The most surprising thing in this Gospel is the fear that grips the eleven Apostles and their companions. Shortly before, the disciples who had met Jesus on the road to Emmaus and recognized Him in the breaking of bread had returned to tell the Apostles about these things. They replied: “It is true! The Lord has risen, and He has appeared to Simon.” Before that, there had been the testimony of the women who had come to the tomb on Easter morning. So everyone already knew that Jesus had indeed risen. Suddenly, just as they were talking together about Jesus, He appeared in their midst and simply said to them: “Peace be with you.” And that was enough to make them frightened and filled with awe. What, then, is the source of this fear?
The Evangelist Luke recounts three appearances of Jesus on Easter Day: 1) the one to the women, who were the first to have the courage to come to the tomb early in the morning; 2) the one to the two disciples who had decided to return to their village and their daily tasks; 3) the one to the Twelve, who were still paralyzed by fear in the place where they had shut themselves away. It is the second of these appearances that we have in today’s text.
L’Évangéliste Luc nous rapporte trois apparitions de Jésus le jour de Pâques : 1) celle aux femmes, qui furent les premières à avoir le courage de venir au tombeau de grand matin ; 2) celle aux deux disciples qui avaient décidé de retourner à leur village et à leurs occupations ; 3) celle aux Douze qui étaient encore paralysés par la peur dans l'endroit où ils s'étaient enfermés. C’est la deuxième de ces apparitions que nous avons dans notre texte d’aujourd’hui.
Mary Magdalene, the one who had anointed Jesus' feet and kissed them tenderly, the one of whom Jesus said that wherever the Gospel was proclaimed, what she had done would be told in memory of her - this same Mary was the first to come to the tomb on the morning of the third day. We saw, in the Gospel passage read at Easter Day Mass, how she found the tomb empty and how she ran to inform Simon Peter and John. She was therefore the first among Jesus' disciples to announce the Resurrection.
Marie Madeleine, celle qui avait oint les pieds de Jésus et les avait baisés avec tendresse, celle dont Jésus a dit que partout où serait proclamé l’Évangile, on raconterait ce qu’elle avait fait en mémoire d’elle – cette même Marie fut la première à venir au sépulcre le matin du troisième jour. Nous avons vu, dans le passage d’Évangile lu à la messe du Jour de Pâques, comment elle avait trouvé le tombeau vide et comment elle avait couru en informer Simon-Pierre et Jean. Elle fut donc, parmi les disciples de Jésus, la première à annoncer la Résurrection.
Homélie pour le lundi de la Semaine dans l’Octave de Pâques
Les lectures bibliques qui nous sont offertes au cours des célébrations eucharistiques de cette semaine dans l’Octave de Pâques sont d’une richesse exceptionnelle.
