24 April 2019
Wednesday in the Octave of Easter
The two dejected disciples in today’s Gospel told the disguised Jesus: “we were hoping that (Jesus) would be the one who would redeem Israel.” Were they really hoping or were they merely dreaming? I shall read carefully the dialogue between the two with Jesus to understand better how easily dreams pose as hopes.
Using the criteria Jesus gave the two, I’ll examine my own hopes to see if they are not dreams; to see if the Holy Week and Easter mysteries play out in my own life in forming authentic hope, which looks back at the scandal of the Cross and forward to the victory of the Resurrection in order to put into proper focus my present evaluation of things.
The 1st reading may aid me in my endeavor. Through the instrumentality of Peter, God gratified to the full the desires of the cripple. Am I a man of desires, a man of thirst for a full life? The Risen Christ alone can heal my spiritual infirmities and give me joy and peace.
Do I ask him for healing in my prayers? Do I ask for the joy that so characterized the cripple made whole? How would the cripple ever recognize that joy if he had never encountered suffering? Do I pray for those who suffer?