Third Sunday of Easter, April 23, 2023

How do I recognize the presence of Jesus in my life?

Luke 24: 13–35

Now that very day two of them were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?” They stopped, looking downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?” And he replied to them, “What sort of things?” They said to him, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him. LBut we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place. Some women from our group, however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive. Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see.” And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures. As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. 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 the bread.

Music Meditations

• I Will Walk the Presence of God—Chris deSilva
• One Bread, One Body--John Michael Talbot
• You Are Near--Dan Schutte

Opening Prayer

Lord, I know I walk with you, but I do not always recognize you. Help me to find you through prayer and the scriptures, and especially through service to those who might need my help and comfort. Trust me to do for others what you do for me.

Companions for the Journey

From “First Impressions”, A service of the Southern Dominican Province:

Some people who go through a crisis, like a sudden illness, or the death of a loved one, will struggle in their faith and wonder: “Where is God?” “Has God abandoned me?” Or even, “Why is God doing this to me?” When people in crisis hear the Easter accounts, like today’s gospel, they get a case of the, “If only’s...” “If only I had been there with those frightened disciples when Jesus suddenly appeared in their midst, then I would have strong faith.” “If only I had seen his wounded hands and feet, I would have shared with him my own hurts.”

“If only I had watched him eat that baked fish by the side of the lake, I would have told him of my own hunger.” Luke’s account of the disciples’ encounter with Jesus on the road is certainly one of the most beautiful in the New Testament. It is a story of two people who were so focused on the past they couldn’t see what was right before their eyes. With the death of Jesus their world collapsed. Walking away from Jerusalem they were also walking away from their dreams. They were going back into darkness, as they tell the stranger who has joined them, “It is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” They weren’t just speaking about the time of the day. They were returning to their old lives, it seemed nothing had changed and things appeared pretty dark for them. When Jesus joined them on their journey Luke tells us, “...their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.” What caused their blindness? Why didn’t they recognize the one they had been following, with whom they had shared their lives? Maybe it was because they had their own idea of what they wanted Jesus to be, some kind of king, or a warrior on a  mighty stallion who would vanquish the Romans. “We were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel.” But Jesus was right there in front of them, in the flesh, to show he was alive. Wasn’t that enough? Apparently not, since they didn’t recognize him.

Luke wrote his gospel between the years 80-90.  The Emmaus account Is in the last chapter of his gospel. Neither he, nor his  contemporaries, had experienced the risen Christ the way the first disciples had.  Like us, they hadn’t seen him in the flesh. Like us they needed reassurance that Christ was truly risen from the dead and was among them. Like us, life sometimes overwhelmed them, leaving them with questions, confusion and doubts. Luke needed to show his contemporaries how their faith could be strengthened; how Jesus wasn’t a past-tense phenomenon, merely a great historical figure now long gone. We have walked the road to Emmaus. We know how long it is; how it twists and turns; how it doubles back on itself; how confusing it can be; how we can feel lost, even forgotten. The road to Emmaus is a road of fallen expectations. Haven’t there been times in our lives when we have said, “If only I had....” Or, “I wish I hadn’t....”? When we even uttered the words of the dejected travelers, “We were hoping....”  When a marriage didn’t  last… a personal goal never realized... a child went off the deep end... an illness severely limited our capabilities.  Times like these, the  words of the two disciples are ours as well, “We were hoping....” By the way he tells his story Luke is helping his contemporary Christians and us see the risen Christ with us. Notice the important  elements: Jesus begins by explaining the Scriptures to them.  In other words, the biblical Word of God is proclaimed and explained so that new insight is given to the disciples. Then, as we do in worship, after having the Word of God opened for them, the needy disciples gather around the table with Jesus where bread is blessed, broken and given to them. In both this gospel and the Acts of the Apostles (his second volume) Luke uses the term, “the breaking of the bread” -- which was, and still, is a term used for the Eucharist. Luke is describing the encounter with the resurrected Christ in terms of the community’s liturgical  experience. With them our “eyes are opened” and we meet the risen Lord when we gather to hear the Word of God and “break the bread” together.

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

On my journey, what have been my disappointments? What hopes have I had? Have I ever wondered if it is all worth it? Have I ever wondered if you matter? Have I ever found myself walking away from a situation, a relationship or even my religion, because nothing had worked and I did not know how to go on? Did my disappointment and regrets keep me from seeing the possibilities right in front of me? How was hope and energy restored to me? What was the role of another in helping me turn around? Did focusing on the needs of someone around me help me pull out of a self-defeating funk? What was the role of my religion or the scriptures in giving me comfort or a new direction? Has there been a special companion on my journey of faith? Has there been a time in my life when I was discouraged and then my eyes were opened to discover that Jesus was actually walking with me? Has there ever been a time in my ordinary life that Christ was actually there, but I did not notice him? Is Christ there now? What is the difference between seeing and recognizing? In the Eucharist we do not see Jesus, but we recognize him….is that true for you? In the people we meet every day, we might not see Jesus, but do we recognize him in them? The late renowned homilist Walter Burghardt, S.J., wrote that recognition for the disciples came in three stages: when they were walking together and sharing their disappointments; then when the stranger in their midst began interpreting the scriptures for them; and finally, after their invitation to dine, they recognized him fully in the breaking of the bread. So too, we can recognize Christ when we gather together, when we read, hear and try to understand scripture—either alone or in our small groups, and finally, at the Eucharistic table. Do I have a sense of coming to gradual recognition of Jesus in my life? Do I realize that this is not a one-time process, but one that recurs all throughout my spiritual life? Like the journey of the disciples to Emmaus, our life is a faith journey. Where are you in your journey, and what do you need to help you along the way? On your journey, what have been some high points that “caused your heart to burn within you?” What have been some signs of God present in your life? How do you listen to and wrestle with scripture? Do I trust God enough to pour out my heart to Him? C.S. Lewis, in a homily called “The Weight of Glory”, said: “Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses….for in your neighbor is Christ.” Do I actually see my neighbor as Christ in my own life? Have there ever been Easter moments in my life?

