Word to the Wise
Wednesday, April 19, 2017 - Octave of Easter - Wed
[Acts 3:1-10 and Luke 24:13-35]"Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the Scriptures. [Luke]
The story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus is exquisite (like so many in the Gospel According to Luke) but it is one part of a larger tapestry (or quilt, as one commentator puts it). I urge the Beloved Congregation to read the whole chapter. There one will find three examples of disciples coming to faith from doubt and confusion: the women at the tomb, the disciples on the road to Emmaus, and the disciples in hiding in Jerusalem. These are like our "Where were you on that day?" type stories that have been woven into a larger narrative to give a big picture of the aftermath of Jesus' resurrection. What emerges is the process of the disappointment of Jesus' death, to the shock of hearing of the empty tomb, to the appearances of Jesus complete and not a ghost, to reflection on the scriptures to faith that is preached beginning in Jerusalem to the whole world.
I am sure many of us know or have met someone who entered the Catholic communion at Easter through the RCIA process. Those who have led that process tell me that the greatest part of it is hearing the faith stories of these individuals. The faith of the disciples on the road to Emmaus was incomplete, but with reflection led by the spirit of Jesus they came to complete faith, recognizing him in the "breaking of the bread" - an act of worship that we repeat every time we celebrate the Eucharist.
What is our "faith story?" How have we come to believe? Can we move with the disciples from the comfort of Jerusalem to other worlds and share this faith as the first disciples did? Their stories could be ours. AMEN
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