Friday April 5, 2024
Theme: “Meeting the Risen One”
Text: Luke 24:36-49
36. And while they were speaking thus, he himself stood among them, and said unto them, Peace be unto you; 37. Seized with fear and terror, they thought they saw a spirit. 38. But he said to them, Why are you troubled, and why do such thoughts arise in your hearts? 39. See my hands and my feet, it is indeed me; touch me and see: a spirit has neither flesh nor bones, as you see that I have. 40. And saying this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41. And when they did not yet believe in their joy, and were astonished, he said unto them, Have ye here any thing to eat? 42. They presented him with roast fish and a honeycomb. 43. He took some, and ate before them. 44. Then he said to them, This is what I said to you while I was still with you, that everything that is written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets must be fulfilled, and in the psalms. 45. Then he opened their minds, that they might understand the Scriptures. 46. And he said unto them, Thus it is written that Christ should suffer, and that he should rise from the dead the third day, 47. and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name unto all nations, beginning through Jerusalem. 48. You are witnesses of these things. 49. And, behold, I will send upon you that which my Father hath promised; but you remain in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.
Let's remember:
The encounter with the risen is a great opportunity to reverse doubt and disappointment. It is an opportunity to strengthen our faith and project ourselves into other horizons leading to the perfection of our intimacy with Jesus. When the Lord meets his disciples united around fear, he first brings them his PEACE. He knows that they were helpless and without direction because Jesus, their lair, was dead. They forgot that the Lord Jesus was also the passover (from death to life). Now that he is resurrected and present before them, they are confused, diffuse, frightened, frightened, disturbed, amazed, dazzled, shaken, astonished, bewildered, surprised; they believed it was a spirit. Jesus condemned the evil thoughts that went out of their hearts. Thus Jesus opened their minds, that they might understand the Scriptures; this is the faith software update stage; he updated it to a new version without the virus of doubt because Jesus himself, their antivirus is resurrected. It would have been necessary to connect to Jesus' security network. The encounter with the resurrected one allows us to feel the realization of God's promises, following the example of the resurrection which seemed like a vision of the spirit. Jesus ate the second resurrection meal of roast fish and a honeycomb. He reminds them of the mission to evangelize and renews the promise of the Holy Spirit but they should stay in the city; forbidden to travel before receiving the Holy Spirit. Excellent Friday and good start to the weekend. Amen
Alain Louz.-