Weekly thoughts on the Sunday Gospel, readings or a topic...

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seeing your life through the lens of the gospels – Luke 24:35-48
1. When we are not expecting it to happen, even a good event can startle us. So it was with the disciples when Jesus appeared to them. He sought to calm them and helped them to see the good news behind what had initially alarmed them. Who has been a Jesus person for you by helping you to find meaning and good news in life?
2. Jesus helped the disciples to find new hope, but he did not give them easy answers. He asked them to see the facts before their eyes. He wanted them to learn from the lived experience they were having. As a parent, teacher, friend or guide, have you been a Jesus person to another, helping him/her to find hope and purpose in life by learning from his/her experiences? Who has done this for you?
3. Jesus opened their minds to ‘understand the scriptures’, and the effect was transformative. Perhaps there have been times when a new and deeper understanding of scripture has had a transformative impact on you. Recall the experience and give thanks for those who opened the scriptures for you.
4. The resurrection experience empowered the disciples to be witnesses. Unexpected possibilities for the future surfaced when it seemed that hope had gone. When have new possibilities opened for you after a ‘resurrection’ experience: recovery of health when it did not seem possible, new opportunities after failure or disappointment, inner healing after a deep hurt, etc?  – John Byrne, OSA

The Deep End
Today’s Gospel is one of the resurrection accounts from St Luke’s Gospel. It begins with the disciples recalling their experience on the road to Emmaus and how they recognised Jesus in the breaking of the bread. The Gospel continues into another account of the Risen Jesus with his disciples. Jesus interrupts the disciple’s story and greets them with ‘Peace’ (Shalom) yet, in this account, they are terrified by this. Jesus shows them his wounds and Luke tells us that they are full of joy, but they still can’t believe it and think it is a ghost. Jesus shows them that he is no ghost as he asks for food and eats fish with them. Jesus then journeys with them back through the scriptures in order to open their minds. He speaks to them compassionately, trying to relieve their anxiety and fear.
Jesus tells the disciples that ‘you are witnesses of these things’. Luke wants to establish an important point, that these disciples are witnesses to the Resurrection, they ate with Jesus after his death and he opened their minds. The Resurrection accounts in the Gospels are not fantasy, they are the actual experiences of Jesus’ disciples. So often in Luke’s Gospel Jesus conveys his message through food and banquets, moments of celebration. The Risen Christ brings compassion and joy into difficult spaces. Today let us share with Jesus the situations in our lives which need an injection of compassion and Easter joy.
‘Every year the dull and dead in us meets our Easter challenge: to be open to the unexpected, to believe beyond our security, to welcome God in every form, and trust in our own greening.’ (Joyce Rupp)  – Jane Mellett

(from Intercom)