (22-24). Among them are: The gospels seek to present the crucifixion of Jesus as a starkly frightening and very real experience. The death of Jesus was an actual event that had very real and terrifying implications for the apostles and they had been deeply affected by it. The gospels portray the apostles as hard headed realists who were not expecting Jesus to rise again. They are shown to be the complete opposite of flighty air heads who believe any story simply because they want it to be true. They were not going to grasp at just any straw of hope that was held out to them. The gospels emphasize that the apostles came to believe only after direct personal experience of Jesus as the “risen Lord.” They had direct evidence of the reality of the resurrection. The apostles become witnesses of the resurrection and its implications and effects as well as the event itself. They themselves experienced its transforming power.

Faith finally begins to stir (burning hearts) when the disciples hear Jesus’ interpretation of His life as the fulfillment of all God’s promises. Luke is the only New Testament writer who explicitly speaks of a suffering Messiah. The idea of a suffering Messiah is not found in the Old Testament either. The suffering servant songs of Isaiah come close but they do not identify the subject of the songs as being the Messiah. The identity of the servant was interpreted in a Messianic sense by the Church later.

It is in verse 29-31, as they extend hospitality to a stranger, that the the two disciples are in a position to have their eyes opened. It is in the meal which is an act of hospitality and of familial familiarity that the Lordship of Jesus which was attained through the cross is made manifest to the disciples. Here Luke’s theme of eating and sharing food with outcasts also comes into view. Jesus had said that He would not share food with His disciples again until God’s Kingdom came (22:16,18). The fact that He now does so implies that God’s Kingdom has indeed come. The disciples who had left are now called back by the Lord. They were called back at precisely the time when they were sharing food with a stranger as Jesus had done and taught.

There is a Eucharistic element in this story as well. The story presents a liturgy of the Word followed by a meal described in the same words that Luke used for his last supper story (22:14-20). At the Eucharistic table Jesus’ table companions are now His disciples rather than the tax collectors and sinners of the meal stories in Luke’s gospel. It is in the Eucharistic meal that the Lord’s presence is still encountered in a special way and that our eyes too are opened if we enter into it with hearts set afire by His Word.

The experience of Jesus’ presence requires that it be shared so they return even though it is now dark. When they get back to Jerusalem they find (34) that Jesus’ prayer for Peter (22:31-32) has been effective. Peter has been forgiven and empowered to strengthen the faith of his fellow believers. They are also once again a part of the family of disciples. Jesus has brought them back both spiritually and geographically.

Scripture text: New American Bible with revised New Testament copyright © 1986,1970, Confraternity of Christian Doctrine.
Commentary Sources:
Vince Del Greco
The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (1990) (Eds. Brown, Fitzmyer & Murphy)