3rd Sunday of Easter Homily - Quo Vadis?

We remember that Jesus preached repentance, which literally meant, “change the direction of our lives.”
The Resurrection is the culmination of repentance.
Resurrection is about experiencing life.
And to have life, always we have to look at how we are living, and make changes to realize that life
The Resurrection calls us to change the direction of our lives; Christ invites to examine our lives and change, the Resurrection is experienced as we change the direction of our lives.
So where are we going?  Where are we going?  Or as some of us who remember a certain movie “Quo Vadis?
If we truly want to experience Life, to have life in the full, for which Jesus came, we must see where we are going, and make those course correction.  
We must “Recalculate” as our GPS will say.
Look at this gospel.  Two disciples of Jesus, walking away from Jerusalem.  It is clear they are walking in the wrong direction.
Why?  Why do they walk in the wrong direction?
The hidden Jesus gets them to talk about it.  
And it is clear that they had certain expectations of Jesus, and those expectation were not met.  
I am wondering then if they are angry and disappointed.  It even seems like they expected something to happen at the empty tomb, and it did not.
Clearly they expected Jesus to change the political situation, which he did not.
So they needed a course correction, they needed to see past their own expectations, their own narrow beliefs of Jesus, and see the greater reality.
This is what Jesus does for them.
He takes them through what would be familiar to them, scripture.  
He invites them to hear those words from a different perspective.
Then it culminates in what is clearly intended to be a Eucharistic ceremony; that is when their minds and hearts, and eyes are opened to the new reality of Jesus.  They get back on the right direction.


Recalculation complete.
In my own life I have had to recalculate many times, or it is probably better to say, i am always in a state of recalculation.
In my experience of priest, I have witnessed many who need to recalculate as well.
I encounter so many people filled with anger, filled with sadness and fear.  These people suffer, and like most who are not happy have a tendency to inflict that suffering on others.
“If I can’t be happy, nobody will!”  Right?!?!!?
People angry at the world because it is not going their way; because they  expect the world to go as they plan.
Yet, their spouses and kids do not do what they want them to do.  The governor, president, bishop, and Pope do not do what they want.
God does not do what they want God to do.
People so caught up in their losses, which are real, but they refuse to see any good, any other blessings present.  
They expect that God takes, takes and takes; that God only punishes.
People who live with fear, unable to grow.  All they do is expect the worst to happen; and usually they fulfill their own prophecy.
I know people who can’t grow because they think Jesus/God as the strict Judge who is out to punish for any and all offenses
And I know people who can’t grow because they think Jesus/God, in his divine love, overlooks all their immorality.  So they continue to live selfish lives.
I know people who expect Jesus to take care of everything, therefore they do nothing.
So we walk the wrong way in life, and never get to experience truly the Joy of being alive.
Jesus is here, now, calling us to repent; to change the direction of our lives.  
In Scripture, in the Eucharist (And in the sacrament of Baptism which we celebrate today).
Jesus speaks to us of God the Father who wishes us to be fulfilled and complete as person.
God has no interest punishing us, but wants us to be lifted up.
God doesn’t want us to do whatever we want, because that is the path of death, but as in the Eucharist, life is about giving of ourselves for the good of others.
Jesus speaks of the freedom that comes by walking the way of forgiveness, of compassion, of mercy.


Jesus opens our hearts to value of looking beyond my wants, my desires, my needs, my way...to see how we are all connected; and thus it must be what is good for all.
We remember that in the bread and wine that become his body and body, life is found; True life is found by walking this path.
It opened the hearts of the two disciples...will it open our own?

To where are we walking?

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