By Fr. Marcel Uzoigwe
(Acts 2:14,22-33, 1Pet.1:17-21 & Lk24:13-35)
This Sunday’s Gospel deals with the encounter between Jesus and his disciples on the road to Emmaus. The disciples had embraced Jesus as the Messiah but all their hopes were dashed when he died like a common criminal on the cross. They were furthermore afraid for their own lives because the whole project for which they dared both the Jewish and Roman authorities has failed. In frustration, two of them were walking away from the city to the margins, from Jerusalem to Emmaus.
The two disciples (Cleopas and his friend) were discussing their shattered hopes because of Jesus’ death while journeying away from Jerusalem to Emmaus. Behold, all of a sudden Jesus joined to walk with them but they didn’t recognize him. Seeing their obvious despair, he asks what they are talking about. He wants to hear their version of what happened. First, they referred to him as a “prophet” in their narration as though after his tragic death, they could not see in him the Messiah they had earlier acknowledged. Then, they saw his death as the failure of his mission. They dejectedly lamented about their unmet expectations; how they had hoped that he would be the one to set Israel free. For them, freedom meant political liberation from foreign domination, not just freedom from the tyranny of sin and death.
Still unrecognized, Jesus explained to them how all of the Scripture points to him as the Messiah and how, far from being a tragedy, his suffering and death were destined unto his glory. As they reached their destination, in a gesture of hospitality, they invited the stranger in since it is nearly evening. As they sat down to the meal, Jesus the visitor, curiously started acting as the host. He took the bread, said the blessing over it, broke it and gave it to them. And in that very act their eyes opened and they recognised him.
In the experience of these two disciples, we find some elements of the Christian life. First is the tendency of believers to run away from where Christ is to be found. The present situation has given rise to so much pain that people are confused on the way out. Like these two disciples, some people are already on the road to Emmaus, questioning the existence and power of God. The road to Emmaus represents the path of people who have met with disappointments and frustrations in life; people whose world had collapsed and their hopes and dreams are shattered. There are many like that in our world today. In frustration, we usually tend to walk in the wrong direction.
Second is meeting Jesus in the unexpected place, person or situation. The Corona virus pandemic has shown us that God can be found and worshiped, not just in the churches, but also in our homes, in the streets and even on the internet. How often does this happen and we do not recognize God in the people and events around us, or worse still mistreat him? Yet, imagine how lost the two disciples would have remained had they not welcomed this stranger.
There is something interesting about the two disciples. They were ready to share, not only their pain, but also their lodging and their bread with the stranger. On the part of Jesus, he was willing to listen, without interruption, to the sorrows of those young men. The ability to listen is a great quality. It gives the sense of worth, being loved and hope to the one in distress. We have seen a number of video clips of people who committed suicide these past few weeks as a consequence of the corona virus loses. Should there have been good and caring listeners around them, and were they willing to share their stories with these listeners, maybe they would still be living. Unfortunately, people often refuse to share their sorrows for fear of betrayal, or for lack of empathic listeners.
Further on the meeting with these disciples on the way to Emmaus, Jesus first spoke his healing words to them before the breaking of the bread. By this Jesus gave two gifts to these disciples; the gift of understanding the significance of the Word of God and the gift of the Holy Eucharist. The disciples did not recognize the Risen Lord until he had broken the bread with them.
How often do we fail to pay attention to the Lord when he speaks to our hearts and opens his mind to us in the Scriptures? The Risen Lord is ever ready to speak his Word to us and to give us understanding especially in our moments of crisis and confusion. We need to listen attentively to his Word and allow it to change and transform us. Let us make time to allow him speak to our troubled hearts especially at this period of providential quarantine, by engaging in daily Scripture reading.
Do we also recognize the Risen Lord at our Eucharistic celebration? It is the same Lord who speaks to us through the Scriptures that gives us himself in the Eucharist. The two disciples did confess that their hearts were on fire when Jesus explains the Scriptures to them on the way, but they recognized him in the breaking of the bread. This informs the pattern of the Church’s Eucharistic celebration. Firstly, allowing the Lord to speak to our hearts through the Scripture readings which then prepares us to recognize and meet Him in the Holy Eucharist. In other words, listening to his Word first helps to set our hearts on fire and prepares us to receive the Eucharist which is the fullness of Jesus divinity.
It is important to note that as soon as the two disciples recognized the Risen Jesus at the breaking of Bread, they immediately set out to return to Jerusalem, seven miles away (not minding that it was getting dark already as they had earlier expressed, Lk.24:29). It didn’t seem for them so dark and full of danger any longer. What a wonderful sense of urgency! They couldn’t wait till the safety of daylight the next day. The journey back to Jerusalem to share their experience with others had to be done immediately. This is what the power of experiencing the Risen Lord can do in the life of a fervent Christian.
As we also hear the Scriptures explained to us and receive the Holy Eucharist daily, Let us act with the same sense of urgency to convey and share the Good News to others who are in dare need of knowing and recognizing the Risen Lord in their lives. May the Lord who journeys with us daily to revive our broken hearts and drooping faith with his Word and the Eucharist also make us his fervent witnesses. On our own part, may we give Him the first place in our lives and allow his principles and values to determine our daily decisions and life choices. Amen.