HOMILY FOR SUNDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK OF EASTER, YEAR B
HOMILY FOR SUNDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK OF EASTER, YEAR B
HOMILY THEME: FINDING PEACE IN THE RESURRECTION
BY: FR. STEPHEN ‘DAYO OSINKOYA
Acts 3:13-15, 17-19
Psalm 4
1 John 2:1-5
Luke 24:35-48
Today we continue our reflection on Jesus’ appearance to his disciples after his resurrection. Earlier on, Jesus had appeared to his disciples on their way to Emmaus. Today, we hear these disciples narrating their experience to the other disciples behind closed doors and windows.
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On one hand we could begin to imagine how excited these two disciples would be about their encounter with the risen Lord, how happy they are that Jesus is truly risen. But on the other hand, we could also imagine how terrified the whole group was when Jesus appeared among them even though the doors and windows were locked. Now they are confronted with the reality of Jesus’ resurrection and they were afraid, thinking it was a ghost. But Jesus in his usual fashion brought them PEACE. he brought calmness to their fear and worries. He cleared their doubts by showing them his hands, feet and side. He ate with them like he had done in the past. And we are told great was their joy.
There is a whole lot to learn from today’s readings. First and foremost, we are called to repentance if we must benefit from the expiation Christ’s suffering and death has done. We are called to come out from the dark tomb of sin into the light of Christ’s resurrection. We cannot claim to know God or claim to be his Children, his witnesses or claim to love Him while we remain in sin. To know God is to keep His commandments. And what does God command us? The summary of God’s command is “To love our neighbour as ourselves.” If each person genuinely loves his neighbour, our world and our immediate community in particular would radiate love.
Secondly, many of the sins we commit today arise from our fear and feelings of insecurity, worries over how to care for our families at home, how to contribute to the community in which we live; how to live in the same community and play our roles, worries over how to be successful in our occupations, complete our projects, and anxiety over what tomorrow holds for us. All these at times make us to relate with those around us the way we shouldn’t and do things we shouldn’t do.
Jesus offers us his peace today. To calm our fears and worries he says: ‘Peace be with you.’ The peace which we could not find even in the highest of human achievements and excellence, the peace which the world cannot give is what Christ is offering us today.
Finally, as Christians, people of the resurrection, we are called by the example of our lives, a life of holiness to be witnesses to Christ’s love, compassion, mercy and forgiveness. Jesus in his compassion did not condemn the disciples for their fear and doubt. Rather, he spoke to them gently and offered them peace. Then he took his time again to correct their errors, explain the scriptures to them, and make them understand what had been foretold.
So, let us ask ourselves, how many times have we been patient with one another? Maybe we don’t take time and exercise patience to understand those around us. Maybe we always want everything to happen quickly. We must not forget, Christ is always patient with us, waiting for us to come back to him from the field of sin.
Today, we are called to be Christ’s witnesses in this our sinful world, by standing out for him and living a life worthy of his suffering and death. To stand for Christ may be very difficult today, as it has always been, but Christ is telling us not to be afraid, he is always there for us, and may his peace always remain with us.
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