Luke 24: 35-48
Then the disciples told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence.
Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Joy and Disbelief
Have you ever been so surprised that, while filled with joy and excitement, you're also in shock? Maybe a surprise visit from an old friend, or you got a raise and promotion you didn't expect. And while you're filled with such excitement, you almost struggle to believe it is real. Well, in today's Gospel, we hear about the disciples, who are both filled with joy and disbelief in Christ’s resurrection.
How often do we find ourselves struggling to believe God is working in our lives? Can we be filled with such joy that we forget to remember that God is walking with us? To pray and be with God when all is well. Maybe we wonder whether the blessings we've received will come with a cost? Or that there’s a catch? “My life can’t be going this well, can it?” Can I have both joy and trust with God?
—Austin Kleman, SJ, is a Jesuit scholastic of the Midwest Province working as a therapist at Arrupe College of Loyola University Chicago.
Prayer
Loving and patient God, you created us with the freedom to choose you. Encourage me when I doubt, build me up when I am weak, and renew me when I am lost. Walk with me that I may forever be filled with the joy of your resurrection and the confidence of your friendship. Amen.
—Austin Kleman, SJ