Fr. Dale Matson
As I read Sunday’s Gospel lesson for
Easter III, I came to a new awareness of the post resurrection appearances of
Christ. This was now the third time He had shown himself to the disciples
following His resurrection. On the two previous occasions about a week apart,
they were in a locked room and He simply passed through the door. The disciples had been gathering behind locked doors because they were afraid
of the Jews. When Jesus appeared to them
in the room, He told them to be at peace.
St. Luke noted in his account that the disciples were terrified because
they thought they were seeing a ghost.
Jesus ate a fish to show them He was not a ghost. He showed them His
wounds and breathed the Holy Spirit on them.
After breathing on them He commissioned them as he had commissioned
Peter following Peter’s confession. Yet
even after all of this, where were they
one week later? They were still
meeting behind locked doors. They were
still afraid. And they were still not
sure who this man in their midst was.
In
His third appearance to the disciples (John 21:1-14), they were still not proclaiming the
message. It was back to business as usual. They went fishing. They had been fishing all night not
far from shore, (less than 100 yards) and not doing very well. Once again they
were not sure who it was until He gave them another miraculous sign. Jesus
already had fish and bread on hand and a fire to cook them on. It was another
multiplication miracle. It was an abundance of fish, some of which were later added
to the meal. John recognized Jesus but Peter, being Peter and full of zeal, jumped
out of the boat to great Him. At this point all the disciples were almost certain
that it was Jesus so they refrained from asking Him who He was. “Jesus
then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish.”
What element is common to these post
resurrection accounts? When did Clopas and his associate finally recognize the resurrected
Jesus along the road to Emmaus? It was after He had revealed Himself in the
Word and in the breaking of bread. How are all these stories connected? The reality
of His humanity is in table fellowship. It is in the breaking of the bread and
the passing of the cup. The miracle is not that God arose from the dead. The miracle
is that a man rose from the dead. In so doing, mortal flesh took on
immortality. He summons us to sup with
Him often. It is first an act of obedience and second an act of faith. He tells
us to do it until He returns. It is in this table fellowship that He reveals
Himself. He is in our midst. He is among us. He is in us and we are in Him. He
is in the bread and He is in the wine set before us. Reveal yourself to us
Lord. Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment