THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER A

[cappie]

We find ourselves in the middle of this Easter season, now on the third Sunday after the Resurrection, We have all recovered from Holy Week and the Triduum,  our Lenten disciplines feel as long ago and forgotten as our New Year’s resolutions, how have we changed? What is the “So What?” What is the meaning of the Resurrection in our lives? 

In the gospel story we read in Luke today, we zoom into the scene of two people walking home. They have probably just attended Passover celebrations in Jerusalem and are walking back to Emmaus. It’s a long walk, and they are discussing all the things that happened over the weekend. The events (and rumours) that transpired over the Passover holiday, including the crucifixion of Jesus, were wild and widespread, and they thought it strange that the person walking beside them hadn’t heard. The events had also been hard, and confusing, and mysterious, and the scripture says, “They stood still, looking sad.” They explained to the stranger what they knew:  There was a man named Jesus, from Nazareth, who was mighty in action and preaching. They were hoping Jesus would redeem Israel, but instead he died in a crucifixion arranged by the religious leaders. And now something else weird had happened– some women they knew said they had met angels at the empty tomb, angels who said Jesus was still alive.

All of this was mystifying. They had experienced a weekend of action. And now they were on a walk, reflecting. Together.

The stranger-on-the-road-who-is-actually-Jesus responds with, essentially, a Bible study. He walks with them and talks about the scriptures and interprets them from Moses and beyond. When the trio arrives at the village, the friends persuade Jesus to stay with them, maybe out of hospitality and concern for him, maybe because what he had to say was interesting and helped them process the weekend, and there they shared a simple supper. And perhaps it was the way he blessed the food, or explained the scripture, or maybe they saw the wounds in his hands as he passed out the bread, but they suddenly knew who they were with. And by the time they realized that this was the Messiah, he was gone. “Were not our hearts burning within us?” they asked each other.

With the action of the Passover celebration behind them, the disciples were able to reflect through community, scripture, and a meal. And out of that reflection and pause came a reveal or an epiphany, and then– action. The disciples had just walked to a new village, but the meaning revealed to them gave them enough energy to return to where they had come from and tell others about their meeting with Christ. “He had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.” By acting and reflecting, meaning was made from the conversation, the scripture, and the meal.

In every Eucharist, we re-enact that Easter Sunday at Emmaus. Jesus reveals Himself to us in our journey. He speaks to our hearts in the Scriptures. Then at the table of the altar, in the person of the priest, He breaks the bread.

The disciples begged Him, “Stay with us.” So, He does. Though He has vanished from our sight, in the Eucharist—as at Emmaus—we know Him in the breaking of the bread.

Do you think these first disciples felt differently now that they had seen Christ themselves? How did their new sense of meaning and understanding change their lives, their direction, their relationships? They shared their experiences with other disciples and were changed. The disciples’ transformation led to action, reflection, and action of others around them.  

The events of this Easter continue to impact the world in the next decades and centuries– our lives are as transformed by the resurrection as those who witnessed Christ resurrected on the first Easter day!