Today’s Gospel (Luke 24:35-48) follows the encounter the two disciples had with the risen Jesus on the road to Emmaus, where they had recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread. Now, these same two disciples have returned to Jerusalem to share news of this encounter with the Apostles who had gathered in the Upper Room where the Last Supper had taken place. The Apostles are hidden there, staying out of sight for fear that those who killed Jesus would soon be coming for them.
The risen Jesus appears to them in that room and offers the peace that he alone can give. He reassures them that they are seeing victory, not defeat – that he is truly risen! He is not a ghost and they are not hallucinating. He eats with them, and then gives them a detailed recounting of how prophecies from the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) have been fulfilled by his passion. The disciples’ mission will be to go and tells others the very same truth – God’s plan of salvation was not defeated at Calvary; instead it was the defining moment of victory that was then fulfilled in the Resurrection.
Jesus calls his disciples “witnesses of these things,” a point echoed by St. Peter in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 3:13-15, 17-19). Peter has indeed become a witness. Before the Holy Spirit came upon him in wind and fire at the Pentecost, he hid himself away in fear along with the other Apostles. Now his fears have been replaced by faith in the Resurrection. The simple, uneducated fisherman, now stands publicly as the rock of Christ’s Church, eloquently challenging his listeners to repent, and inviting them to be baptized and share in Christ’s victory.
Then and now, the Resurrection of Jesus is disbelieved by some, and ignored by others. However, for those who have faith in the Lord and find strength in the Cross of Jesus, the Resurrection becomes an anchor that preserves our hope, even, and especially, during the darkest days of our lives. In the Sacraments, Jesus takes our fears away – the same way he did on the road to Emmaus and in the Upper Room. Like his original disciples, we are called to go and free others from their fears, by sharing with them the Good News that Jesus Christ has conquered sin and death, and offers us eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven.