Today's Gospel reading is one of my favorites: The Road to Emmaus. Father Jim had a great sermon about his own experience on a road to Emmaus. As was pointed out to us in today's sermon, the story is the basis for the structure of our mass: there is an Introductory Rite when the two disciples meet Jesus on the road, there is a Liturgy of the Word as Jesus (who is still unrecognized) explains how the prophets predicted His death and resurrection, there is a Liturgy of the Eucharist as Jesus breaks the bread and is revealed, and there is a Concluding Rite as the disciples run back to Jerusalem to tell the others what they had witnessed.
It's just a good story. These two men are leaving the city, possibly to escape persecution, after having their lives torn apart. They come across a stranger who asks about their troubles and then shows them the why they should not be afraid. They invite Him to share their dinner. He blesses the bread and breaks it, handing it out to them, and suddenly they recognize Him. At which point, He vanishes. No flash of light, no puff of smoke, just gone.
At this point they say to each other one of my favorite lines: "Were not our hearts burning within us?" They had been so set on their problems and anxieties that not only did they not recognize Jesus when He appeared to them, but their minds did not register what their hearts were telling them. How often do we block out our own hearts due to the troubles on our minds?
I can't help but wonder how they didn't recognize Him at first. Rather than being upset with them, He seemed to be amused. I have heard sermons that have suggested that this lack of recognition is likened to our lack of recognizing Christ in one another. I like that, but a part of me wonders if He had simply shaved. Perhaps He looked too regal, as He was on the road quite a bit during His ministry. They were used to seeing, for lack of a better term, Hippy Jesus rather than Jesus the King of Heaven and Earth.
Whatever the reasons they had for leaving the city, they run back to it. This might be my favorite part. They can't wait to share what they had seen. As they arrive they that find others (Peter in particular) who had also encountered Jesus. There is no jealousy about this fact. Instead, they celebrate together.
I would like to have more of that zeal within me.
It's just a good story. These two men are leaving the city, possibly to escape persecution, after having their lives torn apart. They come across a stranger who asks about their troubles and then shows them the why they should not be afraid. They invite Him to share their dinner. He blesses the bread and breaks it, handing it out to them, and suddenly they recognize Him. At which point, He vanishes. No flash of light, no puff of smoke, just gone.
At this point they say to each other one of my favorite lines: "Were not our hearts burning within us?" They had been so set on their problems and anxieties that not only did they not recognize Jesus when He appeared to them, but their minds did not register what their hearts were telling them. How often do we block out our own hearts due to the troubles on our minds?
I can't help but wonder how they didn't recognize Him at first. Rather than being upset with them, He seemed to be amused. I have heard sermons that have suggested that this lack of recognition is likened to our lack of recognizing Christ in one another. I like that, but a part of me wonders if He had simply shaved. Perhaps He looked too regal, as He was on the road quite a bit during His ministry. They were used to seeing, for lack of a better term, Hippy Jesus rather than Jesus the King of Heaven and Earth.
Whatever the reasons they had for leaving the city, they run back to it. This might be my favorite part. They can't wait to share what they had seen. As they arrive they that find others (Peter in particular) who had also encountered Jesus. There is no jealousy about this fact. Instead, they celebrate together.
I would like to have more of that zeal within me.
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