III- Easter :  Acts 2:14, 22-33 1 Pt 1:17-21, Lk 24:13-35    

Karl Barth, one of the twentieth century's most famous theologians, was on a streetcar one day in Basel, Switzerland, where he lived and lectured. A tourist to the city climbed on the streetcar and sat down next to Barth. The two men started chatting with each other. "Are you new to the city?" Barth inquired.

"Yes," said the tourist.

"Is there anything you would particularly like to see in this city?" asked Barth.

"Yes," he said, "I'd love to meet the famous theologian Karl Barth. Do you know him?"

Barth replied, "Well as a matter of fact, I do. I give him a shave every morning."

The tourist got off the streetcar quite delighted. He went back to his hotel saying to himself, "I met Karl Barth's barber today."

Doesn’t that amuse us ?. That tourist was in the presence of the very person he most wanted to meet, but even with the most obvious clue, he never realized that the man with whom he was talking was the great man himself.

It reminds me of Mary Magdalen’s  reaction on Easter morning. In her grief, she thinks the man she is speaking to is the gardener.  Two of the disciples walk 7 miles with the resurrected Jesus, and they, too, had no idea with whom they were conversing.

They began to speak to Him about all that had occurred in the Holy City during the previous week. Most probably, Cleopas and his companion were husband and wife, residents of Emmaus and disciples of Jesus who had witnessed His crucifixion and burial.  The two disciples chose to leave Jerusalem on the third day after the death of Jesus – the very day they had received news that the tomb was empty.  They were “prevented” from recognizing the Stranger, Jesus, perhaps partly by preoccupation with their own disappointment and problems. As they journeyed on, Jesus showed them how the Scriptures had foretold all that He had done and suffered, including his death and its purpose.  

We have not heard of Cleopas before this (or will again, in fact). These two disciples’ knowledge of Jesus breaking the bread was learnt, not experienced. They were not part of the 12 Apostles. This means that they did not recognize him because they saw Jesus take, bless and break bread before, but rather, because the risen Jesus is made present in this Eucharist. And, as he breaks bread for them in their turn, their journey through the scriptures is complete and all comes together when they saw the Lord.

The Church continues this pattern to the present day. The Emmaus story explains the Catholic Mass completely. The first part is about Jesus explaining the scriptures to them from Moses through the Prophets showing them how the Messiah was to be their foretold savior. This takes place on this ambo in the Church. The purpose of this service is to burn our hearts with love and passion for the Lord to recognize him in the breaking of the bread. The Churches that do not have a real Mass are the people who let Jesus go when he pretends to go farther. We should urge the Lord to stay with us so that he will break the bread for us. And in listening to the Word of God we get only the appetizer, not the main course. Our hunger is whipped up; as the disciples said: weren’t our hearts burning as he explained the word to us. But only in the breaking of the bread that we fully encounter the Lord. In the breaking of the break Jesus disappeared from their physical sight but was spiritually and really present in the broken bread to satisfy the longing of their hearts. And as the disciples left at night to share the good news of encountering the Lord, we are told at the end of the Mass to go and announce the gospel of the Lord.

So, this episode tells us that we should listen to the word of God and attend the Mass as far as possible if we really want to encounter the Lord. Attending the Mass every day is not a convenient thing always for working people. But reading this Scripture is a thing which we can always do. 

The word of God should burn the heart of everyone who reads it. Abraham Lincoln said: “The greatest gift that God gave to human beings is the Bible.”  We should make use of this gift.  St Jerome, the great biblical scholar, warns that ‘ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ’ and this is exactly what Jesus thinks on the road to Emmaus. Goethe, the great German philosopher, said that the beauty of the Bible grows as we grow in our understanding of it.  

Vatican II (Dei Verbum 21), tells us that Jesus is to be equally venerated in the Eucharist and in the Bible.  Therefore, we need to study the Bible, learn the Bible, memorize the Bible and meditate on the word of God.   We need to read the Scriptures daily to meet and converse with Jesus Christ.  It should be a daily habit because people either read the Bible daily or almost never.   So, we must continue always to listen to the scriptures – for in them we shall find Jesus and ourselves too.

Study the Bible, learn the Bible, memorize the Bible and meditate on the word of God. It will burn our hearts. In that fire we will remember his promises in our mind, to be with us always. Let’s pray that we may recognize him as he breaks the bread today with us.