Catholic lectionary for 23 April 2025

King James Version (en)

Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 3, verses 1-10

¹ Peter, preaching to the people that came to see a lame man restored to his feet

¹Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.

²And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;

³Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.

⁴And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.

⁵And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.

⁶Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.

⁷And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ancle bones received strength.

⁸And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.

⁹And all the people saw him walking and praising God:

¹⁰And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.

Luke, Chapter 24, verses 13-35

¹³ Christ himself appeareth to the two disciples that went to Emmaus

¹³And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.

¹⁴And they talked together of all these things which had happened.

¹⁵And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.

¹⁶But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.

¹⁷And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?

¹⁸And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass therein these days?

¹⁹And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:

²⁰And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.

²¹But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.

²²Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre;

²³And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.

²⁴And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.

²⁵Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:

²⁶Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?

²⁷And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

²⁸And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.

²⁹But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.

³⁰And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.

³¹And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.

³²And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

³³And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them,

³⁴Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.

³⁵And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.

NOTES

An interesting question: why do the apostles walking on the road to Emmaus not recognize their Teacher? Of course, they were not expecting the Resurrection; it seemed to them that everything was over, and to the One they took for a stranger they bitterly told everything "that had happened in these days in Jerusalem." But how can one fail to recognize the One with whom one has spent several years, speaking with Him every day? A changed humanity, not easily perceived by the eyes and senses of fallen man? Perhaps yes, for the Kingdom reveals itself with difficulty, and only in part, to untransfigured sight. But at the moment of the breaking of the bread they see Him with complete clarity. What happened?

A theologian could perhaps build an entire sacramentology on this one fact. But the matter here may be both simpler and more complex: the disciples simply partook of the Kingdom, entered it, and found themselves right at its center, where He, their Teacher, is. And from within the Kingdom the Kingdom can be seen well, so the apostles, of course, immediately made out Jesus without difficulty. But how and why it turns out that the Kingdom now opens to the disciples, then closes again to them, remains something one can only wonder about.

One thing is clear: now it is truly near, so near that one can cross its boundary without even noticing it. Yet, on the other hand, it turns out that one can cross the boundary of the Kingdom without noticing not only the boundary, but even the Kingdom itself. One can pass through it without seeing or sensing anything, without noticing even the One whom, while He still belonged in His human nature to the untransfigured part of creation, it had been impossible not to notice. Apparently what is needed is a relationship actualized here and now, a bond like the one uniting those gathered around the broken bread, in order to experience the reality of the Kingdom. And it turns out to be infinitely great: as soon as the apostles recognized Jesus and found themselves in the same spiritual dimension with Him, He immediately disappeared from sight, dissolving into the infinite distance, for He is at the center of His Kingdom, and the apostles, it appears, are still very far from the center...

And yet the meeting took place. That is the main thing. The rest will follow, for ahead lies an entire life, a life to be lived in the Kingdom.

If in the previous story the women never met the risen Jesus, becoming participants in the Gospel of the Resurrection only by faith in His word, now a real meeting is described for us...

One wants to look at the appearance of Jesus described by Luke through the eyes of a person present nearby. We see a company of people gathered...

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