Encounter the risen Jesus
A Gospel Enquiry
Introduction
Somewhere in the past, the word “encounter” became a popular term for describing the type of meeting that initiates deep and lasting change in a person’s life and being. Curtis Martin, the founder of FOCUS (the Fellowship of Catholic University Students), wrote in his book Making Missionary Disciples (2018): “Encounters are those experiences where people leave lasting impressions in our lives.”
Martin’s definition of “encounter” does not convey the power, energy and drama of the changes in people’s lives that happen through the love of Jesus: the healings, people raised to life, thousands fed with only a few fish and loaves of bread … and the thousands upon thousands of people each day who encounter him in the Eucharist.
Two millennia have passed since those dramatic moments in that tiny area on the earth and still people encounter Jesus in their lives and there are real and lasting changes, purpose and direction mediated through word and sacrament.
Jesus present in the Eucharist is no less real than he is in the Gospel selected for this Gospel Enquiry. Whenever we celebrate the Eucharist with others we are witnesses to his suffering, death and resurrection. Blessed we are also to be surrounded by people of many nations gathered to praise and thank God for the grace of the presence of Jesus in our midst.
The Gospel
The disciples told their story of what had happened on the road and how they had recognised Jesus at the breaking of bread.
They were still talking about all this when Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you!’ In a state of alarm and fright, they thought they were seeing a ghost. But he said, ‘Why are you so agitated, and why are these doubts rising in your hearts? Look at my hands and feet; yes, it is I indeed. Touch me and see for yourselves; a ghost has no flesh and bones as you can see I have.’ And as he said this he showed them his hands and feet. Their joy was so great that they still could not believe it, and they stood there dumbfounded; so he said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ And they offered him a piece of grilled fish, which he took and ate before their eyes.
Then he told them, ‘This is what I meant when I said, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets and in the Psalms has to be fulfilled.’ He then opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, ‘So you see how it is written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that, in his name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses to this.’ (Luke 24:35-48)
The Enquiry
See
What happens in this Gospel story? Pay attention to the disciples’ reaction to Jesus appearing. Is this the only time in the Gospel when the disciples think that Jesus is a ghost?
Why does Luke include this story in his Gospel?
What happens because Jesus appears to his disciples?
Judge
What do you think about this encounter with Jesus?
What is “ideal” about how Jesus communicates with his disciples in this Gospel event?
In what ways are you challenged by encountering Jesus in this Gospel?
Act
What do you want to change in yourself and in the world by what you experience in this Gospel?
What small action can you carry out to help bring about the change you want to make in the world and in yourself?
Who can you involve in your action, when, where and how often?
Image Source: Fr Lawrence Lew OP (Creator), Fresco from the great Cloister of Santa Maria Novella in Florence, Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Worth reading: Martin, C. (2018). Making missionary disciples. Genesee, Colorado: FOCUS