May the Risen Christ bestow on us today, the gift of total conversion to
God and the forgiveness of all our sins.
Happy Sunday!
May the Risen Christ bestow on us today, the gift of total conversion to God and the forgiveness of all our sins.
Happy Sunday!
DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(Acts 3,13-15.17-19; 1 John 2, l-5a; Luke 24, 35-48; 3rd Sunday of Easter, Year B, April 18, 2021)
DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(Acts 3,13-15.17-19; 1 John 2, l-5a; Luke 24, 35-48;
3rd Sunday of Easter, Year B, April 18, 2021)
Today the liturgy continues to speak on the resurrection of Christ
particularly manifestation (of the Risen One to the apostles in the Upper
Room). The first reading is a part of Peter's discourse after the healing of
the cripple, in which he proclaims the resurrection of Jesus. The theme common
to the texts of today's liturgy is that of the remission of sins, which is
obtained for us by Jesus’ passion and offered to us by the Risen One.
The Gospel leads us back to the Upper Room, where Jesus was manifested to
the Eleven, addressing them, first of all, with this greeting: Peace be
with you! As in the Gospel of John (20,19.21.26), the Risen One brings
peace to us, precisely, because he gives us the remission of sins,
reconciliation with God. Luke recounts this episode with great emphasis on the
realism of the resurrection. In fact here, it is not simply a question of an
apparition of the soul of Jesus, but his true manifestation with his risen
body. Jesus realises that the apostles were troubled and were not convinced by
the sight of him, because they have no idea of the resurrection: they think it
is impossible. This is why Jesus tells them: Look at my hands and my feet: it is really me! He
shows his wounds as marks of his identity. He does not say: Look at my
face!; but: Look at my hands and my feet: it is really me! Touch
me and look. The disciples think they see a ghost, but the risen Jesus is not a
ghost: he is a man with body and soul. On account of this he says to the
disciples: Touch me and look; a ghost has no flesh and bones as you see
I have. And since this does not seem to be enough, he asks them: Do you have anything here to
eat? The disciples offered him a portion of fish; Jesus takes
it and eats it. Jesus' persistence on the realism of his resurrection
illuminates the biblical perspective on the body. This is a very different
perspective from the Greek one. The Greeks had arrived at the affirmation of
the immortality of the soul, and this had undoubtedly constituted a great
advancement in philosophical thought. But they regarded the body as an obstacle
to the soul. For some even, the body was like a tomb or a prison for the soul.
The body is a burden for the soul; therefore, the soul must free itself from
it, and only in this way can it reach its full dignity. The biblical
perspective, on the other hand, is very different. According to the Bible, the
body is created by God, and man is not complete if he is not a union of body
and soul. Therefore, Jesus' victory over death does not consist of his
remaining united with God with his immortal soul, but again receiving his body
united with his soul, in an existence that is obviously very different from our
earthly existence. Thus, the victory over death is truly complete: Jesus is
risen body and soul. This makes us understand that we must have a very positive
idea of our body. It is true that the body can be an occasion for sin for us;
in reality, sin is not caused by the body, but by our psychological and moral
weakness. The body itself is a magnificent tool that God has placed at our
disposal so that we can live our life to the fullest. And we must have great
respect for it, because it was created by God. We must take care of it in a balanced
way, and truly recognize that man is not complete if he is not a union of body
and soul. After showing the disciples that he was truly risen with his body,
Jesus, to find out the depth of their faith, refers to the words he had said
before his death, and precisely, from the word of God in the Old
Testament: These are the words
that I was mentioning when I was still with you. These words referred
to the prophecies: All the things written about me in the Law of Moses,
in the Prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled. Here Jesus
mentions the three parts of the Old Testament: the Law, the Prophets and the
Writings. We can recognize the Risen One only if we have assimilated the
teaching of the Bible and its predictions. Thanks Jesus’ words, who had
predicted his sufferings, death and resurrection several times, we can
recognize him as risen. Jesus’ words correspond to the predictions of the Old
Testament. The risen one, in fact, says to the apostles: Thus it is
written: Christ will have
to suffer, rise from the dead on the third day and in his name conversion and
the forgiveness of sins will be preached to all peoples, beginning with
Jerusalem. Of this you are witnesses. The passion and
resurrection of Jesus, as well as the fruitfulness that comes from them, had
been foretold in the Scriptures. The mystery of Jesus is a mystery of
reconciliation, which obtains conversion and the forgiveness of sins for all
peoples. Jesus’ earthly mission was limited to the lost sheep of the house of
Israel (cf. Matt 10,6), but after his passion and his resurrection the mission
of the apostles extends to the whole world. The risen Lord affirms: conversion
and the forgiveness of sins will be preached to all people. This
conversion and forgiveness are obtained through faith in the risen Christ.
