Luke 24: 35-48
Then the disciples of Jesus told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence.
Then 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, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
A Love So Deep
Growing up, my siblings and I knew that we were in big trouble when our parents did NOT yell at us. If they yelled, at least it meant they were mad - still reacting, still in the moment. But, when they were calm, their gentleness pointed to something more serious, but more formative, grounded in a love that expected more from, and wanted more for, us.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus appears to his startled and confused disciples in the aftermath of his betrayal, denial, torture, and execution. Given all that happened, the disciples probably thought Jesus was there to yell at them, “Where were you?” or “Why did you abandon me?” or “Why did you leave me to die?” But instead, Jesus just says, “Peace be with you.” No yelling, no lecture, no guilt trip. Just peace. That kind of peace doesn’t come from letting things slide. It comes from a love so deep, it no longer needs to prove a point. Like a parent who sees past the moment to the heart of the child, Jesus isn’t there to punish, he’s there to restore, to reassure, and to remind us that no matter what we do, we are loved unconditionally.
—Jackie Schulte is the Dean of Faculty Formation and a history teacher at Creighton Preparatory School in Omaha, Nebraska.
Prayer
Risen Jesus,
You meet us not with anger, but with peace.
Not to shame us, but to restore us.
In your quiet mercy, help us hear what matters most -
that we are still yours, still loved, still called.
Let that peace settle into our hearts
and guide us in the ways we love and serve others.
Amen.
—Jackie Schulte
Pray with the Pope
The Holy Father’s Monthly Prayer Intentions Brought to you by Apostleship of Prayer the first Friday of each month.