Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish

FR MICHAEL BOAKYE YEBOAH

CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE OF KUMASI, GHANA

THE SPEECHES  

            Statements and directives were made on the day of and two weeks after the resurrection of the Lord but on the third week Luke tells us of two speeches given by Peter and Jesus Christ. Luke is the author of the Acts of the Apostles and the Gospel according to Luke. He tells a story of an insightful theological speech given by Peter which, though truthful and factual, fell short of clarity and so the departing disappointed disciples needed to be brought to clarity by the Lord himself. Before we can weave the first reading and the gospel passage into one resurrection fabric; I would like to reflect with you how Peter, a fisherman became a rabbi overnight.

            The land of Israel was populated with seers and magicians. As much as many Jews had faith in their prophets, priests and those who occupied the sacred space of their lives, it did not stop many Jews from consulting oracles and soothsayers.

            With all these seers, I don’t think any of them could have predicted the event reported to us by Luke in Acts 2:14, 22-23. Here the inspired writer gives an eyewitness account of Peter’s first speech as the leader of the newly founded Church.

            We still struggle with the choice of Peter as the head of the Apostolic college. The choice can be likened to the mission of the Prophet Samuel to the house of Jesse to select one of his sons as king. Samuel saw men trained, groomed and prepared for kingly office and yet God choose a shepherd boy. In the case of Peter, the twelve apostles had learned men and professionals within their rank and yet the Lord choose and decreed that the uneducated fisherman Peter to be his vicar and head of his church.

            No matter how many see him during his time as unqualified, Peter was the one who stood up to give the first official address after the resurrection.

            Today’s first reading is one of the most interesting passages in the New Testament corpus, because it is an account of the first Christian sermon ever preached. In the early Church, there were four different kinds of preaching:

            Firstly, there was kerugma. Kerugma literally means a herald’s announcement and is the plain statement of the facts of the Christian message, about which, as the early preachers saw it, there can be no argument or doubt.

            Secondly, there was didache. Didache literally means teaching, and explained the meaning of the facts which had been proclaimed.

            Thirdly, there was paraklesis, which literally means exhortation. This kind of preaching urged upon people the duty of fitting their lives to match the kerugma and the didache which had been given.

            And the last but not the least was the homilia, which means the treatment of any subject or sphere of life in light of the Christian message.

            A fully rounded preaching has something of all four elements. When Peter stood up that day to address the crowd, he spoke like an expert. He employed more of the kerugma style because he was to lay down the facts in the Jesus’ story. He was able to prove that Jesus and all that happened to him is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Peter was bold in stating that in Jesus the Messiah has come and that the new age was with them. Peter crafted his words to nuance that Jesus was the hinge of all history; and that with his coming, eternity had invaded time, therefore life and the world could never be the same again.

            Peter presented a very deep theology that some people struggle with as they try to grasp its full meaning and implications. Converts were not made that day with his first speech and even some disciples within their ranks got disappointed and decided to abandon the group. I would like to think that the speech though theologically sound did not make the right impression on some of the disciples and so two disciples (in today’s gospel passage) decided to return to their village and continue their life. But the Lord kept his promise that he will not abandon the Church.

            When Peter could not convince the people and the two disciples to stay with the Church, Jesus came in to journey with the disciples on the way.

            This is what we beg Jesus to do for us in our time. As much as he continues to inspire men of God to preach his word and convert souls, his presence must be felt else all agents of evangelization will work in vain.. Peter preached well that day with all the skills of a professional public speaker but it was Jesus who was able to reach the depth of the two disciples’ heart. Jesus is the one who can really feed the soul with its ardent desires. The Psalmist was right: “As a deer yearns for running stream even so does my soul yearns for God.”

            The preacher and his audience should never depart from Jesus. At every point in time, they should invite Jesus in their life’s journey. Jesus needs to be part of one’s life journey because he the conditio sine qua non of one’s life. The reason for this statement can be drawn from today gospel passage. For further insight in today’s gospel passage let us discuss the following points:

1. Jesus holds the key to the heart

            No matter the rhetoric of a preacher, it is Jesus who controls a person’s heart. After the resurrection there were testimonies from some of the women and the Apostle but none of them made a deep impression on Cleopas and the other disciples. Unconvinced, they decided to return to their village and continue their life but when Jesus came him he was able to touch their hearts. In the very words of the disciples they said: “were not our hearts burning within us as he spoke to us on the way?”  A priest can touch peoples’ heart and invite them to conversion if he acts in “the person of Christ.”

     2. Invite Jesus to your house

            Jesus never forces himself on anybody. Though Christ may touch a person’s heart, it is up to the person to react positively to the teachings of Jesus. Cleopas and the other disciple did not allow their opportunity to slip by.  When they arrived at their village and Jesus wanted to move on, they invited Jesus into their home. Metaphorically, Jesus wants you to invite him into your life. Jesus will make a lot of difference if he becomes part of your life but the decision is yours. Will you allow Jesus in your life?

     3. Presence of Christ in the Eucharistic meal

When the disciples invited Jesus to table, they were blessed with his mystical presence. In the Eucharist we experience the real presence of Christ. Please try your best to partake in Eucharist whenever you go for Mass.

            I pray that God will use his ministers to touch hearts and bring many people to the Eucharistic table. OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP PRAY FOR US.