“Peace be to you (…). Why are you troubled? (…) it is I myself” (Lk 24:36, 38–39).
This is how the Risen Lord addressed His disciples when He appeared among them. They still could not quite believe it and were filled with dread and fear (Lk 24:37). Who was this who spoke to them? Their eyes had not yet been opened; they could not recognize the Risen One.
Was He perhaps a spirit? No, it was the Lord! It was the very One with whom they had journeyed and whom they had followed for three years, with whom they had eaten and drunk; the One who had performed miracles before their eyes and had instructed them with the fullness of wisdom. Yet now they could not recognize Him. Could He perhaps be a ghost?
“No, beloved disciples of the Lord! What you see is neither a spirit nor a phantom; neither a threat nor a trick of the devil. No, no! It is the Lord! Listen to what He says to you: ‘Why are you troubled, and why do questionings rise in your hearts? 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.’” (Lk 24:38–39)
Now you can be convinced and even touch Him: It is He!
Joy and amazement then filled the apostles; yet they still could not quite believe it (v. 41). The new reality had not yet sunk in for them, even though they saw the Lord standing before them and He was revealing Himself to them. The encounter with the Risen One was beyond their capacity; it was too sublime. They still had a journey to make; they could not yet grasp it.
But the Lord knew how to reveal Himself in such a way that they could recognize Him, just as He had revealed Himself to Mary Magdalene by calling her by name. So He ate in their presence (v. 43) and explained the Scriptures to them so that they might understand that in Him everything had come to fulfillment (vv. 44–47).
In this way, the Lord spent time with His disciples before ascending into heaven in their sight. He had to prepare them for their mission and still had much to say to them. Faith in the Resurrection of Jesus was to be proclaimed without doubt to all humanity, and they—the apostles, those simple fishermen from the Sea of Tiberias—were to be the eyewitnesses of that unparalleled miracle.
Beloved disciples of the risen Lord, we listen attentively to your proclamation and believe in your testimony. Jesus had chosen you and had fulfilled everything He had foretold to you. For us human beings, it is not always easy to grasp such lofty realities, but the Holy Spirit instructs us.
And You, beloved Lord, whose Resurrection we celebrate with joy during these days, have patience with us as well, just as You had with Your apostles. Make faith take deep root within us. If today some theologians wish to make us believe that this is merely symbolism to be interpreted figuratively, instruct them from the beginning. May they sit at Your feet to hear Your words and the testimony of Your disciples. Then they will understand that the Risen Lord was by no means a spirit.
Meditation on the day’s reading: https://en.elijamission.net/2022/04/19/
Meditation on the day’s Gospel: https://en.elijamission.net/the-gospel-of-st-john-jn-2011-18-the-risen-one-appears-to-mary-magdalene/