Friends
Peace be with you.
I was talking to my spiritual director the other day about how this passage of Sacred Scripture keeps coming to the forefront for me in my time of prayer during this Easter Season. I’ll start with another passage, like the story of Jesus’ appearance by the Sea of Galilee to Peter but end up reflecting on this image of the two apostles walking with Jesus but not being able to recognize him. It just keeps coming back to me like there’s something I need to keep reflecting on.
Part of the reason may be because I did some research a couple of weeks ago, shortly after Easter, into where the town of Emmaus is for my Thursday morning coffee klatsch. On Thursday mornings, after Mass, I invite anyone who wants to chat to come either into the fireplace room outside of church or over to the adult ed room in the Faith Formation area of the Parish Center, depending on availability, where I give a short presentation that I hope is interesting and prompts further discussion. Most of my presentations have to do with the cities named in the New Testament, like Corinth, Jerusalem, or Casarea Phillippi. The Thursday after Easter Sunday, I presented on Emmaus. As I said to them, the struggle is that there are several towns that all claim to be Emmaus and it’s next to impossible to determine which one is the real one. Still, as I did my research into the characteristics that both bolstered and denigrated the veracity of the claims of each of the three or four best possible towns, I couldn’t help but wonder what in the heck was wrong with these two lunkheads that prevented them from recognizing their messiah as they walked to this unknown town.
Here’s what we know (or don’t know) about these two people. In the Bible, one is named Cleopas and the other is unnamed. In St. John’s story of the crucifixion of Jesus, one of the faithful women who accompany him along the way is named Mary, wife of Clopas. It’s possible that Clopas and Cleopas are the same name that, when transcribed from Hebrew to Greek by different evangelists, was just simply transcribed differently. If so, it’s also possible that the second bishop of Jerusalem, whose name is Simon, son of Clopas, could be the other person walking on this road to Emmaus. Some people identify this Simon with Simon the Zealot, one of Jesus’ Apostles. If that’s true, it would be a father and son heading back home to one of the suburbs of Jerusalem named Emmaus. Their wife/mother, Mary, had watched Jesus be put to death and, perhaps out of loyalty to her and what she witnessed, they are not prepared to hear from Mary Magdalene or Simon Peter that Jesus didn’t really die. And they aren’t prepared to accept the reality of the resurrection. It’s just too much for them. At least, too much until he is revealed in the breaking of the bread. St. Augustine said, “Where did the Lord wish to be recognized? In the break of bread…it was for our sake that he didn’t want to be recognized…because we weren’t going to see him in the flesh, and yet we were going to eat his flesh. So, if you’re a believer, you may take comfort in the breaking of the bread. The Lord’s absence is not an absence. Have faith and the one you cannot see is with you.”
Have you ever come to Mass or gone to adoration and not felt like your heart was burning within you? Maybe it’s happening for you right now. Personally, I know that part of the reason it’s happening for me is because it’s been an extraordinarily busy time, with a lot of funerals, working to replace a couple of staff members, first reconciliation and first communion, Divine Mercy Sunday, confirmation, and the normal, weekly parish activities. I haven’t been taking the time necessary to reflect on God’s presence in my life. I didn’t notice him in the actions of the people around me. I missed Jesus when he spoke to me through the young man that is considering going to the seminary. I missed him when visiting with the woman who told me how grateful she was that I spent some time with her mother before she died because I was so worried about having a good homily. I missed him when I didn’t go to adoration because I was goofing around watching a silly youtube video.
When did we miss encountering Jesus in the breaking of the bread and what are we going to do to find the time to let him set our hearts on fire?
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