Third Sunday of Easter [A]

 


THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER [A]


Do you remember a band called Katrina & the Waves?  They were a band that sort of  “came and went.”  The mid-1980s would represent their peak; that’s when they scored with a hit song titled “Walking On Sunshine.”  The 1985 song climbed its way into the top ten and remained there for a period of several weeks. It is worth mentioning the song because we hear something about the subject of walking in this weekend’s Gospel selection. Jesus joins up with a pair of travelers as they walk along a road that’s taking them to the village of Emmaus. They are heading to Emmaus and, as a consequence, they are heading away from the city of Jerusalem. 


Curiously, they fail to recognize Jesus for who he is. This perhaps has to do with the fact that he is in his newly resurrected form. Mary Magdalene struggles in a very similar way when she has her encounter with the resurrected Jesus (see John 20:11-18). In any case, Jesus will reveal himself to the travelers, but it’s going to happen according to a particular pattern. First, he connects with them at the emotional level: Tell me about your sadness (Luke 24:17-19). Next, they need to regain their sense of perspective. This will involve a tour through the Old Testament: it’s foretold in the prophecies that the Messiah would have to suffer. 


So he is breaking open the word for them. Then he follows by breaking bread with them when they are at table together. This is the gesture that brings them around. Suddenly, they “come to know” Jesus for who he truly is (24:35). This will create a significant impact on them. They are, in effect, being propelled back to Jerusalem. It is time to do some more walking: not away from Jerusalem, but rather toward Jerusalem. The name “Jerusalem” derives from the Hebrew language, and it means “the place of peace.”  For the travelers, peace seemed like a distant reality; remote, far away. Now, it is within range. All they have to do is start walking. 


You could say that their initial walk—the walk leading away from Jerusalem— was a dark and gloomy experience. As for the walk leading back, it probably feels as if they are “walking on sunshine.”  This circles us back once again to Katrina and her band of Waves. We referred to them as the band that came and sort of went. Jesus, for all practical purposes, looked like somebody who came and then went. That’s how it would have appeared for the travelers and for the audience gathered in the Book of Acts chapter two. The key is to focus upon the scriptures, and also upon the mystery of the Eucharist. This approach will generate a kind of “blessed assurance,” a renewed awareness of his abiding presence. 


He is walking with us. Furthermore, he is in solidarity with us. He’s united with us, even when we walk in a contrary direction; continually pointing us to the Word and to the miracle of his Sacramental Grace. Note how the word “deliver” shows up in both our first reading (Acts 2:23) and in our second reading (1st Peter 1:18, original NAB). When you welcome Christ into your journey, when you open yourself up to his word and to his grace, this translates into the gift of true and lasting deliverance. He’s literally turning you around, after the fashion of Luke 24. The peace that was receding is now getting closer and closer. Happily, you are no longer walking in a contrary direction. You have spent enough time visiting the darkness; it is time to proceed into the light. With the Lord’s help, you really will be WALKING ON SUNSHINE. 

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