Where's Jesus?

Third Sunday of Easter

           

Some of you may remember a series of books that either you, or your children owned, or maybe even they own one now.  The series was called Where’s Waldo, and these books were picture books.  The point of each illustration was to find a little guy named Waldo, who was in a red and white striped shirt, with a red and white striped stocking cap on and glasses.  Some were easy, some were hard.  For me, it was a great way to pass the time waiting in a doctor’s office, or on a long road trip.

            Our main concern in this life should not be where’s Waldo, but should be where’s Jesus.  You don’t have to buy a set of picture books looking for a guy in a white tunic with a red sash over it, hidden among other people and scenes.  Our vocation is, rather, to find Jesus as He makes Himself known to us.  One primary place to find Jesus is in the Scriptures.

            That’s what St. Peter did as he spoke to the Jews in our first reading today.  Having been filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Peter proclaimed to the people that Jesus was the Messiah, and that He had been raised from the dead.  St. Peter saw Jesus in the Old Testament, in the only Scriptures that existed at that time.  He saw Jesus in Psalm 16 as he quoted King David: “…because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld, nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption.  You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.”  St. Peter, who had likely read that Psalm countless times as an observant Jew, saw it in a new light, saw the reference to Jesus, who was not allowed to see corruption, nor abandoned to the netherworld, but raised up. 

            The disciples on the road to Emmaus have Jesus Himself open up the Old Testament for them, showing them how it refers to Him.  And while they do not at first recognize Jesus walking with them, their hearts burn within them as He helps them to understand how Jesus fulfills all the prophecies of the Old Testament.  Who knows exactly what passages Jesus explained to them, but we can see from the very beginning, in Genesis, how a redeemer is promised as God tells the serpent, in Adam and Eve’s presence: “‘I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.’”  That offspring, striking the head of the serpent, is Jesus. 

In our Eucharistic Prayer that we hear today, the Roman Canon, we hear three important persons from Genesis that refer to or prefigure Jesus: 1) Abel the just, the son of Adam and Eve, who offered a pleasing sacrifice to God, and was yet killed by his own brother, Cain, just as Jesus offered Himself as the acceptable sacrifice, as He was killed by his own; 2) Abraham, our father in faith, whom God asked to sacrifice his beloved, his only son, Isaac, though at the last minute an angel stayed his hand, just as God offered His beloved, His only Son, Jesus, but did not stay His hand; 3) Melchizedek, the king of Salem, which means king of peace, who appears without any lineage, without beginning or end, and is priest of the Most High God, though not of the Levitical priesthood, and who offers bread and wine, just as Jesus, the True Priest, without beginning or end, changes the bread and wine we offer into His Body and Blood, “a holy sacrifice, a spotless victim.”

Or perhaps Jesus spoke to the disciples on the road about the suffering servant chapters of Isaiah, chapters 49, 50, 52, and 53, describing the suffering of Jesus.  Or maybe Jeremiah 20, where all gather to attack the just one and cause trouble for him on every side.  Or maybe Wisdom 2, where the wicked plan to attack the just man, because he is obnoxious to them, and calls himself a child of the Lord, and reproaches them for transgressions of the Law.  Or maybe he explained how Hosea 6 says, “‘Come, let us return to the Lord, For it is he who has rent, but he will heal us; he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds.  He will revive after two days; on the third day he will raise us up.’”  Or maybe he quoted for them Zechariah 12:10: “and they shall look upon him whom they have thrust through, and they shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only son, and they shall grieve over him as one grieves over a firstborn.”

Some of those passages or chapters may sound familiar, as we read them during Lent.  But these are just scratching the surface.  Jesus reveals Himself though the Word of God, the Scriptures.  But can we find Him?  Do we have eyes to see and ears to hear?  Whether it’s the Old or the New Testament, do we come to know Jesus through reading the Bible?  It’s not always easy, but it helps us to know Jesus better.  And for those tricky passages we offer Bible studies, or small faith-sharing groups, to help you to recognize Jesus better and better each time you read the Word of God. 

St. Jerome said that ignorance of Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.  Do we know Jesus?  Is our view of Jesus consistent with how He revealed Himself in the Word of God?  Do we read the Word of God?  And if we do, do our hearts burn within us as Jesus is made known?  If you don’t read the Bible every day, now is the time to start.  Start with the New Testament, just one chapter per night.  I read the entire New Testament in a year, and the entire Old Testament in a year.  It’s doable.  And, especially for those tough passages, pick up a good Bible Study, or join one, or see what the Catechism says about those passages with the Scripture index in the back.  If we are open to the Word of God, which always is meant to prepare us for Jesus making Himself known through the breaking of the bread, the Eucharist, then our lives will be changed, for the better, and we won’t have to hunt for Jesus, but we will recognize Him in the ways He reveals Himself to us.