3rd Sunday of Easter: "In the breaking of the bread"

 

"With that their eyes were opened!"

John 24: 13-51

The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/042323.cfm

May your people exult forever, O God, 

in renewed youthfulness of spirit,

so that, rejoicing now in the restored glory of our adoption,

we may look forward in confident hope

to the rejoicing of the day of resurrection.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, 

who lives and reigns with you in the unity

of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.

(Collect of Mass)

This Sunday we hear a compelling Easter story that moves us from despair and dejection to great joy and wonder.  The beautiful Gospel story of the road to Emmaus is a walk through darkness to light, from ignorance of Christ to an understanding of his presence in our midst, and a convincing reminder of the value of our celebration of the Mass with our community of faith gathered

We can enter this experience of those two disciples on the road to Emmaus.  It’s helpful for us to put ourselves in their shoes (sandals) and try to feel what they felt. In their journey away from Jerusalem it seems they are walking away from the answer they seek.  Practically speaking, were they too in fear of their lives after Jesus’ crucifixion as the Apostles were and now simply escaping from Jerusalem? One could speculate but it is certain that the events of the past few days shook them to the core.

They did not expect the risen Lord to walk with them in such an ordinary setting. They were downcast, in active conversation, debating and more attentive to their own arguments than who walked with them. They were me of hope that Jesus would be the Messiah as they understand that figure to be for them but the risen Christ hid his identity from them.

Luke tells us this took place on that same Sunday evening when the women had come in that morning to describe the open tomb of Jesus. Where was Emmaus?  There are presently six spots beyond Jerusalem which have claimed to be such.  It really doesn’t matter a specific spot but good to know that the story is too like other resurrection stories to say it is only a symbolic event but rather a real encounter these other disciples had of the risen Christ. The essence of the story is more important than the geographical details.

So, in the midst of their disillusionment a stranger approaches and joins them in their walk.  Who was he?  They never asked his name but shared their surprise that he was ignorant of “the things that have taken place there (in Jerusalem) these past few days,” or so they assumed wrongly. They thought him to be a visitor for many came and went from that sacred City and evidently the crucifixion of Jesus was a hot topic of conversation in the city.

There is a certain irony in this.  Of all that would know those events it would be Jesus himself! Yet, he gently opens their minds to the scriptures, despite calling them “foolish.” Maybe a way of saying, “are you so dense you don’t get it?” It’s not an insult but rather a true pay attention moment.

Jesus begins with the scriptures they knew, the Old Testament, and opened their minds through an understanding how all pointed to him. That his death and suffering was prophesied, the suffering Messiah was something they should have known and connected the dots to the astounding events they had witnessed.   He takes them on a long explanation from Moses through the prophets.  That’s some scripture study indeed!  As the Church teaches, the Old Testament is contained in the New and the New Testament is contained in the Old. To understand the person of Jesus we must search all the Scriptures which will not only inform but through grace, open our minds. This is what Jesus was hoping with these men. 

And to add the resurrection to that would make the story both complete and inspirational.  Yet, for now it remains a gradual understanding but something they found burned in their hearts.  They ask him to stay with them as they approach the village, and so he does.

As they broke bread, their eyes were now open; their hearts filled with faith and their sadness was turned to overwhelming wonder and joy.  They recognized the risen Lord in their midst in the breaking of the bread.  We can only imagine what a profound moment this was because, though already at night, they rush back to Jerusalem despite the dangers of night travel, to relate to the eleven this moment of encounter with the risen Lord.  They must have burst into the hiding place and shouted, “We have seen him!”  Jesus brought them to understand his presence through the word and in breaking bread as he did at the Last Supper just four days before, he reveled himself to them.  

If this story now sounds somewhat familiar, we come to see this as a template for the Mass.  Our two parts of the Liturgy of the Word and that of the Eucharist are clearly present as Jesus explained the Scriptures and as he was made present in the breaking of the bread.  So he is for us now.  Present but hidden from our eyes under the signs of bread and wine.  It is the grace and gift of faith that can lead us beyond logic, science and even reason to come to believe. For once we believe, we come to see who Jesus is for the world.

To the early Christian Church this story must have been told again and again.  Now, more than 2,000 years after that amazing day, we still hear it with fresh power.  During the Easter season we reflect on the power of our Baptism and this Sunday on the gift of the Eucharist expressed through our celebration of the Mass.

The famous quote of St. Jerome: “Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ” I think is meaningful here.  The disciples on the road were trying to understand something they should have known.  To connect the lines of prophecy through their sacred texts would have shown them, as Jesus himself related to them, that what happened was part of the story.  The empty tomb should have made them stop and wonder and not be blindsided. But it was all so overwhelming and filled with emotion that it must have taken some time to sort everything out.

Let’s not miss the point here, however, about ourselves.  In the celebration of our Mass we gather to hear the word of God broke open.  How carefully do I listen to the words proclaimed? Do the words just pass over my head as I patiently wait for Communion? As Catholics we must treasure the sacred texts with the same reverence as the Eucharist.  The living word of God is reveled to us and although his presence in the scriptures is different from the Eucharist, it is true and real as someone who talks with you in conversation is present to you.  

Once our hearts are open by God’s word, we then prepare to meet the Lord under the signs of bread and wine.  Jesus vanished from their sight but he remained with them nonetheless.  No longer restrained by space and time his real spiritual presence in the sacraments and the hearts of believers is even truer than before.

In this Easter season let’s pray more intensely for eyes of faith.  We are all on a journey with the Lord.  Even though we may not see him we know as those disciples experienced that he remains with us and knows our needs.  In the breaking of bread, in the proclamation of his sacred word, in the suffering of others and ourselves, in the faith of our brothers and sisters.  We pray for eyes that are open and hearts that respond.