Meditations

A Meditation in the IgnatianStyle/Imagination:

Read the story of the journey to Emmaus (Luke 24: 13-32) Try to imagine what the apostles have been doing and how they have been feeling over the last two days. Then picture yourself in their place as they walk down that road to Emmaus. What do you see? hear? What are your feelings about all that has happened? Picture the scene as a strange man walks up to you and begins to ask about your feelings. How would you respond? Why do you not recognize Jesus? Imagine your feelings as you share the story of what the women told you, and then again as Jesus talks to you. Imagine the moment of surprise and joy as you recognize Jesus. How do you feel about seeing Jesus "alive"? Talk to Jesus as you would if you had actually been there that day, telling him of your sadness and then your happiness.

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

T.S. Eliot, in part II of “Four Quartets”, wrote: We had the experience, but missed the meaning, And approach to the meaning restores the experience In a different form, beyond any meaning we can assign to happiness. Recognition of Jesus was not a magic act that was indisputable proof of his divinity, nor was it only open to those with brains or money, or religious position. Walter Burghardt, S.J. commented that recognition of Jesus was only open to believers. What, then, is needed, is grace freely offered and a response on the part of the believer. Note that even Jesus’ special friends could not recognize Jesus for much of their journey What is the difference between seeing and recognizing? Have I ever had an experience, the importance of which was lost on me at the moment, but which I understood much later? We each have different ways to come to recognition: the beauty of MemChu; a community of shared belief and prayer life; love of spouse, child, friends, parents, even pets; the selflessness of health workers and first responders, the kindness of another; the joy exhibited by a young child; memories of loved ones. Has this ever happened in my spiritual experience? Spend a little time thinking of the ways in which you might come to recognize God’s love and the presence of Jesus in your midst.

A Meditation in the Dominican style/Asking Questions:

Adapted from Sacred Space, a service of the Irish Jesuits:

In looking at this Gospel, we see that all the ingredients of the Christian life are here. Where do you find yourself in this scenario? – Running away from where Christ is to be found. We do it all the time. – Meeting Jesus in the unexpected place or person or situation. How many times does this happen and we do not recognize him, or worse mistreat him? – Finding the real meaning and identity of Jesus and his mission in having the Scriptures fully explained. Without the Scriptures we cannot claim to know Jesus. Yet how many Catholics go through life hardly ever opening a bible? – Recognizing Jesus in the breaking of bread, in our celebration of the Eucharist. The breaking and sharing of the bread indicates the essentially community dimension of that celebration, making it a real “com-union” with all present. – The central experience of Scripture and Liturgy draws us to participate in the work of proclaiming the message of Christ and sharing our experience of it with others that they may also share it. – The importance of hospitality and kindness to the stranger. “I was hungry… and you did/did not feed…” Jesus is especially present and to be found and loved in the very least of my brothers and sisters.

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/ Action:

Can I see the face of Jesus wherever I look— in the sick and the dying? in the health care workers? in the grocery store clerks? in those defying safe-distance protocols? in the person whose political views I despise? In the homeless? In the people who don’t look like me, speak like me, pray like me? I spend this week making sure that I can find the face of Jesus in everyone I meet—without exception!

Poetic Reflection:

Could you imagine yourself in this situation?

THE SERVANT GIRL AT EMMAUS
(A PAINTING BY VELASQUEZ)

She listens, listens, holding her breath. Surely that voice is his--the one who had looked at her, once, across the crowd, as no one had ever looked? Had seen her? Had spoken as if to her? Surely those hands were his, taking the platter of bread from hers just now? Hands he'd laid on the dying and made them well? Surely that face-- The man they'd crucified for sedition and blasphemy. The man whose body disappeared from its tomb. The man it was rumored now some women had see this morning, alive? Those who had brought this stranger home to their table don't recognize yet with whom they sit. But she is in the kitchen, absently touching the winejug she's to take in, a young black servant intently listening, swings round and sees the light around him and is sure.

Denise Levertov from The Stream and the Sapphire

Literary Reflection:

How does this poem by Thom Gunn reflect what the apostles needed after Jesus’ death? How does it reflect what we may need when we have lost someone?

THE REASSURANCE

About ten days or so After we saw you dead You came back in a dream. I'm all right now you said. And it was you, although You were fleshed out again: You hugged us all round then, And gave your welcoming beam. How like you to be kind, seeking to reassure. And yes, how like my mind To make itself secure.

Closing Prayer

Stay with me Lord, for it is toward evening. The busy world is hushed, the fever of the day is over, and the work of my day is done. As you walked with me, beside me every minute today, be with me in my rest. Give me comfort and repose this day. I hope to do the same for others I need along the way.