"Hearts burning within us"
by Bishop Richard Henning

readings

First Reading: Acts 2:14, 22-33
Responsorial: Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11
Second Reading: 1 Peter 1:17-21
Gospel passage: Luke 24:13-35

May Your people exult for ever, O God, in renewed youthfulness of spirit, so that, rejoicing now in the restored glory of our adoption, we may look forward in confident hope to the rejoicing of the day of resurrection...
Collect for the 3rd Sunday of Easter

At the outset of his great two-volume work, The Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, Luke assures his reader, Theophilus, that he provides a reliable narrative or history of events. Commentators rightly recognize Luke’s interest in history and his skill as a historian. Yet it must be acknowledged that Luke’s method differs from contemporary historical writing in that Luke never claims to have an unbiased view of events. On the contrary, he looks at events from a decidedly faith-filled perspective and for this reason some call his work “salvation history.”
 
Luke’s unique history of Jesus and the Church teaches the reader about the context for the events and the proper understanding of those events. Luke sees the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus as standing at the very center of history. All the previous events of salvation history have prepared the world for this turning point. As both the first reading from Acts and the Gospel passage assert, the scriptures have foretold and prepared for the coming of the Messiah. Likewise the resurrection and ascension of Jesus initiate a new age, an age that builds upon this same central focus. The crucial issue is the proper understanding of Jesus. Again both readings assert that the resurrection provides God’s clear testimony to the identity of Jesus as Messiah and Son of God. God’s altering of death to life is now the cause for believers to alter their way of life. They must now believe - and know His presence in the Scriptures, in the breaking of the bread, and in the life-giving gift of the Spirit.
 
In addition to providing an overarching context for past, present, and future, Luke’s history also asserts the truth that all of these events fit into God’s plan of salvation. In fact, the events testify to the existence and shape of that plan. And so Peter speaks in Jerusalem of the set plan of God, a plan made especially plain by the fact of the resurrection. On the road to Emmaus, the disciples remain confused until the Lord Himself reproaches them for failing to see that these events in all their pain and glory have been necessary for the fulfillment of God’s plan. The Lord then interprets the scriptures to reveal that plan to them.
 
As he outlines God’s plan of Salvation, Luke also teaches the reader that his history is not about a dead past, but a living present. It is not mere history but His Story. Jesus stands at the center of time, and the center of every moment, as the believer comes to know the Lord and receive the fruits of salvation: forgiveness of sins, the joy of compassionate love, the power of God’s Spirit. In the Gospel passage, Jesus teaches the disciples how to remain connected to Him in the understanding of the scriptures and the breaking of the bread. For the crowds that Peter addresses on Pentecost, the physical presence of Jesus in His Galilean ministry is now in the past, but His importance and His presence remain. They too will come to know Him as His Spirit pours forth. They too become “witnesses” not to past events, but to present realities.
 
Like the Jerusalem crowds and the disciples on the road, we have heard the Good News proclaimed to us. We have heard His Story and know its truth in our present. In a very real way, His Story is our story. We hear Him in the interpretation of the Word and we see Him in the breaking of the Bread. And we live in the time of “sojourning” spoken of by Peter in the second reading. We await the end of the ages but live even now in the light of Christ’s resurrection. So Peter can offer us the same challenge that he spoke to early Christians. We must live in gratitude for the gift of the Lord who gave His life’s blood for our salvation. His truth is revealed to us and it is a truth with consequences. We have seen the Lord’s grace unfold in history and in His Story, now we give over our present and our story to a life of faithful hope in the Lord. May our hearts too burn within us, alive with faith, hope, and love.