HOMILY OF THURSDAY IN EASTER OCTAVE — YEAR A
HOMILY OF THURSDAY IN EASTER OCTAVE — YEAR A
HOMILY THEME: “THEIR JOY WAS SO GREAT THAT THEY STILL COULD NOT BELIEVE IT”
BY: Fr. Ernest Cross
Acts 3:11-26, Ps. 8:2,5-9, Luke 24:35-48
The gospel reading for this morning attributes a wide range of emotions to the disciples. They reacted with fear and panic, believing they were seeing a ghost, when Jesus first appeared among them with his gift of peace.
ALSO RECOMMENDED: HOMILY OF THURSDAY IN EASTER OCTAVE
Jesus then speaks to them as highly disturbed and doubtful individuals. Joy took over their emotions when he showed them his hands and feet. In fact, a unique statement “their joy was so great that they still could not believe it” appears in the gospel reading at this point. They still found it difficult to accept that Jesus was truly alive and among them, even if their fear had been replaced by gladness.
The unexpectedness of Easter Sunday for the disciples is conveyed in the gospel reading. In order to persuade them that he was alive—and alive in a new and more powerful way—the risen Jesus had to go to considerable measures. Even we are occasionally tempted to believe that the Easter message is too lovely to be true.
But the foundation of our faith is Easter. The Friday that Jesus was crucified would never have been recognised as Good Friday if it weren’t for Easter. Only in the context of Easter did Jesus’ death come to be seen as a revelation of the God of life and love, rather than just another terrible killing of an innocent person. We are encouraged to indulge in salvific joy experienced by the early disciples during this Easter season. This season was made by the Lord. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
FOR A SIMILAR HOMILY, CLICK HERE >>>>>
Dear friends in Christ, We have been sustained by your Charity for the past 11years. Here we are saddled with annual bills. Please, be kind to us with your donation. Click on the “Donate” button to get started. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
