Are you afraid of death? Imagine just how much your fears hold you back from God’s awesome plan for your life! In this week’s Gospel reflection, Father Ian VanHeusen examines Lk. 24:35-48. Much like Jesus’ plan for his disciples, it’s hard for us to imagine what might be in store for us – and for the world – if we allow God to transform us from the inside out.
All through His public ministry and again after the Resurrection, Jesus is instructing and preparing the apostles to overcome the fear of death. We too are in that process, learning daily to trust Him in dying to self, surrendering to God’s grace so that through Him we might do powerful things. Like the disciples, let us be emboldened to take big risks and allow Him to make something unexpected and courageous out of our littleness.
The Fear of Death
Luke 24:35-48 | The Road To Emmaus
The two disciples recounted what had taken place on the way, and how Jesus was made known to them in the breaking of bread.
While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Then he said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” And as he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them.
He said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And he said to them, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”
The Gospel of the Lord
Follow Fr. VanHeusen at http://ianvanheusen.com
More Catholic Bible Study Resources
3 Things Mary Teaches Us About How to Follow Her Son | Catholic Bible Study
https://catholic-link.org/gospels/catholic-bible-study/
The Real Reason that the Wine Ran Out in the Wedding at Cana
Radical Trust, What Does it Mean? Catholic Bible Study Luke 16:1-13
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