Homilies | Father Nathan

Father Nathan | Homily

3rd Sunday of Easter

Today’s Readings:

First Reading — Acts 2:14, 22-33

Responsorial Psalm — Psalm 16: 1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10,11

Lord, you will show us the path of life.

Second Reading — 1 Peter 1:17-21

Gospel Reading — Luke 24:13-35

We are called to humble ourselves to hear JESUS speaking to us.

I cannot forget – June 14, 2019. I finished my Sunday mass. right after the mass, I announced to the people that I am leaving the parish right after the mass. The mass was done by 10:00 am. When I told them that I am leaving the parish right after the mass, people started to cry.. cried …cried…cried…cried…I stayed inside the church till 2:00 pm along with people crying…

The next day I left India.

I reached here to the BLESSED USA on the 6/16/2019.  The next day right after my breakfast I came out of the bishop’s house. I have no clue, what it means to be AMERICAN, no idea. Confused.

First time hearing the American accent. I know no one. I had jet lag.  The whole night I couldn’t sleep at all not even a second….tossing from one side to the other side.

I was taken up by the grandeur of the building …everything was WONDER… WONDER… sense of wow.  Of course, Wisconsin is beautiful… the clear blue sky…greenish lawn… neat and tidy places…  

Wisconsin, one of God’s wonderful place to be. ….as I was admiring the beauty, there was a person who came just opposite of me, cried out loud voice” HI NATHAN WELCOME BUDDY, I AM EXTREMELY HAPPY THAT YOU ARE HERE, WELCOME. WELCOME…” he came closer to me, the second TIGHTEST, WARMTH HUG… hugged me like so tight and said “Welcome Nathan, please be happy, please let me know if your need anything”  he made me so comfortable and talk to me for a minute or two and left me, stating that he has to rush for the appointment.  I had no clue, who was the person but I felt extremely happy so delighted. I do not even dare to ask him… who he was…

Then I was moving from one office to another the whole day… I have no clue what they spoke to me and what they told me. Everything was Greek and Hebrew to me….I went to bed like a child at night.

The following day the vicar general tells me that I will be meeting the bishop. I was so excited to meet the bishop in person. Waiting at the room. It was the same person that I met the day before… my bishop. He is such a great person. I will never forget in my life. Every time I met him… he made me that I am HIS PRIEST. A man God. Bishop of people and priests. Such a great man. God bless Archbishop Jerome Edward Listecki.

Scripture Lessons

Our Scripture lessons for today have one common, encouraging theme: No matter what happens in our lives, the risen Jesus is always with us.  God is near to those who seek Him and who want to live in His presence, doing His will. 

The Emmaus incident is the story of a God who will not abandon us when we are hurt and disappointed. As Francis Thompson put it,

He is The Hound of Heaven Who relentlessly follows us when we try to escape from His love.  

The message of today’s Scripture readings is that the followers of Jesus are to maintain contact with their risen Lord through prayer, the Eucharist, and the Bible.  The readings also remind us that our belief in Jesus’ presence in the consecrated Bread and Wine should help us to understand better his presence in the Bible and in the believing and worshipping community. 

Putting the two appearances (to the Emmaus disciples and to Peter), together, it is clear that the risen Jesus wants Peter to act as spokesman for him and that the faithful who seek to follow Jesus should seek his company in the Eucharist, in prayer, and in the Bible under the direction of Peter and his successors. 

Jesus meets us on our Emmaus Road.  The risen Lord meets us on the road to our Emmaus, both in the ordinary experiences of our lives and in the places to which we retreat when life is too much for us.  We, too, have hopes and dreams about better health, healing, financial security, and family relationships. 

These hopes and dreams often shatter. The story promises us, however, that Jesus will come to us in unfamiliar guises to support and strengthen us when we least expect our risen Lord.  Emmaus moments come to us when we meet the risen Christ on our life’s journey through rough times as we undergo now.

The road to Emmaus is a road of companionship. Jesus, now freed from the space-time limits of his earthly life, is present in our midst and wants to be our Friend.  The risen Lord desires that we walk with Him and with one another:

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.  When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.  For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior” (Isaiah 43:2-3).   

He wants to join us in our travels of life:

“I am a Companion of all who fear You, and of those who keep Your precepts” (Psalms 119:63). 

 

“Where two or three are gathered in My Name, I am there among them” (Matthew 18:20).

 Let us remember, we meet Jesus every day of our lives no matter what happens… he is on our side.  He walks along with us in our lives whether we recognize him or not… he is present…He is present right where we live, where we pray, where we gather… everywhere, every circumstance… we are called to open our eyes to see him, we called to open hearts to seek him, we are called humbles ourselves to hear him speaking to us.

Amen.

Stay safe and be reassured that God is with you in this time of crisis and isolation!

Stay connected to others during this time through phone, email, and social media.

Have a Blessed Week,

Fr. Nathan