Life can be confusing and frightening. The risen Jesus gently leads us to understanding, peace and faith, as he did with the first disciples. Fr Richard reflects on today’s readings from Mass.
Readings for Easter Thursday can be found here.
Have you ever woken up and wondered where you are? Perhaps it’s the first night of a holiday and you’re in a strange bed and unfamiliar room. You come to, and for a few moments you’re completely confused and bewildered. It’s a bizarre or even slightly scary sensation. Then you switch on the light, or take a moment to wake up properly, and gradually everything becomes clear.
This journey from fear and confusion to realisation and understanding is one that we see a lot in the Easter stories, and it’s happening in our readings today. The disciples have been told a couple of times that Jesus has risen from the dead. When he suddenly appears in their midst in today’s Gospel, however, they react with disbelief and terror, thinking that they are seeing a ghost. Jesus reacts beautifully to their situation. First he invites them to touch him, and even goes to the lengths of eating some fish to prove he’s real. It’s only after Jesus has calmed their fears that he proceeds to help them understand the significance of his death and resurrection, and what they must do next. The crowd in Jerusalem are equally as astounded at the healing they have just seen Peter and John perform. Peter notices this, and rather than leave the people in this state of confusion, he gently leads them to greater knowledge. Once he has explained the significance of what happened to Jesus, he then tells the people what this means for them – that they must repent.
Many times in life we will be like the disciples in that upper room, or the crowd in Jerusalem. We can often feel disorientated, confused, uncertain, and fearful. And yet our readings today show us that God can work with that. He doesn’t expect us to understand everything or have all the answers in order to be his followers. Instead, the risen Jesus comes to us in gentleness and love with his greeting of peace. He invites us to see and touch his wounds. He gently guides us to greater knowledge and then, and only then, does he send us out as his servants to bring his peace and love to a confused and fearful world.
Mass today is in St Dyfrig & St Samson, Grangetown, at 10am.
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