Thursday in the Octave of Easter
By Lorenz S. Centino, Jr.
Luke 24: 35 - 48
35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.
36 As they were saying this, Jesus himself stood among them.
37 But they were startled and frightened, and supposed that they saw a spirit.
38 And he said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do questionings rise in your hearts?
39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have."
41 And while they still disbelieved for joy, and wondered, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?"
42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish,
43 and he took it and ate before them.
44 Then he said to them, "These are my words which I spoke to you, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled."
45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures,
46 and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,
47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem
48 You are witnesses of these things.
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS:
A BLESSED THURSDAY TO ALL!!!
To DOUBT is an inherent vulnerability of the human mind or heart, a natural reaction of a being created to be finite in intellectual capacity for complete comprehension and instant knowledge. Our experience would tell us that our mind, which is the faculty for cognition, has the natural propensity to seek for the concrete, observable, and measurable basis before making any claim for understanding and CERTAINTY. We always seek a basis in believing on something. We are just like the apostles who will not believe unless we can subject certitude with our own eyes.
In the Gospel today, the apostles were having difficulty grappling with the idea of the resurrection of Jesus without seeing him personally. They were even startled and frightened when Jesus stood before them. They could have not expected to see him that they had thought Jesus was a ghost or an illusion. They had difficulty dealing with a NEW REALITY- a DEAD man present in their midst. But it is this RESURRECTION of Jesus that ushered the planting of the seed of Christianity everywhere. It is by the resurrection of Jesus that the doubtful and confused disciples were transformed into ZEALOUS MISSIONARIES proclaiming the good news of a NEW LIFE in CHRIST to all! Without the resurrection Christianity has NOTHING to OFFER to the world. Jesus’ APPEARANCE before his disciples is the assurance of the good news our faith: as the Lord is ALIVE, so must we who will die with him will also arise to NEW LIFE with God. Let our hearts, therefore, not be troubled about the ultimate future of our existence. Jesus’ resurrection has already given us the ultimate answer.
To appease the troubled hearts and confused minds of the disciples, Jesus said “See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have."
Jesus made himself more real to them by EATING with them. It was Jesus who made himself REAL to the doubtful and confused disciples. Aside from showing his wounds and eating with them, he EXPLAINED to them the SCRIPTURES. Jesus OPENS the MINDS of his doubtful and confused disciples to BELIEVE in him through the scriptures. This is an invitation for us to open prayerfully the Bible so that the Lord will nourish and strengthen us when we are troubled and confused and in need for enlightenment and guidance.
Let us therefore have time to reflect on the Word of God in the Bible so that our eyes will be opened to see the reality of God ACTIVELY PRESENT and INVOLVED in our lives.
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