The Third Sunday of Easter, Year B

Being known and proclaimed

• Acts of the Apostles 3:12-19
• Psalm 4
• 1 John 3:1-7
• Luke 24:36b-48

Bishop John Shelby Spong writes in Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism (HarperCollins, 1992), “God has been met and known, even in a human life that was once a helpless infant. In a human life the limits of finitude have been broken, including the ultimate barrier of death, that is the story we have to tell . . . [But] we do not capture Christ. Our minds do not embrace Christ. Our words point to Christ. Our images interact with Christ. . . . Who is Christ for our day? What images can we employ that will enable us to be the body of Christ with integrity while remaining women and me of relevance in our generation?

Our readings today ask us to look around and notice that which we may not be able to see, but to pay attention to the signs that tell us that confirm the Risen Christ. Through the most physical and human of ways – eating with friends – we can experience a brief glimpse of the real presence of redemption. By reading the scriptures we can hear the proclamation of the Resurrection.

What we are to be had not yet been fully disclosed. Yet we do know that when Christ is someday revealed in his glory to us, we will know our relatedness to him. What we do comprehend is that throughout this life we well be undergoing a developing likeness to Christ. The words of the Psalmist in Psalm 4 gives us assurance and confidence in God’s redemptive love. The Lord does wonders for faithful people, acts that false gods cannot accomplish. The Lord puts gladness in the heart of the worshiper that is greater than the joy of any material prosperity.

We can rest assured knowing that through the sacrifice of Christ our Lord, we are redeemed and forgiven. Alleluia! Christ is risen!

The song, “Haleluya! Pelo tea rona” (Halleluia! We Sing Your Praises) is a South African freedom song.

• Verse 1: Jesus Christ said to us: I am wine, I am bread, I am wine, I am bread, give to all who hunger and thirst.
• Verse 2: Christ now sends us all out, strong in faith, free of doubt, strong in faith, free of doubt; tell to all the joyful Good News.

For reflection:

• As Jesus talked with his disciples he “opened their minds to understand the scriptures” (v. 45). What do you think he wanted them to understand, and why was this important at this time?
• How has being open to the scriptures made a difference in your own faith journey?
• How do you experience Jesus?
• How do you bear witness to the power of forgiveness and proclaim the Risen Lord?