What a beautiful scripture verse there is in the first reading for mass today, “But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death, because it was impossible for him to be held by it.” These words in scripture are filled to the brim with the Holy Spirit. Death didn’t stand a chance against Jesus Christ. Jesus is stronger than even death itself. The entire reading from the Acts of the Apostles today is just beautiful:
“I saw the Lord ever before me, with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed. Therefore my heart has been glad and my tongue exulted; my flesh, too, will dwell in hope, because you will not abandon my soul to the nether world, nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.”
Doesn’t these words in scripture, literally come alive in your heart when you read them? They are living words. These verses in scripture perfectly describe our Easter hope in Jesus Christ, who is even more powerful than death itself. Jesus will never abandon us, but remains with us always, through everything we experience in life and even through our own death too. There really isn’t anything else in life that can we completely trust and depend on, except for Jesus Christ. We love our family and our friends, but relationships often fluctuate. Jesus’s love for us never does though, of this we can be sure. He will love us forever.
Nothing can separate us from Jesus’s love for us, except ourselves. Even then, Jesus will seek us out, in order to bring us back into a loving communion and friendship with him. He won’t let us go so easy. Remember the parable he taught us about the lost sheep? The good shepherd left everything, and went to look for his lost sheep. That’s pretty much what Jesus did with his disciples in the gospel reading today too. Jesus acted as the Good Shepherd even after his own death. His disciples were scattered, confused, disappointed and uncertain about him, but Jesus did not leave them in this state. He went after them, and cleared up the confusion in their minds, and the turmoil in their hearts.
The gospel said Jesus interpreted all of the scriptures that referred to him, beginning with Moses and then continued to explain all that was written of him by the prophets. Later, after Jesus disappeared, the disciples said, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?”
The scriptures are living words. They are not simply words printed in a book, telling us stories from ancient times. The words in scripture are truly inspired by God, but written by human hands. The Holy Spirit is actually the author of sacred scripture. That is why the disciples hearts were burning within them when Jesus spoke to them about the scriptures. The Truth is written in these Words of Life. Jesus Christ is the Living Word, the Word made Flesh. There are no more important words that we could ever read in our entire lifetime, than those found in sacred scripture. They are the most important words that have ever been written in the history of mankind.
Jesus didn’t leave us alone. He never will. He will never abandon us, but is always with us, throughout every moment of our lives. Jesus is with us in a special way each week when we go to Mass, where he feeds us in Word and in Sacrament. We see, hear, taste and feel his love for us in a very real way, every time we go to mass.
This is what happened to the disciples on the way to Emmaus. Jesus made himself known to them through the scriptures, and in the breaking of the bread. Jesus fed his disciples in Word and Sacrament on their journey to Emmaus. How beautiful can that be, that he continues to do so with each one of us as well, every time we go to mass? Jesus is not dead, but alive and living among us, and within us. Our hearts too, burn with love for him. We instinctively know the source of all love, of all truth. Even if we do not see him, we believe in him. We too, have come to know Jesus, in the breaking of the bread.
Sunday Mass Readings:
Acts 2: 14, 22-33 / Psalm 16: 1-2, 5, 7-11 / 1 Pt 1: 17-21 / Lk 24: 13-35
