Tag: Capernaum

Third Sunday of Easter

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the Scriptures.

On the day of Jesus’ resurrection, two of his disciples were walking to the village of Emmaus. They were talking sadly about everything that had happened to Jesus in the past few days. As they were walking, Jesus himself came up and walked with them, but they did not recognize him. He asked them what they were talking about, and they told him about all the things that had happened. Jesus listened to them and then began to explain the Scriptures to them. At the end of the day’s journey, the disciples urged Jesus to stay with them and have dinner. And as Jesus broke the bread, their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and then he disappeared. The disciples immediately ran back to Jerusalem to tell the other disciples that they had seen Jesus, saying, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?” The story of the Emmaus encounter is a reminder that even when we don’t recognize him, Jesus is always with us. He is always willing to listen to us and to help us understand his love for us through his death and resurrection and in the Eucharistic memorial.

God, help me see what is relevant in today’s Gospel reading. Jesus your Son says to the disciples of his passion, death, and the glory of his resurrection: “How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke.” Although walking with your Son and hearing him speak, they do not recognize him in their downcast state. Not until they see him break bread before them at dinner and look back over what he said to them were their eyes opened. And then, John tells us, he vanishes from their sight. There is no accident in the disappearance of Jesus immediately after the disciples recognize him. Their hearts burning within them transform their despondency into joy, and their setting out at once to the eleven replaces their slowness of heart, telling the others: “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” Just as your Son was present to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, he is the risen Christ alive today. God, strengthen my faith today in the real presence of Jesus, alive in the Eucharist.

Lord Jesus, open the Scriptures to me today; make my heart burn while you speak to me. Stay with me, Lord.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Saturday of the Second Week of Easter

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

In the middle of the Sea of Galilee when the day had already grown dark, the disciples are crossing the sea to get to Capernaum. John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, tells us in this passage something worth a second look. He says, speaking of himself and the disciples: “It had already grown dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.” What he meant by that, some Bible commentaries suggest, is that John expected Jesus to appear to them in some way. The crossing of the sea takes place after Jesus had performed the Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes, and the people wanted to make him king, so he withdrew alone to the mountain. What John meant by saying Jesus had not yet come expresses a longing to see him and desire to be at ease in his presence. When Jesus did appear, walking on the sea toward them, they began to be afraid. Jesus said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.” Before the disciples could take Jesus into the boat with them, they arrived immediately to their destination on the shore. How clearly the message of the Gospel translates into the many trials I face in daily life and its routine storms.

God, help me see the level of longing for Jesus and trust in him that John had and what it can teach me about discipleship. Help me grasp the richness of symbolism and meaning in today’s Gospel passage. The disciples are in the middle of the sea at night as storms begin to brew. John waits with certainty and hope for Jesus to return despite the apparent impossibility of his appearing to them from out of nowhere. Yet, he did appear, and the impossible became possible. At his words, “Do not be afraid,” another impossibility was brought into being by Jesus’ bringing the disciples to their destination across the sea immediately. Lord, as close as the disciples were to your Son, still they became afraid of his supernatural power even over the forces of nature. Give me the grace today to hear your voice in the midst of the day and know that you have mastery over it: “It is I. Do not be afraid.”

Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you. Thank you, Lord, for meeting me throughout the day, especially in those places where I am most fearful; let me look out for your coming.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W-KSOPWWBY