Our mission to share the mercy and light of Christ
Reflections on the readings for the Second Sunday of Easter (April 18, 2021): ACTS 3:13-15,17-19; PS 4:2,4,7-8,9; I JN 2:1-5; LK 24:35-48
MISSIO offers “Mission In Scripture” to nurture a missionary heart, providing reflections on the missionary themes in the readings of Sundays, Feast Days and Holy Days.
The message of salvation is being spread every day, every hour somewhere. And, with our help, it will be shared in our own neighborhood and around the globe.
After His Resurrection, the Gospels offer several accounts of Jesus appearing among His followers. Today we hear Him say, “Peace be with you” to those who gathered with the two disciples He met on the road to Emmaus. They seem scared out of their wits and surely need His calm blessing. He tells them to be reassured by looking at the marks on His hands and feet. As with St. Thomas who also doubted, Jesus invites them to touch Him. Then fear leaves their hearts and they feel joy and wonder at Our Lord’s return. As final proof that He is as alive at that moment as He had been before the Crucifixion, He asks for something to eat. The disciples now know that their Master has returned. “And He said to them, ‘Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things’” (Luke 24:46-48).
Jesus understood how difficult it was for His followers, even His close Apostles, to comprehend all that had happened. Although he had tried to prepare them, and they had seen His miracles, including the raising of Lazarus and others, His own Resurrection was still unfathomable. We would probably have reacted in the same way. But Jesus was not asking them to figure it out, but, instead, to have faith in the truth. He immediately continued to instruct these disciples. Soon they would preach the Good News. They would begin where they were and then head out into the larger world. They would not complete the task. Indeed, it is not finished today. The message of salvation is being spread every day, every hour somewhere. And, with our help, it will be shared in our own neighborhood and around the globe. It is the mission of every Christian to pass along the mercy of the Gospel and the light of Christ – and to help others in this work as well.
Suggested missionary action: Let us honor all Christ’s disciples who brought His message of salvation around the world in the centuries since He suffered and died. Let us also support the Church’s missions today through prayer and material support.
