Today is the third Sunday of Easter.
In today’s Gospel we hear about the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. When I used to lead Bible studies I would sometimes begin by reading this reading and talking about our hearts burning when we feel the presence of Jesus in Scripture.
Those two disciples represent all of us and the reaction we should have to encountering Christ, whether in the Scriptures or elsewhere, like the sacraments.
Notice the line in the Gospel too that starts, “but we were hoping…” We all have to realize our idea of a savior is sometimes quite different than God’s. We can be saved, yes, but on God’s terms and not ours. Those disciples were hoping Jesus would be a new David figure, someone who would make things right with all Israel’s enemies.
Unfortunately it’s apparent some “Christians” are still looking for that kind of savior. We’ve just seen it in some of the images of President Trump looking like a Jesus figure. Regardless of your politics, conservative, liberal, or somewhere in between, we need to make sure our hopes for politically led change in our country don’t get confused with our desire to make a savior in our image.
Some of the big news in Catholicism this past week was the back and forth between Pope Leo and President Trump about peace. There are those who think Pope Leo should “stay in his lane” and stay out of the politics of war. I think it’s clear the Church’s view is just the opposite. While the Church, and Pope, shouldn’t normally get involved in the details of war, there is an appropriate commentary from the Church regarding the morality of what’s going on in numerous places around the world. Iran, yes, but not just Iran. Think Ukraine, and Somalia, for example.
We need to be willing to listen to Pope Leo and understand the context of his words. Just because he wants peace he doesn’t also want Iran to have a nuclear weapon. The Prince of Peace expects His disciples, to follow in His ways, not the ways of the world. As the Vicar of Christ the pope is expressing that.
It’s likely you have, or will, hear from non Catholic friends about all of this. It’s an opportunity for us to help them understand the role of the Church, and the pope, in moral issues. Be sure you can talk about Just War doctrine. That’s an important place for us to start any discussion about current events.
It’s also good to be ready to rebut misunderstandings about Papal infallibility and the severe limitations on it. I heard a TV news person I respect the other day say some things, in an offhanded way, that were not at all accurate in regard to infallibility. Although we should wish things were different in our world right now God will provide opportunities for us to correct misunderstandings about our beliefs. We should always be ready to do that.
It’s not related to Catholicism, so I don’t usually do this, but I read an article about language the other day that some of you will be interested in. It probably won’t surprise you that I’m interested in language. This comes from a writer who calls herself Grammar Girl. Her actual name is Mignon Fogarty. She has a podcast and writes books. The link below is the transcript from a recent podcast. I hope you enjoy it.
https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/transcripts/1176/
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading.
I hope you have a great week.
Peace, Bob
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