Third Sunday of Easter • Year B
Jesus, ever the teacher, follows a pattern of behavior following his resurrection that is instructive. It both enlightens his disciples as to what has transpired and positions them to be commissioned as witnesses of those events. The pattern is this: appearances, failure to recognize him, reprimand of doubting, sharing of food, teaching the meaning of the Scriptures, and the subsequent experience of wonder and joy. This pattern has one goal: Resurrection followed death. Jesus’ insistence on this fact is pronounced: “Touch me and see, for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”
