Peace be with you

Acts 3:11-26, Lk. 24:35-48. Peter saw how Jesus made visible and tangible all that the Jews had hoped made a great profession of faith in today's first reading. According to him, all the prophets pre-announced the death and resurrection of Jesus. He echoes what our Lord said on the evening of Easter day, that everything written about Him in Scripture had to be fulfilled. The underlying belief is that God’s plans are thoroughly enmeshed in human existence and are being carried out across the sweep of history. Generations of people have found their hopes sustained, their trials overcome, their laws and habits purified, under the influence of God’s prompting Spirit. We in turn ought to share this understanding with our own generation. In a forgiving spirit, Peter says that the people who rejected Jesus acted out of ignorance.

It is easier for us to admit that our lives are guided by providence than to accept that our behaviour can sometimes include ignorance and malice. However, if we are honest, our past failings and those of our Church must be admitted and healed, not ignored. In our life, how much harm was done by misguided attempts to cover up wrongdoing, rather than dealing with it. As Peter says, God will not condemn us for what we never intended to do. He asks us to be peaceful and trustful in the face of events that are beyond our control. The Scriptures tell us that the redemption of the world was achieved by Jesus in spite of the ignorance and injustice of those who rejected Him. This is to establish the fact that God can indeed write straight, even with crooked lines. Many people struggle to take in the goodnews of Easter, to really believe it. They find it easier to identify with the Passion than with the Resurrection. We can easily connect with the suffering of Jesus because we have experienced some suffering ourselves. Like the disciples at the road to Emmaus as recorded in today's Gospel, we stand before the goodnews of Easter, struggling to believe. We need time to recognise that the risen Lord is indeed among us, saying to us what He said to His disciples, “Peace be with you.” He offers us that special peace of mind and heart which is put into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. As we receive this gift ofHhis love He sends us out as agents of forgiveness, as peacemakers, just as He sent out the disciples in the Gospel.

May the Lord create a new spirit within us and end the conflicts which divide our world! Amen!! Good morning, Peace be with you!!!