Mar 31: Christ Appears to His Apostles

William Blake: Christ Appearing to his Apostles
Tate Gallery, London, c.1795

Thursday in the Octave of Easter

Gospel: Lk 24:35-48

Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem (NRSV, Lk 24:45-47).”

Father, you reveal yourself to us in every moment in your one act that is your being, even from our first moment in the womb. Throughout our lives we long to grow in understanding of the Word spoken to us. Some of us, we call them prophets, see more clearly than the rest of us and show us the way to deeper understanding of your revelation made to all through the Word always present to us.

Father, our sisters and brothers, disciples of the Lord Jesus, only came to grasp who Jesus was in the experience of him raised from the dead. Their response as the risen Jesus opened their minds was that they should have realized it all along. Even then the understanding of those gathered in the Church continued to grow over the decades with further reflection, prayer and discussion.

Help us, Father, in this Easter season, to come to a fuller understanding of the reality of our Lord Jesus Christ, your Word made flesh, and of the life in which you always, through him, call us to grow. May we live the resurrection even now in this world in preparation for the world to come.

Through Christ our Lord. Amen.