Word to the Wise
Sunday, April 23, 2023 - 3rd Sunday of Easter - A
[Acts 2:14, 22-33; 1 Pet 1:17-21; Luke 24:13-35]And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, "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 bread. [Luke]
The evangelist Luke shows himself a master story-teller throughout the gospel that bears his name. The infancy narrative and the parables (especially the ones that appear only in this gospel: e.g. the Prodigal Son, the Good Samaritan, the Rich Fool, The Rich Man and Lazarus) are testimony to his skill in recounting the traditions handed on to him from the first witnesses to Jesus' life, death and resurrection. The story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus in the aftermath of Jesus' death and resurrection is another example of that skill. Not only does the story capture the confusion and disappointment that immediately followed Jesus' crucifixion and death, but also the amazement at the story of the women and the empty tomb. What were the two disciples to believe? The "stranger" who joins them on the road provides the answer. He interprets the scriptures to them, which leads them to invite him to stay with them. He then takes bread, blesses it, breaks it and gives it to them, which is the moment of recognition that it is Jesus who is alive and is with them. They go back to Jerusalem to proclaim this. It is a moment of worship and mission.
A recent survey of Catholics revealed a startling number who do not believe that Jesus is truly present in the bread and wine consecrated at Mass. It is as if they are like the disciples when Jesus first joined them on the road. Their eyes are "prevented" from recognizing him. But our faith rests on his presence to us as we gather with him, hear his Word spoken and receive him physically in the broken bread and wine poured out. We then are challenged like the two disciples, in the words of Pope Francis, to be "missionary disciples" to proclaim that "Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again." AMEN