“Shalom be with you!” There is no greater gift God gives than Shalom.  Shalom connotes a wholeness and well being that flows from communion with God.  How desperat ely our troubled world needs Shalom!

Thursday in the Octave of Easter

Acts 3:11-26

Psalm 8:2ab+5, 6-7, 8-9

L uke 24:35-48 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. (36) As they were saying this, Jesus himself stood among them. (37) But they were startled and frightened, and supposed that they saw a spirit. (38) And he said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do questionings rise in your hearts? (39) See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; (40) for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have." (41) And while they still disbelieved for joy, and wondered, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" (42) They gave him a piece of broiled fish, (43) and he took it and ate before them. (44) Then he said to them, "These are my words which I spoke to you, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled." (45) Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, (46) and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, (47) and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. (48) You are witnesses of these things. 

Meditation by Dick Hauser, S.J.

J esus’ regular greeting to disciples in his resurrection appearances is simple: “Peace be with you!”  “Shalom be with you!” And so in today’s Gospel Jesus greets the “startled and terrified” disciples gathered to hear the account of his appearance  in Emmaus in the breaking of the bread.

“Shalom be with you!” There is no greater gift God gives than Shalom.  Shalom connotes a wholeness and well being that flows from communion with God.  This gift unites the receiver through  God with the entire human community and with the entire created universe.  

It is important to remember that the Paschal Mystery does not conclude with Jesus’ death on Calvary .  No, the culmination of the paschal mystery is the resurrection of Jesus and the gift of Shalom given by the Resurrected Jesus.  Yes, Jesus’ death and resurrection not only pay the price for sins but  simultaneously elevate us to sons and daughters of God. We become beloved children of God through this gift of Shalom, the gift of Jesus’ presence through his Spirit! 

Note also the healing of the crippled man in the first reading. Why are there so many healing miracles in the New Testament?   I think the answer is simple: human wholeness depends on faith in Jesus. Jesus regularly heals the blind and  the deaf and the diseased and the crippled.  Physical infirmities are signs of human need and limitation. Jesus’ healing of these human limitations are signs.  These signs point to the total transformation of the human condition through faith in Jesus. Human wholeness depends on faith in Jesus!

How desperat ely our troubled world needs Shalom! This Easter Season let’s be especially attentive to the Resurrected Jesus’ greeting to us and to our troubled world: “Peace be with you!”  “Shalom be with you!”

Supplementary Reading

Abundance

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.---Luke 6:38

G od is a god of abundance! He wants to pour out His abundance on you until you are so full that you are running over with His abundance! But, notice how today's verse starts. It says, "Give and it will be given to you." That's because your giving sets the blessing of God into motion in your life. When you give, you plant a seed. If you were to plant an apple seed, you wouldn't just grow one single fruit. No, that one seed grows into a tree that produces an abundance of apples! That's what happens when you obey God in your giving. You get an abundant harvest in return. You reap so much that you have to give it away and the cycle just keeps repeating itself!

Is there something the Lord is telling you to give today? What do you have in your hand that you can bless someone else with? It can be financial or material, but take a step of faith today and open the door to His abundance in every area of your life!

Father in heaven, I receive Your Word into my heart today. Thank You for choosing to bless me so that I can be a blessing to others. Show me ways to bless others and teach me to receive all You have for me. In Jesus' Name. Amen. ---Joel Osteen

• 04/08/2010 13:43 - Apr 13, 2010 - Tuesday Meditation (Power to Spread the Gospel : Holy Spirit)
• 04/08/2010 13:41 - Apr 12, 2010 - Monday Meditation (Be Born Again!)
• 04/08/2010 13:36 - Apr 11, 2010 - Sunday Meditation (Willing to be Sent?)
• 04/08/2010 13:34 - Apr 10, 2010 - Saturday Meditation (Power of Testimonies!)
• 04/08/2010 13:32 - Apr 9, 2010 - Friday Meditation (And I will run to You)

• 04/05/2010 01:40 - Apr 7, 2010 - Wednesday Meditation (Road to Emmaus)
• 04/05/2010 01:37 - Apr 6, 2010 - Tuesday Meditation (That Your Joy Maybe Full)
• 04/04/2010 01:52 - Apr 5, 2010 - Monday Meditation (Do Not Be Afraid! Tell the World... JESUS Lives!)
• 04/03/2010 00:59 - Apr 4, 2010 - Resurrection Sunday (Tell the World that JESUS LIVES!)
• 04/02/2010 05:31 - Apr 3, 2010 - Saturday Meditation (From the Grave to the Sky, LORD I LIFT YOUR NAME ON HIGH!)