EASTER III-A. Acts 2:14, 22-33; 1 Pt 1:17-21; Lk 24:13-35

There is a gripping story of a traveller who was walking along the road one day when a man on horseback rushed by. There was an evil look in his eyes and blood on his hands. Minutes later a crowd of riders drew up and wanted to know if the traveller had seen someone with blood on his hands go by. They were in hot pursuit of him. "Who is he?" the traveller asked. "An evil-doer," said the leader of the crowd. "And you pursue him in order to bring him to justice?" asked the traveller. "No," said the leader, "we pursue him in order to show him the way." (Fr. Anthony de Mello, Taking Flight (New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc., 1990), p. 65.) The picture we have in the Bible is of a God who pursues us so that God may show us the way. From the time of the fall of Adam and Eve, God has been chasing mankind. God chased mankind through the Patriarchs. God chased mankind through the Judges. God chased mankind through His prophets. Finally God chased mankind through His son. Even after the resurrection Jesus continued His chase. He travelled with the disciples. They do not recognize him, but it is he who takes the initiative. He walks with them and interprets Scripture for them. He opened their spiritual eyes and they were able to walk back and share the light they enjoyed from Jesus.

The Emmaus incident described in today’s Gospel shows us a God who will not abandon us when we are hurt and disappointed.  During the meal, when Jesus broke the bread and gave it to Cloepas and his wife, they realized that this stranger was Jesus, the risen Christ, and Jesus immediately vanished.  Later they said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us when he opened up the Scriptures to us?”  Since they could not keep the Good News to themselves, these Emmaus disciples walked back seven miles to Jerusalem to share their story with the other disciples.  The Fathers of the Church note how well the details of this Emmaus episode match our process of coming to Faith in Jesus Christ.  First, there are questions and a search for answers.  Then comes a moment of discovery when our eyes are opened and our hearts within begin to burn with longing.  Finally, there is the desire to tell the story to all who will listen.

 Luke tells us that we can meet and experience the risen Lord through the reading and interpretation of Scripture (v. 27), and the “Breaking of the Bread”. The story of the encounter on the Emmaus Road is presented in a liturgical fashion using liturgical language such as the commentary: “he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them” (v 30); “the Lord has risen indeed” (v. 34).  Thus, the risen Christ is revealed through the telling of the story, the interpretation of Scripture, and the Breaking of the Bread.  This means that Christ still reveals himself to us through Word and Sacrament. The word “companion” derives from two Latin words, “cum” meaning “together with,” and “panis” which means “bread,” implying that companionship is the result especially of eating together, breaking bread together, something which is at the heart of the Eucharist.

The Church instructs us to hear Jesus on a daily basis through our faithful reading of, and meditation on, the Bible; through our participation in the Eucharistic celebration (now on TV or internet) at which we receive Jesus as our spiritual Food and Drink ; through our personal and family prayers; and through our family meals. When we meet our risen Lord through the Word of God, we commune with him. We renew our relationship with Jesus through prayer. All these meetings prepare and enable us to encounter the risen Jesus living in all the people we meet and to do Him humble, loving and selfless service in each of them.

Do our hearts burn when we listen to the Risen Lord in the reading of the Scriptures. 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 know that Christ lives in the Bible, and so we need to spend time in the Bible to have a deep, intimate, loving, caring, long-term relationship with Jesus Christ. We know we are to brush our teeth every day. Likewise, we are to read the Bible every day, making it habitual, because people either read the Bible daily or almost never. When we read the Scriptures daily we meet and converse with Jesus Christ! Abraham Lincoln, whom many consider the best President of the United States, said: “The greatest gift that God gave to human beings is the Bible.” Another President of the United States, John Quincy Adams, said that it was a principle of his to read the Bible through each and every year. Yet another great President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, said, “A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.” Goethe, the great German philosopher, said that the beauty of the Bible grows as we grow in our understanding of it.

Emmaus moments come to us when we meet the risen Christ on our life’s journey through rough times. The disciples on the road to Emmaus had a self-pitying message, “we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel.” But that wasn’t to be, they thought. And their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. We are facing a time when many feel disappointed like these disciples. Our eyes are prevented from recognizing Jesus who calmed the sea, walked on water, raised the dead and multiplied bread. Though now we are not able to participate in person at Eucharistic celebrations, we can read the scriptures and help our hearts burn with divine love and accept the risen Christ in spiritual communion. Let’s try to read the scripture every day and may memorize the word of God so that it will jump at us in times of disappoints and help us overcome them.