HOMILY FOR THE 3RD SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR B

HOMILY FOR THE 3RD SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR B

HOMILY THEME: OPEN TO UNDERSTAND

BY: Bishop Gerald M. Musa

Acts 3:13-15, 17-19; 1 John 2:1-5A; Luke 24:35-48

There is an ancient parable from the Indian subcontinent about “The Elephant and the Blind Men.” In a village, there lived six blind men who had heard of elephants but had never encountered one. One day, they heard that an elephant had been brought to the village, and they were eager to experience it for themselves. They decided to go and “see” the elephant, each hoping to understand what it was like.

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As they approached the elephant, each blind man reached out to touch it and gain an understanding of its nature. The first blind man touched the elephant’s side and declared, “An elephant is like a wall!” The second blind man felt the elephant’s tusk and exclaimed, “No, it’s like a spear!” The third, feeling the elephant’s trunk, disagreed, saying, “You’re both wrong! An elephant is like a snake!” The fourth blind man, touching the elephant’s leg, argued, “None of you know what you’re talking about! An elephant is like a tree trunk!” The fifth, feeling the elephant’s ear, chimed in, “You’re all mistaken! An elephant is like a fan!” And the sixth, grasping the elephant’s tail, declared, “You’re all fools! An elephant is like a rope!”

As the blind men argued vehemently about the nature of the elephant, a wise man passing by overheard their debate. He approached them and gently explained, “You are all correct, but only partially. Each of you has touched a different part of the elephant, and your understanding is limited to that part. To truly understand the elephant, you must consider all of your experiences together.” Realizing the wisdom of the wise man’s words, the blind men stopped arguing and listened as he described the elephant in its entirety. They began to understand that their perceptions were incomplete and that only by sharing their experiences could they gain a fuller understanding of the truth.

“The Elephant and the Blind Men” illustrates how our understanding of the world can be limited by our individual experiences and how dialogue can lead to a more comprehensive understanding of truth.

Likewise, people understood the resurrection of Jesus differently and so Jesus visited the disciples and “He then opened their minds to understand the scriptures” (Luke 24:45). In doing so:
 He opened the minds of his disciples to enable them to connect the stories of the Old Testament with the New Testament.
 He opened their minds to understand to see the hand of God in the mystery of the incarnation, teaching, passion, death and resurrection.

He opened their minds so that they could rise above their many doubts and believe in God’s work.

Jesus provided them with a deeper understanding of the Scriptures and their fulfilment in him. He tells them that everything written about him in these Scriptures must be fulfilled, indicating that his life, death, and resurrection were following God’s plan as revealed in the Old Testament. According to Peter the Apostle, “…What God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ should suffer, he thus fulfilled” (Acts of the Apostles 3:18).

Understanding: A Fruit of Deep Encounter
It was after he opened the minds of his disciples that he sent them out to go and preach the gospel of repentance and forgiveness. No doubt, the gift of understanding is a special gift of the Holy Spirit, which enables people to interpret and view the events of life in the way God sees them. Sometimes, we close our minds and shut down our quest, thirst and hunger for deep spiritual life. Further, we tend to be afraid or indifferent about establishing a profound relationship with Jesus and we seem to be satisfied with the little we know. It is possible to talk about the risen Jesus only if someone has personally encountered him.

We need to pray that the risen Christ will open our minds to understand the scriptures; to understand the meaning and purpose of life and to understand that we are all called to participate in spreading the good news of repentance and forgiveness (cf. Acts of the Apostles 3:17-19). However, there is a need to develop a deeper relationship with the risen Christ to share the faith more confidently.

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