On the Road to Repentance: Sunday Reflection

This morning’s Gospel reading is Luke 24:35–48:

The two disciples recounted what had taken place on the way, and how Jesus was made known to them in the breaking of bread.

While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Then he said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? 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.” And as he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them.

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 and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 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.”

 What does it mean to walk with Christ? And what does it mean to those who fail to recognize it at first? All three of today’s readings give us several perspectives on this question, and all three give us hope in God’s boundless love and mercy.

Let’s take them in chronological order.

Today’s Gospel reading follows the story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, who had been so blinded with grief over Jesus’ death that they could not recognize Him when He walked with them. Of course, we can all understand that; there are many times when we get so weighed down with grief and worry that we struggle to comprehend that the Lord is walking with us during those times. In last week’s Gospel reading, we read how Jesus unlocked the meaning of the events that had taken place and their necessity in fulfilling the Scriptures.  By revealing His love, he lifted their hearts even before they recognized Jesus, and finally realized who He was in the breaking of the bread.

Today’s Gospel brings us this same issue, only this time with the disciples. The two men from the road to Emmaus bring them the news that Jesus appeared to them, and just as they finish the story, He appears for the first time to all of them. 

But how do they react? Instead of immediately rejoicing, the disciples were terrified by Jesus’ materialization in their presence. He had to calm them down and prove that He was a living being by eating some fish in their presence. 

By this time, Jesus had spent three years with them, at least, walking all over Judea, Samaria, and other places. Yet they still didn’t quite know His nature, despite having literally walked with Jesus all that time. There are reasons for that — human fallibility, the impossible nature of Jesus’ triumph over death. However, they had seen the signs that we now read in the Gospels too, such as the resurrection of Lazarus, the healings of people thought dead or close to it, and of course the same Scripture that Jesus unlocked for the two travelers to Emmaus.  

 And yet, Jesus lovingly and patiently explains it all to them and gives them the full understanding of the scriptures, too.

Finally, Luke also brings us Peter’s declaration to Jerusalem in our first reading from Acts 3. This takes place after the Gospel scene and after Pentecost, in which the Holy Spirit has descended and dwells in the disciples, now Apostles. In his address, Peter recounts how the masses rejected Christ and put Him to death to spare a murderer. Does Peter condemn them to Hell as the masses condemned Christ to the cross? No; in fact, he offers the love of Christ to them if they repent of their sins. “Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away,” Peter proclaims, offering the chance for eternal life with the same Christ that Jerusalem had cruelly betrayed. 

In these passages, we can see how Christ walks with us, even when we may not recognize Him or even consider Him at all. The two travelers on the road to Emmaus needed a revelation about Christ’s mission of salvation through the destruction of death. The disciples had lost all hope in the revelation with the death of Jesus and needed to have their faith restored and the meaning unlocked for them, even though they had walked with Christ for years on His mission. And finally, Christ offers Himself to all people, even those who had done evil and rejected Him, through repentance and discipleship.  

 Which of these are we? At times, I have been all three. When I was the third situation, I lived in unrepentant sin and called it good and rejected any viewpoint that said otherwise. In those times where I was in the first situation, the worries and cares of the world left me in despair, without any hope. Mainly, though, I find myself in the position of the disciples — still believing in Christ but utterly flummoxed about my place in His mission, and doubtful of my value in it. 

As today’s readings remind us, though, it doesn’t matter. Christ walks with us at all times, lifting us up when we turn to Him, and helping us desire His love and salvation. It may take a long time for us to recognize Him, and sometimes we may lose sight of Him because we allow ourselves to become blinded by sin and despair. But we must remain confident that Christ walks with us through it all, and always leads us back to Him in the breaking of the bread.

Previous reflections on these readings:

The front page image is “The Resurrected Christ Appearing to His Disciples” by Luca Signorelli, 1514. On display at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Via Wikimedia Commons. 

“Sunday Reflection” is a regular feature, looking at the specific readings used in today’s Mass in Catholic parishes around the world. The reflection represents only my own point of view, intended to help prepare myself for the Lord’s day and perhaps spark a meaningful discussion. Previous Sunday Reflections from the main page can be found here.