Third Sunday of Easter. Year B - Sunday, April 18, 2021
(EPISODE: 294)
Readings for Third Sunday of Easter. Year B
FIRST READING: Acts 3: 13-15, 17-19
Ps 4: 2, 4, 7-8, 9. "Lord, let your face shine on us"
SECOND READING: 1 John 2: 1-5a
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (cf. Luke 24: 32). Alleluia, alleluia! Lord Jesus, make your word plain to us. Make our hearts burn with love when you speak.
GOSPEL: Luke 24: 35-48
{Image Credit: Shutterstock licensed stock vector ID: 254006194 . Jesus after his resurrection in triangles style By mashabr}
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Please listen to the audio recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers and homily), for the Third Sunday of Easter. Year B - Sunday, April 18, 2021, by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/easter-3b-2021-ep-294 (EPISODE: 294)
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*Prologue – Fr Paul –
In the gospel, this weekend, the absolute truth of the PHYSICAL resurrection of Christ is again reinforced.
Jesus even shares a meal with his disciples; and makes a point of eating what sounds like a delightful piece of grilled fish to show his disciples he is indeed flesh and blood.
It is quite a claim to suggest that Jesus has risen. The Disciples initially couldn't believe what they were hearing when reports started coming in that Jesus has risen again. If it were merely a made-up story, it would be easy to suggest that he was merely Spiritually risen, and was experienced by others in only a kind of ethereal or spiritual way, but that is not what is being said and not what has ever been claimed. Jesus is RISEN, and he is truly risen indeed! His disciples saw him, touched him, ate with him, and spoke with him on many occasions after he rose from the dead.
The true genius of the Christian faith is our belief in the Resurrection and what it says about the relationship and connection between the BODY and the SOUL. For Christians, the body is not just some annoying outer shell that encases the pure spirit of a person and which would be better off being cast off so that the person can achieve perfection.
The Greek philosophy (which was very popular and influential in the time of Jesus, and has been very influential throughout history, tends to see a sharp divide between body and spirit. The Greek philosophy tends to see the "Spirit" as pure, and divine, and good, and the body (that is, physical matter) is corruptible, imperfect, temporary, sinful and bad.
Even in the Jewish faith, the spirit, (or the soul), was considered (by many) to indeed live on after death, but only some Jewish people believed in the resurrection of the body. The Jewish understanding tended to see the flesh as earthly and the soul/spirit as heavenly.
The Christian belief in the incarnation of Christ (God becoming flesh and dwelling among us as one of us), and that Jesus is truly God and truly human, shows a profound understanding of the human person which reveals the holiness and the dignity of the body and of the material world. We have been saved by Jesus – (God made flesh) - who took on our nature and never cast off.
We believe that Christ's human nature was never cast off….. He kept his glorified human body when he returned to the Father in Heaven -- This belief informs our teachings on justice and the dignity of the human person and of the sanctity of the human body and why suffering is not something to take lightly.
Jesus Resurrection takes this a step further. The destiny of the human person is that they will one day live with God in Heaven (body and soul). The body is sacred and will be raised up and is not to be cast off in order to attain perfection. God will perfect us physically and spiritually. The earthly, the physical and the material DO matter in Christian spirituality, and cannot be ignored or put out of the picture.
The disciples, in today's gospel, are shown to be in fear and doubt when suddenly Jesus appears to them and reassures them, giving them literally a solid and tangible foundation for their belief (his physical resurrection), the truth of which will keep them going in good times and in bad,., in peacetime and in persecution,…..
Jesus opened the minds and hearts of his disciples…. Otherwise, they would have gone on sitting and hiding in the upper room, and they would still not have understood……. and they would not have had the courage to go out and preach the Gospel - It is essential that the disciples (and each one of us) are "OPEN" to Jesus' message.
Our discipleship and following of Christ (if it is to remain authentic) must always have a deeply practical element of action and right behaviour to it. Our faith must show itself in practical ways for our physical world and the physical body.
One of the readings today pointedly reminds us "anyone who says 'I know (God)'… but doesn't keep God's commandments is a liar." … Anyone who says 'I know Jesus'… but does not live according to Jesus' actions, teachings, values.. and behaviours… /….anyone who does not show real respect for the world and the human person does NOT have the TRUTH in them.
The other important point from today's readings is that the Resurrection of Christ and his sacrifice on the cross, tells us a lot about sin and its forgiveness….. ///… We sin. Sadly, this is often what we humans do. But that is never where we leave things. We cannot ever make a concession to weakness and wallow in the lowest common denominator of our frailty. We can often do the wrong thing and sometimes it is knowingly, sometimes it is out of ignorance, and sometimes it is out of negligent failure to know what we ought. We, humans, are flawed! But nevertheless, we also are infinitely loved by God who created us.
God knows what we are like and loves us unconditionally as a parent loves their child.
And, just like a parent's love for a child, - a parent does not condone or encourage bad behaviour or 'willful refusal to change one's ways' because of the lame excuse that "we are all human and we all make mistakes." Just because we are human and prone to sin is no excuse to stay in our bad habits and remain in ignorance. We are called, as beloved children of God, to grow and change constantly. We are called to spend our whole lives on a journey of learning, openness, repentance, conversion and transformation, with God's grace.
