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3rd Sunday of Easter

From: 1 John 2:1-5a

[1] My little children, I am writing this to you so that you may not sin; but if any
one does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
[2] and he is the expiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins
of the whole world.

[3] And by this we may be sure that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
[4] He who says “I know him” but disobeys his commandments is a liar, and the
truth is not in him; [5a] but whoever keeps his word, in him truly love for God is
perfected.

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Commentary:

1-2. In order to make sure that no one makes a wrong appeal to divine mercy so
as to justify their continuing to sin, St John exhorts all to avoid sin. It is one thing
to acknowledge that we are sinners and to be conscious of our frailty — it is a very
different matter to become completely passive or pessimistic, as if it were not
possible to avoid offending God. “Jesus understands our weakness and draws us
to himself on an inclined plane,” Monsignor Escriva explains.

“He wants us to make an effort to climb a little each day. He seeks us out, just
as he did the disciples of Emmaus, whom he went out to meet. He sought Tho-
mas, showed himself to him and made him touch with his fingers the open
wounds in his hands and side. Jesus Christ is always waiting for us to return to
him; he knows our weakness” (”Christ Is Passing By”, 75).

“My little children”: it is difficult to translate this and other similar expressions in
St John, charged as they are with tenderness and a sense of pastoral responsi-
bility. They express a deep, strong love, like that of Jesus at the Last Supper (cf.
Jn 13:33). This same Greek term appears six more times in this letter (2:12, 28;
3:7, 18; 4:4; 5:21); at other times he uses words equivalent to our “my little ones”
(cf. 2:14, 18) or “dearly beloved” (2:7; 3:2, 21; 4:1, 7, 11; 3 Jn 2, 5, 11). All these
expressions reflect how very close St John was to the faithful.

“We have an advocate with the Father”: Jesus Christ, who is the only Mediator
(cf. 1 Tim 2:5), intercedes for us. He, who has died for our sins (he is “the expia-
tion”), presents his infinite merits to God the Father, by virtue of which the Father
pardons us always. The Holy Spirit is also called Paraclete or Advocate insofar
as he accompanies, consoles and guides each Christian, and the whole Church,
on its earthly pilgrimage (cf. note on Jn 14:16-17).

“St John the Apostle exhorts us to avoid sin”, St Alphonsus says, “but because
he is afraid we will lose heart when we remember our past faults, he encourages
us to hope for forgiveness provided we are firmly resolved not to fall again; he tells
us that we have to put our affairs in order with Christ, who died not only to forgive
us but also (after dying) to become our advocate with the heavenly father” (”Re-
flections on the Passion”, chap. 9, 2).

3-6. “By this we may be sure”: a phrase that occurs often in this letter (cf., e.g.,
2:5, 18; 3:19, 24), usually to preface clear criteria for distinguishing doctrinal and
moral truth from error. In this instance, it has to do with keeping the command-
ments being a sign of true knowledge of God.

For St John, knowing God is not a merely intellectual exercise nor does he mean
that the immensity of God can be grasped by man’s limited understanding. It re-
fers to something much simpler and more important: knowing God means being
united to him by faith and love—by grace. If this letter puts so much emphasis on
knowing God (cf., e.g., 2:14; 3:1; 4:6-8; 5:20) or knowing Jesus Christ (cf. 2:13-14;
3:6), it may be because the heretics (particularly the Gnostics) were boasting of
having attained special knowledge of God, superior to that of ordinary faithful. And
so the Apostle describes what true knowledge of God consists in, using expres-
sions which complement one another—knowing him (v. 4); in him who knows God
“truly love for God is perfected” (v. 5); abiding in him (v. 6).

