THIRD
SUNDAY OF EASTER,
(Acts
2:14.22-33; I Peter 1:17-21; Luke 24:13-35)
Disciples
walking together: this phrase can describe the background of today's gospel. It
also represents how Pope Francis sees the "The Synod on Synodality”. As all of
us should know by now, the pope has already launched this new way of being
Church. He wants synods, whose Greek root means walking together, to become the
way of the Church to share the different perspectives and hopes of its members.
In other words, he wants much more dialogue among all who make up the Church.
By a close look at this gospel we can identify other characteristics of a
synodal Church.
The passage
says that Jesus approaches the two disciples and begins to talk to them. Jesus Christ
had the primary place at the Second Vatican Council sixty years ago. In fact,
the most central document of the council, the dogmatic Constitution on the
Church, is called “Lumen gentium”, that is, “the light to the nations”, who is
none other than Jesus Christ. By Baptism all kinds of people have been
incorporated into him – both women and men; both secular and religious, as well
as the ordained. For this reason, Pope Francis wants everyone to be heard in
the conversation about how to carry out the mission of the Church in our time.
Some worry
that such an expansive conversation will end in changes never imagined in the
past. However, we have the Scriptures and the tradition of the Church to keep
us on the path marked out by Jesus. This gospel points out how Jesus explained
to them all the passages of Scripture that referred to him. These same
Scriptures, of course joined by the New Testament, continue to determine what
is valid and what is prohibited today. It would betray the Lord to exchange His
word for the current ideas of the world.
In the
passage Jesus highlights the need for the Messiah to suffer. To gain victory
over sin and death Jesus had to suffer the cross. As members of Jesus Christ,
it is ours to participate in that cross. The suffering touches on sexual issues
that often seem like the biggest concerns in the world today. It is difficult for
couples to practice the teaching of the Church on contraceptives. It is
difficult for homosexuals as it is for nuns, priests, and the unmarried to
maintain chastity with yearnings for intimacy like everyone else. However, by making
sacrifices in these ways we can draw closer to the Lord Jesus.
He
certainly wants to stay close to us. In the gospel Jesus stays with his
companions to break bread. This is not just a cozy dinner but the Eucharist. In
it Jesus gives us himself as sustenance for the spiritual life. The Eucharist
itself will drive the synodal process forward. It indicates that our objective
is not to follow the ways of the world but to conform to the will of God. It teaches
that the treasure that stays with us forever is not found in the stock market
but in the love shared in the community. It points out that while there are different
roles in the functioning of the Church, we are all equally dependent on Christ.
Pope
Francis has proposed synods of all types of the faithful as the way of putting
the Second Vatican Council into practice. He does not want to change the
structures of the Church established in history. Rather, he wants the
structures to be more faithful to the ways of Jesus. He sees the synods as
footbridges over which we all cross together the troubled waters of this world.
He sees them as our communal bridge to Christ.
