Luke tells us how it should be

The passages from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today complete the episode of healing of the man lame from birth by Peter at the Temple. Friar Jude Winkler observes that Luke was an excellent biographer who could fill in the gaps in Peter's teaching and presentation with description which would make the message clearer. Luke is writing for a Gentile audience. The scene at Solomon's Portico is linking the actions of healing in the Name of Jesus to the plan of God in the Jewish tradition and words of the Prophets that a Messiah would continue the Promise made to Abraham that the descendants of all the families of the earth (the Gentiles) would be blessed by God. The need for forgiveness of the Israelites for the action of killing the Author of Life is addressed first with comment that they were ignorant of the gravity of their action and that the Law and Prophets required that the Messiah suffer, die and be raised by God. Winkler points out that the Prophets are, in reality, mostly quiet on this. Jesus used Psalm 22 and the poems of the Suffering Servant in the Book of Isaiah in His ministry. The account of Jesus appearance to the disciples, which follows the events of the road to Emmaus, is the third encounter with the Risen Christ in the Gospel of Luke. Winkler compares this to how we encounter Jesus today. Like the disciples heard from the women that Jesus is risen, we hear about Jesus from others. The encounter with Jesus in Word and Sacrament often follows. We are like the Emmaus disciples in tis regard. As our faith and experience increase we are able to see the embodied Jesus in our brothers and sisters who fulfill in our time the blessing of God on all families of the earth as the desire of God for intimate communion with humanity is achieved.