Word to the Wise
Wednesday, April 12, 2023 - Octave of Easter - Wed
[Acts 3:1-10 and Luke 24:13-35]"Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?" So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the Eleven and those with them who were saying, "The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!" Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread. [Luke]
The story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus is the story of the Christian community in the first days following the resurrection of Jesus. There is disillusionment and discouragement at his cruel death and then astonishment at the news that Jesus is risen from the dead and then an experience of the Risen Christ leading to a desire to share the experience with others. But the principal features of the story apply to all of us in the celebration of the Eucharist.
It is the preaching of Jesus as he explained the scriptures that leads to the invitation to stay with the disciples and break the bread and thereby be fully recognized. The unity of God's word with the breaking of bread is the essence of the celebration of the Eucharist.
I suppose it is natural that, being a Dominican and after many years of campus ministry and itinerant preaching of parish missions and retreats, that I call attention to the importance of the preaching. But, how else did the message spread? What was so attractive in the story of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, that people would gather to celebrate that story in the breaking of the bread? Why did the disciples invite Jesus to stay with them instead of his moving on?
The Easter Vigil each year bears testimony to the influence of devoted disciples whose life and example attracted others to the church. Our faith cannot rest on a simple attraction to ceremony and ritual. It is founded in the person of Jesus Christ whose life, death and resurrection we preach by our own lives and faith. Time and again in campus ministry I have seen the influence of a friend or roommate who invited a fellow student to come with them to Mass or an activity at the Catholic student center. We can bring hope and life to a world disappointed and disillusioned by sharing the Word of God and inviting others to join us. In doing so, we follow in the footsteps of Jesus. AMEN