Reflection
Acts 3:11-16
Psalm 8
Luke 24:35-48
The excitement felt at seeing someone you love risen from the dead and standing in front of you, or scared out of your wits? These things are not supposed to happen. There is Jesus, the one the Apostles and disciples knew to have been crucified and was laid in a tomb, standing right in front of them in human form with the nail marks still a part of His body.
Jesus had shared with His disciples how He would fulfill the Old Testament prophesies. And there were many in scripture that He would have shared: Abraham’s son, Isaac was under a death sentence for three days before God established a covenant; Jonah was in the great fish for three days; Hosea foretells the restoration of Israel as a third-day restoration; a three day period of divine liberation is referenced in Exodus…and on and and on….
Before Jesus does any explaining with the disciples, He wishes them peace. The tumultuous days of our lives are temporary, they will not last forever. We need to keep that in mind in the same way the disciples received the gift of peace on that day. The times of our lives are not always easy, but knowing we have hope in Jesus will bring us the peace we need to really hear His words as He speaks to us in the same way he spoke to the disciples.
The final verse of today’s gospel is why we really need to accept the gift of peace Jesus offers: “You are witnesses of these things.” As witnesses, we are ready to let the incredible things of Jesus settle into every detail of our lives – the fun stuff and the really tough stuff. We do that because we have witnessed and know, and will then share it with everyone else so they can be what God wants them to be too – HAPPY!
Go smile at God today!