Third Sunday of Easter
A week after St. Thomas doubted the reports from his fellow Apostles, the Gospel message this Sunday is another encounter with the risen Lord. Today, we hear about two of Jesus’ disciples on the first day of the week heading to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus.
Understandably, the two were immersed in the events that had just happened in Jerusalem, where Jesus was arrested and executed. The people close to Jesus must have thought the years spent following Him were a waste now that he is dead. St. Luke describes the moment as two disciples “conversing and debating”.
As they were walking, the risen Jesus joined them and asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?” The disciples stopped and were downcast. One of the disciples, called Cleopas, replied to Jesus with an incredulous question about how he did not know of the events that had happened in the past days. Replying, Jesus asked him, “What sort of things?” St. Luke makes it clear to his readers that Cleopas and the other disciple were prevented from recognizing the Risen Lord.
Cleopas and the other disciple began to recall the events of Jesus’s death without understanding that he was more than just a prophet mighty in word and deed. They went on to say they heard reports of his rising from the dead but were unsure of the news. Even hearing he was not dead, the two still had the mindset that Jesus was only a special man who could deliver the Jews from bondage, but they did not understand he was divine, let alone the possibility of rising from the dead.
The blindness of the two was chastised by Jesus, who told them, “Oh, how foolish you are!” He went on to tell them how lacking they were in believing in the prophets who foretold that Jesus would suffer and enter into his glory. The Risen Lord interpreted scripture for them, starting with Moses and the prophets.
The two disciples lost their focus precisely because they had based their faith in Jesus as only a human being. They questioned their faith because, as a human being, Jesus did not meet their expectations as a Messiah. Yet, when Jesus came to them, he explained what the true Messiah is, not one as a political figure but as a Savior who redeems his people from their real problem of sin and death.
The disciples lost sight of this. In their despair, they lost hope. Their faith was centered on someone they did not recognize as God. The disciples’ reaction is not unique; it happens countless times, with countless people. There is a tendency to want to control our lives, even when it comes to faith in God. It is preferable to have a God who agrees with my needs and wants instead of hearing the truth, that suffering is a condition of life, and real life is in heaven, instead of seeking a phony utopia on Earth.
We continue with our misconceptions and our inability to see the Risen Lord until something snaps us out of our ignorance. It happened when the two invited Jesus to dine with them. Their eyes were opened when at the table, Jesus took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. Their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, then he vanished from their sight. No longer did they see Jesus as only a human, but the Son of God. After the encounter, the two met the eleven Apostles and proclaimed that they had been with the Risen Lord.
The story about the road to Emmaus is instrumental to Catholics. It further underscores the importance of Catholics regularly attending Mass. It is there that we encounter in Scripture and the Eucharist the risen Lord, and indeed we do. Through the Word of God and by communicating with Him in the Eucharist, our misconceptions of a God we create are dissolved in the reality of a relationship with Jesus.
Our life is a journey, and is riddled with difficulties. The recognition of the Risen Jesus during Mass is the way in which we do not lose hope or fall into despair. Jesus’ death and resurrection have reframed the way we are to live, but to know it means we do not ignore the gift his resurrection afforded us, hearing the words of the Scripture and breaking the bread at Mass. Without continually accepting these gifts, we will not be able to recognize Him and quickly fall into our old ways, always ending in futility.