EMMAUS EXPERIENCE

Luke 24:13-35

Today’s Gospel speaks to us of a very well know episode, that of the apparition of Jesus to the Disciples of Emmaus. It must have been a very sad afternoon for the two disciples on the way to Emmaus. After putting their faith and hope in Jesus as the Messiah, they saw Him die on the cross. The death event of Jesus killed they hope and faith. They were so broken and feeling hopeless that they decided to go back home. They decided to leave Jerusalem because the Master is no more. To cause more confusion and hopelessness, the body is missing in the tomb. There are reports that Jesus’ body was missing in the tomb. It was so confusing for the disciples. They are helpless. There is nothing else they can do then to go back to the village.

Suddenly, on the way to Emmaus their village, a stranger catches up with them along the way and says to them “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” This stranger is Jesus. To pull them out of their sad situation, Jesus uses a strange way. He comes to them in a hidden appearance. He did not come and say: “hey guys rejoice, I am alive.” But he enters into their sad lives and slowly draws them out of the darkness. Jesus gets closer to them and walks by their side; he listens to their conversation and asks: “What are all these things that you are discussing as you walk along?” They explain they hopeless situation and they finish saying: "we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel." They had put all their trust and hope in this man. It was so sad and disappointing for them.

To reveal himself to them, Jesus takes two steps: First he explains to them the meaning of the prophecies about the Christ that He needed to suffer and die for sins.  Jesus uses the Bible and the history of people to enlighten their mind, and to clarify the situation which they are living. He is the companion who comes to help us and to remind us what we have forgotten. Second, after the lesson about the Scriptures, Jesus performs the breaking of bread. Because these two disciples were ready to share not only their sadness with the stranger but also they their meal and shelter, Jesus reveals himself to them. The breaking of the bread creates a fraternal environment of faith that reveals the Lord to us. It is in the community gesture of sharing, and the celebration of the Supper that opens the eyes to see and recognize Jesus.

As the result, the two disciples resurrect with Jesus and go back to Jerusalem. Although they told Jesus: It is late stay with us, after the breaking of bread and the recognition of the Lord it was no longer late. This gave new meaning to their lives, their faith and their vocation. It banished all fear and fatigue they got up and went back that same night to rejoin the apostles. They courageously, get back on the road to go to Jerusalem, where the forces of death which killed their hope continue to be active. Now everything has changed. If Jesus is alive, then the power of death and fear is powerless. There is a return to Jerusalem with courage and not a flight with fear. There is faith and not unbelief. There is hope and not despair. In one word: there is life and not death. As we continue to celebrate these Pascal Mysteries, may the Lord grant us the courage to reach out with open hearts and open hands to those who are different from us, knowing that even though the strangers on our way may not look like Jesus, they might indeed turn out to be Jesus just like the stranger on the way to Emmaus. And may the Lord grant us also the grace to recognize him in our lives; mostly in the Eucharist.