The Source of Disbelief

Gospel: Luke 24: 36-49

Since the day of Jesus' execution, the apostles have sequestered themselves inside the upper room.  When the women came telling them they saw the risen Lord, they did not believe them.  Now, two men claim to have encountered Jesus in Emmaus, and again the apostolic band did not believe them.  So now Jesus appears in their midst and still they are slow to believe in him.  It is only when Jesus rebukes them that they come to believe.  

When religious leaders seal themselves off from the world and disregard the experiences of other people, it is they themselves who are disbelievers in the risen Jesus present in the world.  It is they who create disbelief and secularism in the world which they love to deride and decry.  These leaders again and again set themselves up for rebuke by the Lord who continues to be present and at work in the lives of all people.  

It is only when we leave the upper room that we come to discover the empty tomb and encounter the presence of the risen Jesus in the world.  It is only then that we can engage in the work to which the Lord has called us - the work of healing and mercy extended to all people in all parts of the world, the ministry of inviting to the table all peoples so that they may be nourished, transformed, and that they too may come to know him in he breaking of the bread.