Easter Thursday

Readings: Acts 3:11-26; Psalm 8; Luke 24:35-48

All things are made new in the Resurrection of Jesus and yet it is all happening in continuity with what had been revealed before. This fulfilment (pleroma) of ancient prophecies is a central theme in both readings at Mass today.

Peter in his homily to the crowd, excited at the healing of the crippled man, goes as far back as Abraham and Moses and he refers to Samuel and the prophets who came after him. What has happened was, on one level, the outcome of human ignorance: 'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do'. On another level, as we have seen already this week, it is all within the foreknowledge and deliberate intention of God. Human beings crucified the Author of Life, the Lord of Glory, not knowing what they were doing, but even this is held within what was foreseen.

That the Christ would suffer was the first major stumbling block and so a central part of the initial proclamation of the resurrection was to show that this suffering was 'necessary'. Necessary in this biblical context means foreseen, anticipated, something that was already contained in what was written. That it had to be so means it is in accordance with the scriptures which as the Word of God reveal God's mind and intention. Keep an eye out for how often that phrase, 'in accordance with the scriptures', will appear in the coming weeks. We have even built it into our Creed and proclaim it every Sunday: 'he rose again on the third day in accordance with the scriptures'.

The term fulfilment (pleroma) appears again in the gospel reading. Now it is Jesus who is explaining things to the disciples in Jerusalem. It is what I said to you while I was still with you, he says, that everything written about me must be fulfilled. The Rabbinic term TaNaKh came to refer to the contents of the Hebrew Bible: Torah, law, Nevi'im, prophets, and Ketuvim, writings. While Jesus does not use this term he refers to those same contents: the Law, the Prophets, the Psalms: all that is written in all parts of the scriptures must be fulfilled.

All things are made new in the Resurrection of Jesus and yet it is all happening in continuity with what had already been written. So Jesus' first task is to open their minds to understand the scriptures. And there are many things to be understood. One is the necessity of His passion and the necessity of the cross. Another is the fact of His Resurrection from the dead. And now there is the new and continuing reality which takes their lives up into this fulfilment of God's plan: repentance and the forgiveness of sins are to be preached in His name to all the nations beginning from Jerusalem. The apostles and disciples are the witnesses to these things. So they must now be also the preachers of this news and the teachers of the way of life to which it calls people.

And so it comes even to ourselves, the community of the disciples of Jesus in the world today. We are, in our time and place, the witnesses to these things and the preachers of this message. We need Jesus to go on opening our minds to understand the scriptures. And we need the promise of His Father, the Holy Spirit, to clothe us with the power necessary to continue His mission: to give us faith and understanding, repentance and the forgiveness of sins, hope and courage.