A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 9, n. 24)
3rd Sunday of Easter, Year A – May 8, 2011 *
“The Call of the Easter People”
BIBLE READINGS
Acts 2:14, 22-33 // I Pt 1:17-21 // Lk 24:13-35
(N.B. Series 9 of BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year A from the perspective of the Second Reading. For reflections on the Sunday liturgy of Year C based on the Gospel reading, please scroll up to the “ARCHIVES” above and open Series 3. For reflections based on the Old Testament reading, open Series 6.)
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS
The Easter people delight in the renewing presence of the Risen Lord in their midst. Their joyful “Alleluias” resound and fill the world with beauty and grace. They affirm their faith in the loving God who raised his Son Jesus from the dead. God is the almighty Father whose characteristic work is to bring life out of death.
The story of the journey of the Risen Lord with the two disciples to Emmaus (Lk 24:13-35) is powerful and evocative. Graziano and Nancy Seitz Marcheschi remark: “There is conflict and assurance here … answers to our most profound questions about faith and struggle … about us who walk through life often afraid, often alone, often unable to recognize the stranger who walks beside us; about us who cry ‘Stay with us!’ to anyone who makes us feel safe or answers our questions.” In this beautiful Gospel story is the assurance that the Christ we long for is already among us. He reveals himself to us in the proclamation of the Word and in the “taking, blessing, breaking and sharing of the bread”.
The Risen Lord who shared the Word and broke the Bread at Emmaus is the same Nazorean whose death and resurrection Peter proclaimed on Pentecost (Acts 2:14, 22-33). Emboldened by the Holy Spirit, Peter called his fellow Israelites to conversion and assured them of God’s forgiveness. Reinterpreting Psalm 16 in the light of Jesus’ resurrection, Peter asserted that God did not abandon him to the netherworld but raised him up from death. Peter avowed that Jesus is the Messiah. Through him God’s plan of salvation was fulfilled and the Spirit outpoured. Resounding the Easter kerygma or proclamation with intensity, Peter declared publicly on the day of Pentecost: “God raised this Jesus; of this we are all witnesses. Exalted at the right hand of God, he received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father and poured him forth, as you see and hear” (Acts 2:32-33).
The special vocation of the Easter people to a holy living and its foundation are delineated in this Sunday’s Second Reading (I Pt 1:17-21). The biblical scholar Jose Cervantes Gabarron explicates: “The faithful memory of the liberating event carried out through the blood of Christ is the profound reason for the Christians’ change in conduct. They pass from a life without meaning to a life of hope, and also from ignorance to holiness. The liberator is Christ and the way of liberation is the passion sealed with the spilling of his blood. (…) The memory of believing faith is rooted in the person of Christ and thus also in the greatness of the event of liberation from a theological perspective. This was God’s project from the creation of the world: Jesus Christ, revealed in later times, is resurrected by God and given glory. Passion and glory are again united because they pertain to the only saving plan of the Father for the chosen. Faith in God and in the paschal mystery of Jesus Christ brings a living hope that must be shaped into a new conduct because it corresponds to regeneration through God the Father.”
The Easter people shaped by the saving event of Christ’s paschal mystery are thus called to respond with lively faith to the various presences of the Risen Lord in our midst, to boldly witness the Easter event of Christ’s death and resurrection to the whole world, and to conduct themselves responsibly as the “redeemed” - marked by a “holy living”. The following charming story illustrates the kindly stance of the Easter people and how their faith and “holy living” can touch the hearts of all (cf. Mary Lou Reed, “The Perfect Easter” in GUIDEPOSTS, April 2011, p. 82).
Easter is my favorite day of the year. I love all the preparations that go into it. But the night before, I lay in bed feeling miserable: headache, chills, body aches and a fever. I can’t be sick on Easter, I thought. What will happen if I’m not there to get everything ready?
I hosted the big family gathering every year. The grandkids hunted for eggs while I prepared a feast: ham, rosemary potatoes, candied yams, green beans, rolls, salad, chocolate cake. It was perfect. But now with me stuck in bed, our celebration would be ruined. Lord, please let me have Easter here, I asked in the dark.
But when I woke up early that Easter morning, I felt worse than ever. I couldn’t make it out of bed, much less hide Easter eggs or cook a ham. I called my daughter Kim. “I guess we won’t be having Easter this year”, I said sadly. “Of course we will!” said Kim. “We’ll take care of everything. I’ll be right over, Mom. Don’t worry.”
But it won’t be the same, I thought, as I drifted back to sleep. How could I do this to my family, getting sick on Easter?
I awoke sometime later to the smell of ham, rosemary and chocolate cake. And the sound of laughter throughout the house. The whole family had arrived. Later, Kim poked her head into my bedroom. “You look better”, she said. “The egg hunt is in full swing. The kids are having a great time.”
So my family found the plastic eggs I had bought. And my recipes, judging by the delicious smells. If I didn’t know better I would think Easter was going on just fine without me!
“Mom, we’ve watched you cook for us for years”, Kim said, offering me a spoonful of candied yams to try. “We’ve learned a few things by now.” The yams were perfect. Just, I was sure, like everything else.
As everyone sat down together and feasted on the wonderful dinner, I said my own special grace, thanking God for answering my prayers, and for reminding me that it was he – not me – who made Easter perfect.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
Do we have the courage to witness the Easter event of Christ’s rising from the dead? How do we carry out the Easter witnessing?
Do we recognize and cherish the presence of the Risen Lord in the proclamation of the Word and in the breaking of the bread?
As an Easter people do we endeavor to be marked with a “holy living” and to live reverently as God’s redeemed?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
Leader: Loving Father,
we thank you for your wisdom and love.
In the sacrificial death of your Son Jesus Christ on the cross
and by his rising to new life,
you fill us with the power of the Spirit.
As an Easter people and in our everyday Emmaus journey,
teach us to respond with intimacy and sensitivity
to the presence of the Risen Lord in the Word
and in the breaking of Bread.
Make us credible Easter witnesses of Christ’s resurrection
and of the renewing power of your love.
Help us to embrace fully our vocation to a “holy living”.
Let our conduct be irreproachable and our ways reverent
that we may manifest to the world that we belong to you.
In the Risen Lord Jesus
and through the power of the Holy Spirit, the Easter gift,
may we give you glory, honor and praise,
now and forever.
Assembly: Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“Conduct yourself with reverence during this time of your sojourning, realizing that you were ransomed … with the precious blood of Christ.” (cf. I Pt 1:17-19)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION
ACTION PLAN: Pray that the people of today may be sensitive to the presence of the Risen Lord in our midst and respond full to the healing power of Easter. By your acts of justice, peace and solidarity as well as by your care for the needs of the poor and vulnerable, manifest to the world of today the life-giving stance of God’s Easter people.
ACTION PLAN: That we may experience deeply the beauty and challenge of our vocation to a “holy living”, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR: A Weekly Pastoral Tool (Year A, vol. 7, # 24).
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US