Anchored in the Resurrection
Third Sunday of Easter (B)
Read this Gospel passage aloud to the family
Luke 24:35-48 - The two disciples recounted what had taken place on the way, and how Jesus was made known to them in the breaking of bread.
While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Then he said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” And as he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them.
He said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And he said to them, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”
(Parent) Reread this part a few times aloud
“Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day… You are witnesses of these things.”
(Parent) Read this meditation aloud to the family
One of things that Jesus, the angel, and the Gospel writers all emphasize is that Christ’s dying and rising from the dead fulfill what Christ and the Scriptures have already said would happen. Months or years before, when the apostles first heard Christ speak of these things, the words didn’t make any sense to them. How could they?! How could the apostles ever have understood or imagined that God’s ultimate victory for us would take place through His Death and Resurrection? God’s majesty is simply too great for their little hearts, their little heads, and their little expectations.
The Resurrection is the ultimate, cosmic event. Through it, God mightily exceeds our little expectations. It is proof that whatever we think God is doing, whatever we want God to do, whatever we believe about God Himself, our hopes and thoughts are always too limited, too small. When we see sufferings, failures, obstacles, and contradictions, God sees the path to the Resurrection. Where we see victories, comforts, satisfactions, and joys, God sees shadows of the Resurrection. We misunderstand, just as the apostles first misunderstood: God is always speaking to us about His Resurrection. The lives of the apostles were always centered around the Resurrection, they just didn’t know it until they encountered the Risen Lord. Never forget, never forget, that our entire lives are also anchored in the Resurrection. Jesus Christ is risen, alleluia!
As a family, pray a portion of the Rosary together (very short if children are young) reflecting on the Scripture passage above.(Optional: allow a brief time for discussion or questions from children concerning their thoughts and prayer.)
Reminder for Parents: Pier is just meant to be a jumping off point. The real goal is that you pray & eventually use the fruits of your personal prayer as the content of your family’s prayer. Duc in altum.
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