![\"Road](\"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/road_to_emmaus.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The first few gospel readings of the Easter season
\nfocused on showing us that Jesus was raised from the dead.
\nHe eats with his disciples, he shows them his wounds,
\nhe assures them that it really is him,
\nhe is risen from the dead.<\/p>\n
Now as we enter the third week of Easter
\nthe scripture readings change their focus from the resurrection itself
\nto show us the effect of the resurrection on the disciples.
\nWe see this first in the figure of Peter.<\/p>\n
The last time we saw Peter was on Easter Sunday
\nwhen he was standing at the entrance of the tomb,
\nnot knowing what to make of it, confused and unsure.
\nAnd before that, on Good Friday, we heard Peter deny Jesus three times.
\nAnd the day before that, on Holy Thursday, Peter argues with Jesus
\nabout whether or not he would let Jesus wash his feet.
\nPeter just couldn\u2019t get things right.<\/p>\n
But today something is different.
\nToday Peter is no longer the frightened fisherman denying Jesus,
\nhe is a firebrand speaking clearly, confidently, and courageously
\nto the people in Jerusalem.
\nHis encounter with the risen Christ has transformed his life.<\/p>\n
The effect of the resurrection
\non the two disciples walking to Emmaus is just as dramatic.
\nThey\u2019ve left Jerusalem,
\nwhich, in Luke\u2019s gospel, means they\u2019ve given up on Jesus.
\nThey\u2019re leaving the faith community.
\nIn their minds, Jesus was supposed to conquer the Romans
\nand usher in the glorious Kingdom of God on earth.
\nHe wasn\u2019t supposed to suffer a humiliating death.
\nSo Cleopas and his companion are crushed, downhearted, and disappointed.<\/p>\n
But they\u2019re not so crushed that they won\u2019t welcome the stranger
\nwho joins them on their journey.
\nThe unrecognized Jesus who accompanies them
\nfirst sets their hearts to burning with his interpretation of Scripture.
\nAnd once they recognize him in the breaking of the bread
\nthey are fired up with such a passion
\nthat they immediately return to Jerusalem
\nto rejoin the community and share their news.<\/p>\n
Like Peter, they are transformed by the risen Christ.
\nThe Resurrection of Jesus changes everything.
\nBecause of the Resurrection,
\nthat small group of disciples had the hope and confidence
\nto spread the Good News to the entire world.
\nBecause of the Resurrection,
\nthe early Christians could withstand persecution.
\nBecause of the Resurrection history is divided in two:
\nB.C. and A.D.:
\nBefore Christ and Anno Domini, in the year of Our Lord.<\/p>\n
We are still in the Year of Our Lord.
\nThis is the Year of Our Lord 2017.
\nThe effects of the Resurrection continue today,
\nin our own lives and in the lives of people we know.
\nToday\u2019s readings challenge us to ask ourselves,
\nis the resurrection transforming us?
\nIs it a life-changing force in our lives?<\/p>\n
When was the last time we felt \u201cour hearts burning within us\u201d
\nover anything?<\/p>\n
About a month ago
\nthe entire city of Spokane had hearts set on fire
\nby the Gonzaga men\u2019s basketball team.
\nTheir journey to the Final Four and the national championship game
\nbrought an incredible energy and life to our community,
\nlike a fire burning within us.
\nIt brought us together as a community.
\nPeople wore their Zag gear everywhere,
\nthere were game watching parties,
\nand the Zags were the lead story in every newscast.
\nTheir run to the Final Four
\ntransformed our city.<\/p>\n
When was the last time we felt that same energy and fire
\nin the presence of the resurrected Jesus?
\nWhen was the last time we let ourselves be transformed
\nby the risen Lord?<\/p>\n
Now, I said the whole city of Spokane
\nwas on fire with Gonzaga basketball,
\nbut that\u2019s not entirely true.
\nNot everyone got excited about the Final Four.
\nThere were plenty of people who couldn\u2019t care less
\nabout whether Gonzaga won or lost.<\/p>\n
The same thing can happen with the Resurrection of Jesus.
\nMaybe we\u2019re having a hard time maintaining excitement about Easter.
\nThe risen Jesus accompanies us on our walk through life,
\njust as he accompanied those disciples walking to Emmaus.
\nBut maybe we, too, have a hard time recognizing Jesus in our lives.
\nMaybe, like Cleopas and his companion,
\nwe feel disappointed or downcast.<\/p>\n
The good news is that even in their sadness,
\neven in their blindness to Christ\u2019s presence,
\nJesus kept walking with Cleopas and his friend,
\nand they kept engaging with him.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s the key to this encounter:
\nJesus approaches, the disciples engage.<\/p>\n
Transformation in Christ is a response to an invitation.
\nJesus invites, we respond.<\/p>\n
The disciples on the road to Emmaus didn\u2019t have to interact with Jesus.
\nThey could have brushed this stranger aside,
\nthey could have written him off as ignorant or misinformed.<\/p>\n
But they engaged with him.
\nThey had a conversation.
\nThey spoke what was on their hearts
\nand they listened in humility.
\nThey gave him the chance to break open the Scriptures.
\nThey were open to what he had to say.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s all that Jesus asks of us.
\nThat\u2019s the essence of relationship,
\nthe beginning of intimacy with God.
\nThat is the dynamic of prayer.<\/p>\n
Jesus walks with us along the road of life,
\nand he asks us,
\n\u201cWhat are you discussing as you walk along?\u201d
\nIn other words,
\n\u201cWhat\u2019s on your mind, what worries you, what\u2019s happening in your life?\u201d
\nJesus opens up the conversation,
\nand then he waits and listens.<\/p>\n
If Jesus asked us that right now, what would we answer?
\nWhat is on my heart right now?
\nWhat was I thinking about, worried about, preoccupied with
\nbefore I walked through the doors of the church this day?<\/p>\n
Jesus is here, listening to us.<\/p>\n
And after he listens, he shares with us what\u2019s on his heart.
\nAnd this is what he says:
\n\u201cI\u2019m alive.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m alive, and you need not be afraid.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m alive, and I walk with you always.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m alive, and I love you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Scriptures proclaim it,
\nthe bread we break at this altar proclaims it,
\nand if we listen in humility,
\nwe can feel it in our hearts.<\/p>\n
The Resurrection is not a single event in history,
\nit\u2019s the reality we live in.
\nWe are a Resurrection people.
\nThe Resurrection is a reality that banishes fear and uncertainty.
\nIt drives out hatred and sadness.
\nHow wonderful it would be if we could live like that all the time.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s an old gospel hymn by Bill and Gloria Gaither
\nthat was recently reworked by Catholic musician Matt Maher.
\nIt gets to the heart of what it means to be an Easter people.
\nDon\u2019t worry, I won\u2019t sing it to you, but the words go like this:<\/p>\n
Because he lives, I can face tomorrow,
\nbecause he lives every fear is gone.
\nI know he holds my life, my future in his hands,
\nbecause he lives.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nThis is the message of the Resurrection.
\nIt transformed Peter and the apostles.
\nIt transformed Cleopas and his companion.<\/p>\nThe invitation is clear:
\nif we open our hearts to him,
\nJesus will transform our lives
\nbecause he lives.<\/p>\n