Homily for April 30, 2017.
Have you ever felt disappointed before? Did you ever engage in some
business or try to learn a new skill or join a particular society or group in
the church only for your expectations to be dashed? Have you had serious
thoughts about leaving the church?
This was the situation of the two disciples of Jesus about whom we read
about in our Gospel passage this morning. They were walking away from
Jerusalem, away from the church, away from the life they had lived with Jesus
for quite some time. Why? They felt terribly disappointed!
Their major disappointment was the fact that Jesus did not meet their
expectations. What was their expectation from Jesus? That he would be the one
to take over power from the Roman authorities and finally regain freedom for
the Nation of Israel; after all, they must have read in Jeremiah 23:5-6 that:
“Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up for
David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall
execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved,
and Israel will dwell securely…”
They just couldn’t understand why Jesus would allow himself to be killed
when he was supposed to be king. They couldn’t phantom why the Romans were
still in charge after his resurrection. Like these disciples, many of us today
are disappointed with God for not living up to our expectations based on our
understanding of the scriptures.
For instance, you come across a verse like Philippians 4:19 which says: “And
my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in
Christ Jesus.” Yet you still can’t understand why suffering should exist in
your life as a Christian or why you don’t even have money to provide three square
meals a day.
It is interesting that in the course of their disappointment, they didn’t
even recognize that Jesus himself was walking with them. We become blind to God
when we become ungrateful and can no longer count our blessings. We become
blind to God when we focus only on our unmet expectations rather than on the
good things we have enjoyed from God in the past.
Dear friends, what Jesus did for the disciples is exactly what happens
at every mass. First, Jesus opened the Scriptures to them and taught them everything
about himself, how it was necessary for him to suffer, how he had not come to struggle
for earthly kingdoms but instead to defeat death itself. Then secondly, Jesus
proceeded to give them his body and blood in Holy Communion.
That is why the mass is in two parts, the liturgy of the word and the
liturgy of the Holy Eucharist. Jesus speaks to us during the readings and at
the homily. Our hearts burn within us and with that frame of mind, we then
proceed to receive His Body and Blood.
When we fully participate at mass, we cannot remain in Emmaus any longer.
Like these disciples we are moved to go out immediately and share the good news
with others. Indeed, if we listen to Jesus speak to us and give us his body in
Holy Communions, our eyes would open and all our disappointments would vanish.
Every mass recalls the ultimate sacrifice Jesus paid on the cross and
how his resurrection gives us deeper hope and confidence in God. As Peter
explains in both our first and second reading, the resurrection of Jesus is the
essence of our faith and as the beautiful song puts it: “Because he lives, I can
face tomorrow.”
Let us
Pray: Lord Jesus, come into my heart and speak your word as you did to those
two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Amen.
*Happy Sunday. Be Happy. Live
Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Third Sunday of
Easter. Year A. Bible Study: Acts
2:14-33, 1st Peter 1:17-21 and Luke 24:13-35).*
Fr. Abu.
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