Just as we read yesterday, Jesus came among Cleopas and the other disciple on their road to Emmaus, Jesus does so again as the pair was recounting their encounter with the risen Jesus to the apostles. To assuage the fear brought on by his sudden appearance he said and to assure that he was no ghost, “Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have” (Lk 24:39). He then requested some fish and he ate and talked with his disciples as he had done in their times together before his death and resurrection.
We have heard about the resurrection of Jesus, maybe for years, but it is important not to get complacent with the amazing miracle that this is. Also, we need to resist the temptation to diminish in any way the significance of the transfiguration of Jesus. Jesus was and continues to be a hypostatic union, meaning Jesus is one divine person subsisting in two natures, the human and divine.
The humanity of Jesus through his resurrection was fully actualized and transcended the limitations of the three-dimensional realm that he had experienced in his humanity before. This is how he could disappear after making himself known in the breaking of the bread and how he just came through a locked door to interact with his disciples.
The relevance of the bodily resurrection of Jesus for us is that he, in dying and conquering death, is now the reality of who we will one day be. We will be perfected in Jesus to be as God has created us to be. The good news is that we do not have to wait to go to heaven for this process to begin! The path of becoming fulfilled and whole begins in this life, now, as we accept Jesus as our Lord, Savior, and Redeemer. Jesus in his encounter with his disciples from today’s reading from Luke continues the message he began at the beginning of his ministry, which is one of repentance and forgiveness.
When we were baptized we were born again as an integral part of the new creation given to us by the death and resurrection of Jesus. Through this grace, our humanity has been redeemed. Each day we are to live in humility, calling to mind our sins and repenting daily. God loves us as we are as his beloved daughters and sons, but he does not want us to stay where we are. Jesus will help us to identify that which stunts our growth and healing, that which leads us astray and diverts us from growing in closer relationship with him. Jesus suffered and died for each and every one of us, and he also seeks to live through us. Jesus is the foundation and source of our lives and he is our means to salvation. Jesus has come to show us that we are not in competition with God, but that his Father, our Father, seeks to be in communion and solidarity with us.
One of the best ways to grow in our relationship with God is to rest and renew in God’s word. We are blessed that the Church gives us daily readings at Mass that we can read, meditate, and pray with each day. We can also certainly work through one of the Gospels or any book of the Bible at our own pace. God has a word to communicate with each of us when we make the time to be still, breathe, read, and pray.
Jesus opened up the minds of Clopas, his companion, and the Apostles. Jesus will open our minds as well, help us to understand the Scriptures, and reveal himself to us when we are willing to slow down long enough and are committed to doing so daily. Even when we feel tired, let us resist scrolling through social media or surfing channels, which actually don’t help us renew, but instead continue to overstimulate our nervous system and can get us hyped up on dopamine.
May we instead rest and abide in God’s word which will help our minds to come to rest, renew, and discern better how to resist frittering away the precious time that God gives us each day. In reading the words of the Bible, in meditating and praying with them as well as just resting in God’s presence, we will slow down enough to remember who and whose we are. When we can rest in that truth, healing continues, and wholeness is possible.
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Photo: Where I end that majority of my evenings now. Breathing, reading, meditating and praying with the Bible.
Spiritual Stepping Stones 