3rd Sunday of the Easter – The appearance to disciples in Jerusalem (Lk 24:35-48)

Share the Divine Experience

Introduction

-          Stories are all time attraction in human history. We remember and communicate most of the information in story form.

-          There was an old friend of mine who was a veteran of the Second World War. He used to tell the war stories to us. He used to repeat the same stories when ever gather. I might have heard more than a dozen times the stories of war and how he escaped from dangers. He cannot be blamed for this repetition since these incidents are so crucial in his life.

-          We repeat and share the incidents and stories that have touched us. The sermons of the apostles were story telling about what they have experienced from Jesus. In the first reading we heard of the story telling of Peter after healing the crippled man.

-          In today’s gospel we see the disciples share the Emmaus story - their unforgettable experience with the other disciples, the meeting of the risen Lord.

Content

-          Sharing the message of Jesus has two results.

1.      It fulfills our duty to obey Jesus’ commandment - to proclaim the Good News.

§  1^st reading – Peter proclaimed the name of Jesus after healing the crippled man in the name of Jesus. Peter invited the audience to repent and believe in Jesus.

§  Experiencing and sharing are two sides of the same coin. If we experience God’s mercy we are accountable to share it with others so that others would come to know the goodness of God.

§  How to experience Christ? It is through sacraments, prayers, other spiritual exercises, in loving others selflessly and in charity.

§  Witness Christ through

·         Life of faith

·         Acts of faith

·         Words of faith

2.      It makes us grow in the experience of Christ.

§  When the disciples were sharing their experience Christ stood midst them.

§  When we share the experience we re-live the experience. It makes Jesus present in our life and in the life of those who listen to it.

§  It makes all to grow in faith.

-          What to share? It is our experience with Jesus, our knowledge of the Word, our personal moments of life where we experienced God’s love and mercy, our prayer experience, the stories of God’s love and power in the Bible, etc.

Conclusion

-          Let us be the people who experience God, spread the message of His Kingdom and grow together to the risen Lord.