Stay with Us Jesus

04-23-2023Weekly ReflectionFr. Anthony Okolo, C.S.Sp, V.F.

Peter, in the first reading of today, stood up and proclaimed to the Jews how they used lawless men to condemn and crucify Jesus whom God commended to them, a man filled with mighty deeds and powers. He put it to them that they know how Jesus worked miracles in their midst and did many wonders but even though they killed Him out of wickedness that God raised Him up on the last day. The speech of Peter, in this first reading, testifies to the power of the risen Lord. This is the same Peter who could not stand before a teenage girl now speaks directly to the leaders of the religious authority, even blaming them for killing Jesus to their faces with boldness. What it means is that the power of the risen Lord had transformed him in such a way that he speaks boldly without fear. When we allow the risen Lord to transform our lives we have nothing to fear because having conquered death; there is nothing more to worry about. As we celebrate this power of the risen Lord let us recognize that His power transforms situations, events and lives that He touches.

The same transforming power of the risen Lord is what we encounter in the Gospel reading. The two disciples on the road to Emmaus were disappointed, discouraged, depressed as all their hope came to nothing when Jesus was crucified on the Cross. The crucifixion shattered all their hopes and never did they recall all that Jesus had told them that He would rise again. As such, they decided to leave Jerusalem since there was nothing more to hope for. They were so disappointed that when Jesus joined them they could not recognize Him. However, with the encounter of Jesus everything came back to life again. Their hopes were restored, their joy came back that they had to return back to Jerusalem to share the testimony of their faith.

According to Living Liturgy, “Emmaus is the place of conversion, of broken people healed by the broken word and the broken bread. Wounded hearts have become burning hearts, disfigured dreams are transfigured, and death is recognized as the way to invincible life.” At times we are on our own road to Emmaus when we feel our dreams, our hopes and our lives are broken but allowing Jesus to walk with us on this road will surely restore the hope, the broken lives and the shattered dreams.

Finally, Emmaus challenges us to walk through our daily lives in the company of the Christ who reveals himself in Scripture and Eucharist, and also in the other unexpected strangers’ whom we may meet and who share with us the bread of their lives that proclaim hope in the face of suffering and apparent hopelessness.

Fr. Tony Okolo C.S.Sp., V.F.