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By Robert Zünd - joyfulheart;
upload Dezember 2008;
upload by Adrian Michael,
Public Domain,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5537171
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It is the Sunday after the death and burial of Jesus of Nazareth. Two of his disciples are walking away from Jerusalem to the town of Emmaus seven miles away. In Luke, one of the disciples is named Cleopas. Some biblical experts think Cleophas was a brother to St. Joseph, the deceased husband of the Virgin Mary; but according to John 19:25, he was the husband of Mary, the sister of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the father of the Apostle, St. James the Less. Either way, he would have been an uncle to Jesus. The logic that the "other disciple" on the road to Emmaus was his wife Mary and not some other disciple makes the most sense; however, Luke may have had a reason not to name the "other disciple" using it as a technique for the reader to insert himself into the story.
On the way to Emmaus, the two disciples are talking and trying to understand and console each other about all that had happened in the past two days. They had just witnessed the horrifying death of Jesus and feel they have lost everything. They had come to believe that this man Jesus was the hoped for Messiah, but now that all seemed to be fading away quickly with his death. Surely, Mary had told her husband what she experienced early that morning. Before leaving for Emmaus with her husband, Mary had been to the tomb with the other women to bring the spices for the burial. She had seen the empty tomb, but did not understand what that meant. On the way, they may have even talked about the possibility of the claim that Mary Magdalene actually saw the Lord that day, but it was more than they could comprehend. Even Peter and John had seen the empty tomb, but still it was too much to hope for.
As they continued on their way, a stranger came up behind them and asked what they were talking about. They were surprised that this stranger had not heard of everything that had happened in Jerusalem for the past few days. How could he be unaware of how the great prophet, Jesus of Nazareth, who had healed so many people and preached in a way that no one else has ever preached, had been arrested and put to death. They told this stranger, who they thought this Jesus was. He was the hoped for Messiah that they expected would save Judea from the Romans and the one who would become their king. "Save" them, odd that they should have used that word as that was precisely what Christ's death on the cross did for them. Jesus Christ saved them from sin.
They were unaware that this person they were talking with was Jesus, as their unbelief blinded them. They could not see what their hearts were trying to tell them. After they told this stranger all that had happened, Jesus felt such compassion for their lack of faith that he began to tell them of all the scriptures that came before that would explain what they had just witnessed. As they walked on to Emmaus, Jesus opened up the Scriptures to them and a spark of faith and hope began to ignite in their hearts, it was what they would need to recognize Jesus who was walking with them.
Upon reaching Emmaus, it appeared that the stranger was going to continue on with his journey, but they implored him to stay with them and to continue to open up the truth behind the Scriptures. Jesus agreed as he wanted to elevate their feelings of hopelessness to true acceptance of his salvation. The disciples were beginning to rise from the deep darkness of their sorrow as the Light of the Word of God became brighter to them. But it was not fully comprehended until they sat down to supper when Jesus took the bread, broke it, and blessed it. At that moment, at that first Eucharist celebration after the Resurrection, their eyes opened and shone brightly as the reality of the living Jesus Christ before them became ever so clear in his glorified presence now so tangible in front of them. They immediately felt the joy of the Easter Miracle and with that, Jesus smiled at them and vanished from their sight. Their joy was so great they exclaimed; how did we not see this? How did we not believe as we listened to every word he spoke? Weren't our hearts burning within us?
Pope St. John Paul II said that when the two disciples urged Jesus to stay with them, Jesus responded by giving them a way to stay in Him, by entering into "a profound communion with Jesus" through the "Sacrament of the Eucharist". This presence remained in them as they immediately returned to Jerusalem on a mission to spread the Good News that they had just experienced and to tell the other Disciples of Christ's appearance to them!
The Road to Emmaus is often seen as the first celebration of the Mass in the New Covenant. The formula for the Mass can be seen throughout the Gospel story. The explanation by Jesus of the scriptures is our Liturgy of the Word, which begins every Mass. The breaking of the bread, where the real true presence of Our Lord is made known to those two disciples is our Liturgy of the Eucharist where the true presence of Jesus is given to all of us and Christ physically dwells in us. And finally, the Blessing and Dismissal "Ite Missa Est" ("Go forth the Mass is ended"), the Latin word "Missa", the derivative of the English word "Mass" carries the sense of mission. Just as Cleopas and Mary immediately set out in the darkness of the growing night to return to Jerusalem on a mission to tell their story. They could not wait to tell the other disciples that they had truly seen the risen Lord. They desperately needed to tell them what they had learned about the Book of Genesis. How the "seed" of the woman who would bruise the serpent's head, was Jesus. How they now understood the sacrifice of Isaac, the son of Abraham, as a foreshadowing of the sacrificial death of Jesus, and how God brought forth the nation of Israel as the light to the world that would bring blessings to the nations of the world. From Exodus, Cleopas and Mary now understood how Jesus would be perceived as the Passover Lamb. From the Book of Numbers, he was the rock in the wilderness from whom we receive the life-giving water. In the Book of Joshua, he was the captain of the Lord's hosts. In the Psalms and in the Prophets they saw His suffering, death, and resurrection. And in Ezekiel, Daniel and other books they now saw His second coming in great power and glory. And finally, in the very last book of the Old Testament, Malachi describes Jesus as the Son of Righteousness raised with healing in His wings. "But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings..." (Malachi 4:2 New American Standard Bible)
These great gifts--the opening and understanding of the Scriptures and the recognition of the risen Jesus, are the desire of all who believe. Because when we read and study the Bible and its meaning is opened to us, we see the Lord Jesus Christ as HE is. Through the Holy Spirit, we are opened to an understanding that will forever change us. The Word of God will no longer be misunderstood. It will have meaning. It will make sense. And, it will bring us comfort, for within its covers we will see Jesus, who died for us so that we would live eternally with him. And finally, our hearts will burn as Cleopas and Mary's as we hurry out to spread what we have learned on our own Road to Emmaus.
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By Abraham Bloemaert
- web, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6236988
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In future posts, I will bring forth some of the Scriptures that reveal the coming and the mission of Jesus Christ. Stay tuned for more insights in the series of posts entitled:
"ON THE ROAD TO EMMAUS"
Thanks to Malcolm Muggeridge and his book, Jesus Rediscovered (Fontana, 1969) for this inspiration
