St. Augustine of Canterbury Parish
Introduction:
What good ideas stay with us in everyday experiences of the time? Where do we draw
strength and courage so that each day would go through our life in a safe way, or so that
we would go through our day safely?
Theme: “But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost
Evening and the day is now nearly over.” (Luke 24:29)
For you will not abandon my soul…
Does the Lord stay with us when some moments of our lives are as if “it is almost
Evening and the day is now nearly over”? Easter season is a reminder to all believers and
people of good hope that God does not abandon humanity and the universe in moments
that look blur. In the First Reading of Third Sunday of Easter (Year A), we recalled the
message of the Apostle Peter who affirmed that God always stay with and by his people.
St. Peter emphasized that God did not abandon his Son to death, therefore God would not
abandon his people:
“For David says concerning him,
‘I saw the Lord always before me,
for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken;
therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
moreover my flesh will live in hope.
For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
or let your Holy One experience corruption.
You have made known to me the ways of life;
you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’” (Acts 2:25-28)
For St. Peter, although we go through times and moments in which we feel that the image
of Christ in us is “handed over, crucified, killed, and put into Hades”, God would be in
our presence to raise us up with Christ in this present life and later in the life to come:
“This man, handed over to you
according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God,
you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law.
“But God raised him up, having freed him from death,
because it was impossible for him to be held in its power.
For David says concerning him,
‘I saw the Lord always before me,
for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken;
therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
moreover my flesh will live in hope.
For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
or let your Holy One experience corruption.
You have made known to me the ways of life;
you will make me full of gladness with your presence.” (Acts 2:23-28)
In order to show us that he would always be with his people, God has sent his Son to
accompany humanity with his power, “Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God
with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you
yourselves know” (Acts 2:22).
Given that God does everything to be present with us through all the moments we
undergo or all the moments that go through our lives, we too can take this inspiration to
ask the Lord to stay with us and with the entire humanity. As a psalmist professed his
faith in the protection of the Lord, we too could proclaim that the Lord would not give up
our lives to Sheol:
“Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”
The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
I keep the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
my body also rests secure.
For you do not give me up to Sheol,
or let your faithful one see the Pit.
You show me the path of life.
In your presence there is fullness of joy;
in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16.1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11)
What amount of protection does the Lord give us as he stays with us? To what extent
does the Lord ensure that he is with us?
You were ransomed ….with the precious blood of Christ
God used the precious blood of his only Son to ransom and redeem humanity so that all
might come to trust God and that all might set their hope and faith in God:
“You know that you were ransomed
from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors,
not with perishable things like silver or gold,
but with the precious blood of Christ,
like that of a lamb without defect or blemish.
Christ was destined before the foundation of the world…
Through him you have come to trust in God,
who raised him from the dead and gave him glory,
so that your faith and hope are set on God.” (1 Peter 1:17-21)
If God used the precious blood of his son to save humanity, all the more he would ensure
that he stayed with humanity. How are we caring for ourselves and others in order to
appreciate the precious blood of Christ with which God made sure he stays with
humanity? How do we ensure that we do not waste the precious blood of Christ in “futile
ways and fears”?
Stay with us, because it is almost Evening and the day is now nearly over
God redeemed us through the precious blood of his Son. It is therefore appropriate that
we invite Jesus Christ to stay with us, most particularly during moments when we feel
that the brightness of some moments is “nearly over”. In fact, asking the Lord to stay
with us is the way to go in order that we might not abandon the best things in our lives
like the two disciples who headed for Emmaus as they abandoned their stay in Jerusalem:
“On the first day of the week,
two of the disciples were going to a village called Emmaus,
about eleven kilometres from Jerusalem,
and talking with each other about all these things that had happened.
While they were talking and discussing,
Jesus himself came near and went with them,
but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.” (Luke 24:13-16)
In Luke 24:13-16, we noticed that the two disciples gave up on staying in Jerusalem after
the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The decision of the two disciples to
relocate to Emmaus happened “on the first day of the week”. This is a bit dangerous
because their decision did not happen in the middle or the end of the week – it happened
on the first day of the week. This meant that the two disciples gave up on Jesus too soon.
They gave up on his teachings, his promises, his power, his precious sacrifices, and his
way.
Two disciples of Jesus Christ did not care to travel eleven kilometers to leave the
precious deeds and works of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem. Think about the implications of
not recognizing the risen Christ. Compare the situation of the Jesus “on the way to
Emmaus” to the way we feel when people do not recognize or appreciate us: the works
we have done, the sacrifices we have made, the time we spent for others, the examples
we have shown, the efforts we have made, the gifts we have provided, and the devotions
we have made. To avoid this situation, Jesus invites us to stay with the Scriptures: the
words announced by Moses, by the prophets, and by he himself:
“Then Jesus said to them,
“….how slow of heart
to believe all that the prophets have declared!
Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things
and then enter into his glory?”
Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets,
Jesus interpreted to them
the things about himself in all the scriptures.
As they came near the village to which they were going,
Jesus walked ahead as if he were going on. (Luke 24:25-27)
In the Old Testament, Abraham asked three angels to stay a bit in his home (Genesis
18:3-5). In the end, the angels blessed Abraham and his family with the promise of the
birth of Isaac. Jacob too asked an angel to stay with him until he received his blessings
(Genesis 32:26). Elisha would not allow the Prophet Elijah to go until he received a
double portion of his spirit (2 Kings 2:9-11). In these examples, Abraham became the
father of faith; Jacob became the father of the tribes of Israel; and Elisha became a great
successor of Elijah. Along your path, who is God preparing your eyes and hearts to
become? Is the way you go about things settled in Jerusalem (of faith) with the risen
Lord, or heading to Emmaus (of doubt and despair)? We can always find modest and
concrete ways by which the words and the works of the risen Lord stay in our lives and in
the life of those around us.
Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized Jesus
When Jesus broke the bread, blessed it, and gave it to them, it was not only the bread they
he broke; he also broke their senses (sight, hearing, fragrance, taste and touch) as well as
their understanding and faith:
“When he was at the table with them,
he took bread, blessed and broke it,
and gave it to them.
Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized Jesus;
and he vanished from their sight.” (Luke 24:30-31)
The Lord stays with us in order to open our senses to hear, see, heal (touch), offer
fragrance of and attest to (taste) the works of his presence. In fact, the Lord stays with us
in many ways so that our hearts might not be slow to warm up in his powerful deeds. The
Lord stays with us so that our hearts might be “burning within us” with good senses,
wellbeing and senses of the root of our faith:
“The two disciples said to each other,
“Were not our hearts burning within us
while he was talking to us on the road,
while he was opening the scriptures to us?”
That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem;
and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together.
These were saying,
“The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!”
Then the two disciples told what had happened on the road,
and how the Lord had been made known to them
in the breaking of the bread.” (Luke 24:32-35)
Conclusion:
Jesus broke the bread, blessed it, and gave it to them, so that he might break the scope
and horizon of our senses. How are we allowing the Lord to open our senses beyond the
familiar things we see in our daily lives and that of others?
In Luke 24:13-16, two disciples of Jesus gave up on staying in Jerusalem on the first day
of the week after the resurrection of Christ. This was way too soon to give up on Jesus
Christ. How can we help each other so that we may not give up too soon on our
goodness, opportunities, goals, efforts, resilience, faith, talents, strength and hope?