Homilies

March 26, 2008
Wednesday of Easter Week
Acts 3:1-10; Luke 24:13-35
Fr. Francis Steger, OCSO

"I have neither silver nor gold, but what I have I give to you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarean, rise and walk." We may not have silver or gold either, but we do have the ability to offer a helping hand or a smile or an encouraging word. People's lives can be and have been changed by just such actions. Peter acted. He "took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles grew strong." Scott Hahn stopped by a former friend's house as Scott was on his way to give a lecture. That spontaneous decision to stop in saved his former friend from committing suicide.

We never know what a deed or word can do to help or harm another person. We know what happened to the cripple. "He leaped up, stood, and walked around, and went into the temple with them, walking and jumping and praising God." When God gives us a favor (and He gives us many of them every day, but we have to stay awake in order to recognize them), how often do we acknowledge His goodness to us? The acknowledgement that He asks for is that helping hand stretched out to one or more or His brothers or sisters. He also desires us to be grateful. God loves gratitude. We expressed our gratitude when we sang in the Responsorial Psalm: "Give thanks to the Lord, invoke his name; make known among the nations his deeds."

In the Gospel we see two men walking along and discussing what had happened these past few days. As they were walking a stranger joins them. He asks them: "What are you discussing as you walk along?" This question amazes them. Cleopas replied: "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?" Jesus leads them on. "What sort of things?" They explained to Him what they had been talking about. They had become discouraged: "But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel." Jesus shows His amazement: "Oh, how foolish you are! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into His glory?" But He has compassion for them and explains to them the meaning of what Moses and all the prophets had foretold about Him.

Jesus accepts their invitation to stay with them and sits at table 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." When we receive Jesus in the Eucharist, may our eyes be opened! He may vanish from our sight in order to enable us to grow in faith. One day we will see Him openly, but for now we must be content with faith. For the time being we must seek Him until our hearts burn within us as He speaks to us and opens the Scriptures to us. Then we also will exclaim: "The Lord has truly been raised and has made Himself known to us! May we enable Jesus to speak through us so that He may make Himself known to all His children throughout the world!