On this third Sunday of Easter we meet Peter again who speaks to all of Israel. This is his second address, and once again he recalls here the deeds and actions that led to the death of Jesus. That whole chain of events, in any case, even though it was foreseen in the plan of salvation, does not at all excuse the guilt of a stiff-necked Israel who is somehow still called to conversion.

Peter consoles his listeners by showing them that what happened has come about because of their of ignorance, yet he also invites them at the same time to accept the Risen One as the ultimate and definitive gift that God lavishes on them. The death of Jesus becomes, for the believer, an atoning sacrifice. There is not the slightest hint of resentment or revenge, but rather the invitation to repent so as to receive the fullness of the Father's love and mercy, which reach fulfillment in the confidence and security of having been restored to being God's sons and daughters, that intimate relationship which has been lost by disobedience.

The one who believes, although exposed to temptations, transgressions and falls, should have no reason to feel eternally condemned to failure or separation from God. The first letter of St. John today joyfully announces forgiveness and reconciliation with oneself and with God. Christians are invited by their vocation to live holy lives. Infidelities or transgressions in this vocation, however, are not the cause of ultimate rejection on God's part but, rather, the occasion of his love and mercy as well as the reason for a Christian to persevere in hope and to maintain an attitude of sincere conversion.

In the Gospel we have, once again, a post-Resurrection scene which by now is familiar to us - the Apostles are gathered together discussing the events of recent days. Let us remember that in the group which St. Luke mentions today there are also present the two disciples of Emmaus who had just returned to Jerusalem after having recognized Jesus in the wayfarer who instructed them and who then broke bread with them.

In this context of a group gathering Jesus now makes himself present and, despite the fact that they had just been talking about him, they are amazed even to the point of being terrified. The followers of Jesus have not been able to sufficiently absorb the events of his Passion. They still cannot manage to make the connection between the Jesus whom they knew and lived with and the glorified Jesus. Nor can they, therefore, go further to understand the mission he was expecting of them. So let us say, then, that "speaking about Jesus" implies something more than simply remembering who he was historically. There are so many famous historical figures we could "speak about" and whom we will go on speaking about in the future, including Jesus himself. Nonetheless, right from the very first days that follow the Resurrection it grows abundantly clearer and clearer that Jesus is not simply a topic for discussion. In order to "speak about Jesus," we must already start from a personal stance of openness to being totally transformed and renewed by him. Along with this, we must also clarify our own image or idea of Jesus so as not to confuse him with a spirit.

It seems to me that when Luke tells us that the disciples were startled and terrified at Jesus' standing in their midst, he is not casually recounting some incidental detail. They think they are seeing a ghost. Their external reaction is such that Jesus himself is surprised and corrects them: "Why are you troubled? Why do questions arise in your hearts?"

Disciples of Jesus, of all times, need to clarify and purify their image of him, as does the Church herself, as does each one of us today. Certainly in our present world there are so many and such different images of Jesus that the risk is always real of confusing him with a ghost. As Luke describes them for us, the disciples had in their minds only an image of Jesus as the one with whom they had just recently shared their lives. We know that they expected all kinds of things from him, and thus he had to keep on instructing them. But those expectations were nowhere near as many or as completely confused as the ones which today's "religious consumer society" displays with more and more insistence. Here lies precisely the challenge for today's evangelizer: to clarify one's own image of Jesus by allowing his word to penetrate more and more. Likewise, that challenge leads to a commitment to help our brothers and sisters clarify their "ghostly" images of Jesus.

It is a fact that, even after being raised from the dead, Jesus has to continue the education and formation process of his disciples. Now the Teacher has to instruct them about the impact or effect that his Resurrection has on them as well as on himself. The Resurrection Event, in fact, affects not only Jesus. Little by little, his disciples will have to realize that it is their turn to be witnesses of this work of the Father's, starting with the transformation of their own existence.

The messianic hopes that the Apostles harbored, reduced to national, military, and political expectations, and always with a triumphalistic tone, had to disappear from the group's mentality. It would not be easy for these coarse men to re-form their mental structures, to "suspect" the apparently unquestionable validity of everything that was the legacy of the hopes and aspirations of their people. Even so, there was no other way. Before all else, the Resurrection event means renewal, starting with personal convictions. We need to read this Gospel passage in light of what comes right before it, the experience of those disciples on the way to Emmaus.

Jesus explains events by giving their basis in the Scriptures, and this instills confidence in the group. It is not some fabrication or fanciful interpretation. Jesus confirms that God's promises have been fulfilled, but in God's way of doing things, not in the human way.

Somehow it is important to emphasize that the Resurrection Event does not affect just the Risen Jesus, but it also affects the disciples of Jesus to the extent that they allow themselves to be transformed so as to set out on mission. Although our Christian communities may be convinced of the Resurrection, our day-to-day attitudes have yet to be successfully permeated by the Event. Certainly our liturgical celebrations keep this mystery as the center and focus, but perhaps what yet remains for us is to experience this mystery renewed and truly made real in the liturgy.