Texts taken from the Missalette “On Your Word” March-April 2023

Third Sunday of Easter (A)
3rd week, psalter week

FIRST READING

From the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:14a, 22-33)
[On the day of Pentecost,] Peter, standing with the Eleven, raised his voice and proclaimed: «Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazorean was a man commended to you by God with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs, which God worked through him in your midst, as you yourselves know. This man, delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God, you killed, using lawless men to crucify him. But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death, because it was impossible for him to be held by it. For David says of him: “I saw the Lord ever before me; with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed. Therefore my heart has been glad and my tongue has rejoiced; moreover, my flesh will dwell in hope, because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld nor suffer your holy one to see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.” My brothers, I can confidently speak to you about the patriarch David, that he died and was buried, and his tomb is in our midst to this day. But since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne, he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he abandoned to the netherworld nor did his flesh see corruption. God raised this Jesus; of this we are all witnesses. Exalted at the right hand of God, he received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father and poured it forth, as you see and hear». – The word of God.

Commentary on the first reading

The descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost transforms the apostles into ardent and courageous witnesses of the Risen One, aware that God’s promise has now been fulfilled and that the final age has begun. The change that took place among the disciples is clearly attested by Peter’s first speech, reported in Acts. Jesus is «a man commended by God»; it is shown that the cross
– which had scandalized all the apostles –
is part of God’s wise plan, by which, out of love, he handed his only Son over to humanity. The proclamation is followed by the testimony of the Scriptures, which can be fully understood only in the light of the paschal mystery. Peter therefore explains Psalm 15, which has found its full realization in Christ: he is the Messiah, whose soul was not abandoned to the netherworld, who did not experience corruption, but is filled with joy in the presence of the Father. Through the Spirit poured out upon them, the apostles are witnesses to Christ’s resurrection and proclaim it boldly to all Israel and to the ends of the earth.

SECOND READING

From the first letter of Saint Peter the Apostle (1 Peter 1:17-21)
Beloved, if you invoke as Father him who judges impartially according to each one’s works, conduct yourselves with reverence during the time of your sojourn. Realize that you were ransomed from your futile conduct, handed on by your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ as of a spotless unblemished lamb. He was known before the foundation of the world but revealed in the final time for you, who through him believe in God who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. – The word of God.

Commentary on the second reading

At its outset, Peter’s letter leads the faithful to contemplate the grace of regeneration accomplished by the Father, through Christ, in the Spirit. It then considers concretely what it means to live by faith, offering a Christian interpretation of the mystery of suffering, viewed as a purifying test and as participation in Christ’s sufferings. On this solid foundation, the Apostle can show the demands of Christian life, which is a journey of sanctification and conformity to Christ. These demands are not reduced to outward practices, but consist in an inner attitude that determines the entire orientation of one’s existence. Through Baptism, we become children of God, and awareness of this dignity fills Christians with “holy fear,” a biblical term that does not mean fear in the ordinary sense, but rather love filled with reverence and permeated by an awareness of one’s own littleness. Indeed, the grace received was purchased at a great price by Christ himself, the true lamb, whose blood freed humanity from sin and eternal death.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Luke (Luke 24:13-35)

Now that very day [the first day of the week] two of the [discepoli] were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. He asked them, «What are you discussing as you walk along?». They stopped, looking downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply, «Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?». And he replied to them, «What sort of things?». They said to him, «The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel. And now, besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Some women from our group, however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body; they returned and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive. Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see». And he said to them, «Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?». Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the Scriptures. As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. But they urged him, «Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is nearly over». So he went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, «Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?». So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the Eleven and those with them who were saying, «The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!». Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread. – The Gospel of the Lord.

Commentary on the Gospel of the day

It is remarkable that the post-Easter Jesus is never recognized by his appearance or by what he says, but always and only by what he does. It is beautiful, then, to think that Jesus has the face of each person and makes himself known through our actions. In this way, everyone can encounter Jesus through us, because beautiful words alone are not enough to call ourselves Christians; what is needed is a serious and consistent witness of life. Certainly, it is not easy to be authentic disciples today, but in reality it has never been easy, not even in Jesus’ own time, when the apostles fled from the cross or even denied him. Yet the Risen One never abandons us along the way; rather, he is always seeking new opportunities to meet us. He is faithful to his promise: «I am with you always». Let us therefore make our own the prayer of the two disciples of Emmaus: «Stay with us». Stay with us, Lord, despite our blindness, our doubt, and our sin. Stay with us, Lord, and teach us the Scriptures. Stay with us, Lord, and break the bread for us. Stay with us, Lord, because evening is falling and darkness threatens the light. Stay with us, Lord, always! And we will no longer be afraid.