Third Sunday of Easter - Year B
Apr 19, 2015
Gospel (Lk 24:35-48)
The two disciples recounted (1) 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 (2) 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 (3) 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 (4), for the forgiveness of sins, would be
preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses (5) of these things.”
The difficult words
(1) To recount means to tell the
story of something that happened.
(2) Incredulous means taken aback by
something unbelievable.
(3) When Jesus says “in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms” he explains that
everything that was promised in the Old Testament has come true in his death
and resurrection.
(4) Repentance is turning away from
sin.
(5) A witness is someone who has
experienced something and can tell others that it is true.
This week’s spotlight
The Acts of the Apostles
From
Easter to Pentecost, we do not read from the Old Testament for the first
reading, but rather listen to a passage from the Acts of the Apostles. This book was written by Saint
Luke. It is located in the Bible just after the Gospels. Luke tells about what happened after the death and
resurrection of Jesus - how the apostles gave witness to what they had seen. It is
the story of the beginning of the Church.
Go in the peace of Christ
The paschal candle
("paschal" is an adjective meaning Easter) is the very large candle
which is carried at the beginning of the Easter Vigil when the congregation is
gathered around the big fire. The priest blesses the fire and then lights the
candle. Each parishioner will then light his or her own candle. The paschal
candle may be decorated with a cross, an inscription of the current year and
two letters of the Greek alphabet. A, which is called alpha and is the
equivalent of our A, and Ω, called omega and which is the equivalent of our Z.
These letters are the first and the last letters of the Greek alphabet, and
tell us that the light of God is the beginning and the end of all things.
During baptisms, the godfathers and godmothers light their godchild’s candle
from the paschal candle. The paschal candle will remain lit next to the altar
until the feast of Pentecost.
The
apostles are astounded. A few days ago, Jesus died on the cross and today he is
there among them. Is it a ghost? Jesus reassures them: he is truly alive, he
has risen from the dead. To prove to them that he is not a ghost, he shows them
his body and eats with them. What overwhelming news! They can hardly believe
it. Jesus explains to them that his resurrection was announced in the
Scriptures and by the prophets who spoke in the name of God. The promise that
God made to his people through the mouths of the prophets has now been
fulfilled. “You are witnesses of this,” Jesus says at the end of this Gospel passage.
This news is so amazing - how could the apostles keep it to themselves? So they
go and spread the good news to all those around them. That news has continued
to spread down through the centuries, all the way to us today. We haven’t seen
Jesus, but we believe because we have heard his word, we have communion with
his body, and we see him in each of our brothers and sisters. Let us spread the
good news as well!
Jesus has called you and me to be witnesses, too.
There is no reason for us to be afraid to testify. All Jesus wants us to do is
to tell others what he has done for us. He wants us to tell others how he has
changed our life and about how he died and was raised from the dead so that we
could have eternal life.
(http://www.sermons4kids.com)
Discussion
questions
1.What did Jesus say to
the two disciples?
2.Who did they think Jesus
was?
3.How did they feel?
4.What did Jesus show
them?
5.What did Jesus do to
help them understand what he was talking about?
6.After they understood
the Scriptures, what mission did Jesus give them?
Praying after Communion
After receiving Holy Communion, you can
say this prayer silently to yourself. If you
have not yet
received your First Communion, you can still say this prayer because of your desire to
receive Jesus.
Father, through Jesus, in
communion with the whole Church, I thank you for coming into my heart. Your Son
sent his disciples on a mission to announce that he is truly risen. May the
reading of his word and this communion with his body and blood help us, in
turn, to become witnesses of this good news, alleluia!
Crossword Puzzle
Source: http://www.usccb.org - Magnifikid - www.sermons4kids.com