So, a major victory achieved through Christ's death and resurrection must be seen as the forgiveness of human sin. "The scriptures point out is not easy for us to admit that we are sinners and that there is sin in the world. Today we speak of 'mistakes,' of 'faults,' of 'misunderstandings'—but sin is also there and not to be denied. Sin is a reality that is still a very unpopular topic, even though really, it is not being falsely humble to say… we are all sinners.
We are all invited to look into our hearts and to know that we need salvation. Jesus needed to die for each and every one of us. We do well to recognize that our own choices against God are part of the sins in our world. Can we accept that Jesus came to die for us and for our sins and that in Him we are redeemed (purchased back by God) – Body and soul?
And we must now live in the light of this wonderful truth!
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Homily – Fr Peter Dillon -
It is not uncommon to hear a politician or business person, who has been heard to say or do something that shows them in a bad light to say, "I was taken out of context". Meaning that the real story has not yet been revealed and that further explanation is needed to get the full picture.
It is always frustrating to witness an event without knowing what it actually means. We know from our own experience that there is a difference between being part of an event and understanding its significance. If you have ever been involved in a religious ritual in a church other than a Christian one, then you might think that as much as it is clearly a spiritual event, without the background and teaching relating to the ritual, we feel merely onlookers and not participants. Unless we know the context we can impose any meaning we like, and it might not be the correct message.
Jesus himself made the distinction between those who "see and hear" and those who "perceive and understand." The scriptures are full of such events that only reach their full meaning when we are able to look back and see the events in a new light, for instance, the light of the Resurrected Jesus.
Today's Gospel is a perfect example of disciples who cannot make sense of Jesus' recent death, nor can they make sense of what is going on when he appears to them. Luke makes it very clear that only the risen Christ can make sense of the events of Good Friday and Easter Sunday. The disciples need the risen Christ to enlighten them as to what has happened.
Even though they tell the stranger on the road to Emmaus, how they had recognised Jesus in the breaking of the bread, they still don't know how to make sense of it all. In fact, it is a bit surprising that there was so little excitement about the empty tomb.
Surely it was a very big deal to have their teacher and companion, who they saw crucified before their eyes, come back to life again. What had they hoped for? Perhaps they thought that things would go back to the way things were before. That Jesus would return to teach and to heal and perform miracles.
It could be that they were expecting something more spectacular and they were possibly a little disappointed. Certainly, that seems to be the attitude of the disciples on the road. It is only when, like Thomas, they are able to touch him and be close to him in the home that clarity came to them. Only when he interprets for them what this rising from the dead could mean for them, that they come to believe in who he is. They cannot do it by themselves. Only the risen Christ can take the disciples from mystery to revelation, from confusion to understanding. It required that personal encounter for things to make sense. Hearing the story is one thing, it is completely another issue to have Jesus present in the flesh.
Still today people get disappointed that Easter doesn't automatically take away their fears, confusion and pain. It took the disciples a long time to recognise that not only Jesus changed with the resurrection, but that he was with the world through them. That by his dying and rising they received a new meaning.
In this new understanding the disciples became more than witnesses, they became the embodiment of all that Jesus had prepared them for. So when Luke tells of the preaching of the early Church in the Acts of the Apostles, like Peter's sermon in the second reading, we come to understand that the Church today is based on the unique experience of those first disciples. Happily, they did not keep this new experience to themselves.
Every generation must make the message of Jesus its own and pass it on to others. It is a message enlivened by the witness of generations of Christians who have continued to have life in the name of Jesus. We keep the message alive only by giving it away. That way, the Gospel never dies.
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References:
HOMILY – Fr Peter Dillon
Prologue – fr paul Kelly
Abbot's Homily. Monastery of Christ in the Desert.
{Image Credit: Shutterstock licensed stock vector ID: 254006194 Jesus after his resurrection; in triangles style M By mashabr}
Third Sunday of Easter. Year B (Sunday, April 18, 2021) (EPISODE: 294 )
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
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{{May God's Spirit of Wisdom and understanding abide in you. }}
My brothers and sisters, trusting in Gods mercy and love let us call to mind our sins.
Lord Jesus, you healed the sick: Lord, have mercy//Lord Jesus, you forgave sinners: Christ, have mercy//Lord Jesus, you give us yourself to heal us and bring us strength: Lord, have mercy.
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation
3. Save us, Saviour of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free.
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PREFACE: Easter II
EP III
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Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.
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Archive of homilies and reflections: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email: paulwkelly68@gmail.com
To listen to my weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks
You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by sending an email to this address: paulkellyreflections+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly
Prayers and chants — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)
Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)
"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009, The Grail - Collins publishers.
Prayers of the Faithful - " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'. E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993) . (Sydney Australia).
Sung "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" - By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The Gloria, Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org.
- "Today I Arise" - For Trisha J Kelly. Original words and music by Paul W. Kelly. Inspired by St Patrick's Prayer. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.
"Quiet Time." Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020.
[ Production - KER - 2021]
May God bless and keep you.
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