In the first reading, Peter addresses the Jewish people, the people who had
asked for the condemnation of Jesus on the cross. With strong words and insistence,
the Apostle reminds them of this deplorable fact: You denied the Holy and the
Righteous One; You handed him over and denied him before Pilate, who had the
mind to free him; You killed the author of life. Thus, Peter
arouses repentance and conversion in the hearts of his listeners. But at the
same time, he shows divine mercy, saying: I know that you have acted
out of ignorance, as did your leaders. Peter here mitigates the
guilt of the Jews: they acted out of ignorance; circumstances made them blind;
they did not know what they were doing, as Jesus himself said on the cross (cf.
Luke 23,34). Peter then invites the people to repent, so that they may receive
the forgiveness of sins: God has
fulfilled what he had announced through the mouth of all the prophets, that is,
that Christ would die. Repent therefore and change your life, so that your sins
may be blotted out. It is a message of personal, spiritual
resurrection, through repentance, conversion and the forgiveness of sins.
The second reading completes the teaching of the other readings,
describing, in a more precise way, the situation of Christians after baptism,
that is, after their adhesion to Jesus. They cannot and must no longer sin,
because they have received the grace, the power of the resurrection, to,
victoriously, resist all the forces of evil. However, human weakness continues
to manifest itself in our Christian life and we can still fall into sin. John,
however, continues to invite us to keep hope alive, saying: If anyone sins we have an
advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the just One. Jesus is our advocate with
the Father, and the instrument of forgiveness. Through
his passion and resurrection, Jesus received the ability to offer forgiveness
for sins and to purify souls from any sin. And this applies not only to our
sins, but also to those of the whole world. The fruitfulness of Jesus' passion
and resurrection has no limits: it is a mystery of salvation that has value for
all peoples. Then John makes a statement that seems to be in contrast with the
previous ones: From
this we know that we have known him: if we observe his commandments. Whoever
says: I know him and does not keep his commandments, is a liar. John
insists on the need to observe the commandments, not to sin, to have an orientation
in conformity with the Christian faith and the victory of Christ over all the
forces of evil. We must, seriously, commit ourselves in this direction;
otherwise, we are not in authentic relationship with Jesus, we do not know him.
In the Bible, the term knowing means a very deep personal
relationship with a person. Therefore, without a serious commitment to
faithfulness to God's commandments, and Jesus' commandment to love one another,
it is not possible to, truly, be Christians, it is not possible to have an
authentic, profound relationship with Jesus. Thus, it becomes clear that the
Christian's situation cannot be a situation of resignation to sin. It is
always possible for him to commit faults, but these must not be his normal
attitude. His basic attitude must be that of the faithful observance of God's
commandments, especially that of charity. Whoever follows an orientation
different from this one, is not truly Christian, places himself outside Jesus’
influence, and grace, and moves towards perdition. We must distinguish the
basic attitude and faults well: they are two really different things. The basic
attitude of the Christian must be faithfulness to the Lord. However, despite
this attitude, we can be faulty due to human frailty. Then we have Jesus as our
advocate, who obtains forgiveness for us. However, we do not obtain this
forgiveness if our basic attitude is characterised by vice and selfishness,
which means, concretely, denying the faith. If our basic attitude is bad, we
cannot be united with Jesus.
Today the liturgy invites us to strengthen our fundamental attitude of
faith in the risen Christ, of faith in his victory over all the forces of evil,
and adherence to his saving will. Jesus wants to communicate to us his victory
over evil and make us progress in his love. We must therefore, develop
this basic attitude, knowing that it is essential for our Christian life. +John I. Okoye
(graphics by Chukwubike OC)
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