“Keeping his commandments” (vv. 3 and 4), “Keeping his word” (v. 5),”walking in
the same way in which he walked” (v. 6): keeping the commandments is absolu-
tely necessary, because there is no room for faith without works (cf. 1 Jn 3:17-18;
Jas 2:14ff; Gal 5:6). Similarly, one must keep the word of God, that is, accept all
revelation docilely (an idea found very often in John: cf., e.g., Jn 5:38; 8:31, 51; 1
Jn 2:14). But, above all, Christians must identify their life with Christ’s; St Prosper
comments: “Walk as he walked: does that not mean giving up the comforts he
gave up, not being afraid of the kind of trials he bore, teaching what he taught [...],
persevering in helping even those who show no appreciation, praying for one’s
enemies, being kind to evildoers, serenely tolerating the proud?” (”De Vita Con-
templativa”, 2, 21).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: Luke 24:35-48

After the road to Emmaus

[35] Then they (the disciples) told what had happened on the road, and how
He (Jesus) was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Jesus Appears To The Eleven And Their Companions

[36] As they were saying this, Jesus Himself stood among them, and said to
them, “Peace to you!” [37] But they were startled and frightened, and supposed
that they saw a spirit. [38] And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and
why do questionings rise in your hearts? [39] See My hands and My feet, that
it is I Myself; handle Me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you
see that I have.” [40] And when He had said this, He showed them His hands
and His feet.

[41] And while they still disbelieved for joy, and wondered, He said to them,
“Have you anything here to eat?” [42] They gave Him a piece of broiled fish,
[43] and He took it and ate before them.

Jesus’ Last Instructions And Leave-Taking

[44] Then He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you, while I
was still with you, that everything written about Me in the law of Moses and the
prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled.” [45] Then He opened their minds to
understand the Scriptures, [46] and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the
Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, [47] and that repen-
tance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, be-
ginning from Jerusalem. [48] You are witnesses of these things.”

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Commentary:

36-43. This appearance of the risen Jesus is reported by St. Luke and St. John
(cf. John 20:19-23). St. John reports the institution of the sacrament of Penance,
whereas St. Luke puts the stress on the disciples’ difficulty in accepting the mi-
racle of the Resurrection, despite the angels’ testimony to the women (cf. Mat-
thew 28:5-7; Mark 16:5-7; Luke 24:4-11) and despite the witness of those who
had already seen the risen Lord (cf. Matthew 28:9-10; Mark 16:9-13; Luke 24:
13ff; John 20:11-18).

Jesus appears all of a sudden, when the doors are closed (cf. John 20:19),
which explains their surprised reaction. St. Ambrose comments that “He pene-
trated their closed retreat not because His nature was incorporeal, but because
He had the quality of a resurrected body” (”Expositio Evangelii Sec. Lucam, in
loc”.). “Subtility”, which is one of the qualities of a glorified body, means that
“the body is totally subject to the soul and ever ready to obey its wishes” (”St.
Pius V Catechism”, I, 12, 13), with the result that it can pass through material
obstacles without any difficulty.

This scene showing Christ’s condescension to confirm for them the truth of His
resurrection has a charm all of its own.

41-43. Although His risen body is incapable of suffering, and therefore has no
need of food to nourish it, our Lord confirms His disciples’ faith in His resurrec-
tion by giving them these two proofs—inviting them to touch Him and eating in
their presence. “For myself, I know and believe that our Lord was in the flesh
even after the Resurrection. And when He came to Peter and his companions,
He said to them, ‘Here, feel Me and see that I am not a bodiless ghost.’ They
touched Him and believed, and were convinced that He was flesh and spirit [...].

Moreover, after the Resurrection, He ate and drank with them like a man of flesh
and blood, though spiritually one with the Father” (St. Ignatius of Antioch, “Let-
ter to the Christians at Smyrna”, III, 1-3).

44-49. St. Matthew stresses that the Old Testament prophecies are fulfilled in
Christ, because His immediate audience were Jews, who would accept this as
proof that Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah. St. Luke does not usually
argue along these lines because He is writing for Gentiles; however, in this epi-
logue he does report, in a summarized way, Christ’s statement to the effect that
everything foretold about Him had come true. By doing so He shows the unity
of Old and New Testaments and that Jesus is truly the Messiah.

46. From St. Luke’s account we have seen how slow the Apostles were to grasp
Jesus’ prophecy of His death and resurrection (cf. 9:45; 18:34). Now that the pro-
phecy is fulfilled Jesus reminds them that it was necessary for the Christ to suf-
fer and to rise from the dead (cf. Acts 2:1-4).

The Cross is a mystery, in our own life as well as in Christ’s: “Jesus suffers to
carry out the will of the Father. And you, who also want to carry out the most ho-
ly Will of God, following the steps of the Master, can you complain if you meet
suffering on your way?” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 213).

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.