Wednesday, Octave of Easter: Power in the Name of Jesus!

Today's readings continue to proclaim the Easter joy that washed over Mary Magdalen, the Apostles, disciples and spread outward like an unstoppable wave. Our first reading from Acts 3:1-10 recounts what happened when Peter and John encountered a paralyzed man begging at the Temple gate in Jerusalem:

“Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, 'Look at us.' He paid attention to them, expecting to receive something from them. Peter said, 'I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk.' Then Peter took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles grew strong. He leaped up, stood, and walked around, and went into the temple with them, walking and jumping and praising God.”

The people who saw the man are filled with “amazement and astonishment at what had happened to him.” All in the name of Jesus, spoken in faith.

The psalm response (Ps 105:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8-9) invites us to “Give thanks to the Lord [and] invoke his holy name... sing his praise and make known his wondrous deeds.” David calls his hearers to “Glory in his holy name,” to “rejoice”, “seek his strength” because “He remembers his covenant...with Abraham...” We are the happy recipients of God's covenant promises, fulfilled in Jesus. We, like the paralyzed man, healed from what held him back from a full life, “glory in His holy Name” and “rejoice” at what God has graciously done for us in Jesus' holy Name.

Today's Gospel from Lk 24:13-35 is the Road to Emmaus story. Jesus joins two dejected disciples leaving Jerusalem; kept from recognizing Him, they walk on together, telling Him of their dashed hopes after the Crucifixion:

“Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, ... our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel...”

The two travellers continue –

“Some women from our group, however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his Body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive. Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see.”

At this point, Jesus shows them how everything that has happened is the fulfillment of God's word and covenant promises of a Messiah:

“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.”

Arriving at their destination, the disciples invite Jesus to stay, given the late hour. At table, Jesus blesses and breaks the bread. Their eyes are opened to Who He is, and He disappears from their sight. Suddenly, everything makes sense. They say to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?” They return to Jerusalem to share the good news with the Apostles, who tell them, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” The Gospel story ends: “Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.”

My skin tingles every time I hear that story, when the disciples exclaim, “were not our hearts burning... while He ...opened the Scriptures to us?” Something deep within us as believers knows that Jesus holds the keys to unlock our sense of wonder, fulfillment and deepest possible joy. He is present “in the breaking of the bread”, in the proclamation of the Scriptures, and in the praying assembly.* This is our great heritage – the fulfillment of all God's promises, the realization of all our hopes. Nothing can touch the treasures we have in Christ Jesus. He is truly risen, and there is indeed power in His holy Name!

Link to readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/042022.cfm

*Catholics believe Jesus is present in four ways in the Eucharist: in the Eucharistic species (under the appearance of bread and wine), and in the person of the minister who stands in Christ's place as head of His assembled body, in the praying assembly and in the proclamation of God's word. (Second Vatican Council, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, [Sacrosanctum Concilium], No. 7.)
https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_en.html