Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 24, 46-53
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer
and rise from the dead on the third day
and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins,
would be preached in his name
to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things.
And behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you;
but stay in the city
until you are clothed with power from on high.”
Then he led them out as far as Bethany,
raised his hands, and blessed them.
As he blessed them he parted from them
and was taken up to heaven.
They did him homage
and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
and they were continually in the temple praising God.
God blesses you
1) Jerusalem. That’s the place which marks pain, passion, death; it is the place where Jesus suffered and was crucified. Today there can be three types of ‘Jerusalem’ in you:
A Jerusalem Person. There are people who are your cross or people who make you feel as if you were dead, who crucify you, who make you suffer. People whom you have to bear in your life as Jesus bore the cross.
A Jerusalem Place. This could be a kind of phobia because there are places to which you cannot go because they cause a turmoil of painful memories. These places have marked your life and are like signs of death to you. There are places that you know lead you to unhappiness and pain. A Jerusalem Moment. They are moments that lead you to anguish, to that anguish that Jesus went through on the Mount of Olives. There are moments that you encounter in life and you don’t know how to go on, where everything is dark.
What kind of Jerusalem are you facing today?
2) Bethany. It is the place of friendship. It is where Jesus shared his beautiful moments with his friends, with Lazarus, Martha and Mary. It was the place of respite for Jesus, the place where Jesus was Jesus, without titles. That’s where He chose to go to Heaven, to return to his Father. Today, God teaches us that when we go through a ‘Jerusalem’, we must return to our ‘Bethany’ to reflect and return to our path to heaven, to look towards God. If today you are going through a ‘Jerusalem’, look for your ‘Bethany’ to move forward. Your ‘Bethany’ is that place where you know that there are people who love you, who give you strength and peace and who encourage you to go on, who lighten your load. Your ‘Bethany’ refers to those people with whom you can have long hours of chats, just being yourself. Your ‘Bethany’ can also be a place that gives you peace and makes you come back to your true self, a place full of beautiful memories or which simply opens your mind and encourages you to move forward. Your ‘Bethany’ will give you strength to go to Heaven.
3) He blessed them. Jesus blessed them before leaving. He blessed those who walked with Him on earth for three years, but who left Him alone at the most difficult moment of His life. To bless means “to wish well” because Jesus wished them well for all that was to come, he gave them His peace. Today, you and I must remember that in spite of what may happen, whatever it may be, a Christian should always wish others well; the desire for evil should not dwell in us. May resentment not take over you. Your life is marked by the Heavenly, always desire good and God will eternally bless you because Heaven is our goal. God bless you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
