Dear Brothers and Sisters,
It is a wonderful word that is very beautiful of these two disciples going to Emmaus and only one is named; the other one could be you or me. They are disappointed, even crushed, and sad because they have lost three years of their lives and are going home to Emmaus. They have left Jerusalem, they left their community and on the way they meet Jesus Christ, the Risen Lord who walks with them. This is the beginning of this gospel that we did not hear today. The two disciples were walking with Jesus and were telling him what happened in Jerusalem, but they did not know who it was until the breaking of the bread. This is very important otherwise we would not understand today’s gospel. It is wonderful how they don’t recognize him until the breaking of the bread which even in the Mass we attend today is a sign of his death, of his giving his life for them.
I always like this gospel because it is not moralistic. It is a very tender, beautiful gospel that shows how God deals with each one of us. If I were the Lord and saw that my disciples are fleeing from Jerusalem, sad and broken-hearted, I would say, hey, guys, wake up look at me; I am the Lord. Look at me, I am Jesus; let’s go back to Jerusalem and evangelize. But Jesus says something very different: Let us announce and preach the forgiveness of sins to all the nations starting from Jerusalem. It begins in Jerusalem; it begins in the Church. We who are in the Church cannot do this mission unless we have first encountered the Risen Lord so he loved us, walked with us, ate with us, allowed us to touch his hands and his feet. This experience is fundamental. Jesus walks with them, even as they go far away from Jerusalem, but he accompanies them, stays with them even in their sins. He loves them. And at a given moment they wake up and recognize him in the breaking of the bread and later they return to Jerusalem, to the Church, to the community. This is the point where we pick up today’s gospel.
In the first part of the gospel that we did not hear today he made believe that he was going on further, but they convinced him to stay the night with them. Jesus pretends to go beyond where they were going. He would not mind going to hell to look for you; he would go all the way to hell to find you. So, he enters their house and at the breaking of the bread they recognized him. They felt loved by the Risen Lord; this is the main point!! He did not come to judge them, but to accompany them, and listen to their things, their weaknesses, how they were scandalized by his death. When a man is felt loved by God, he can be a witness to this love.
In today’s gospel, when the two disciples were speaking of Christ’s appearance in Emmaus, he makes himself PRESENT again, how amazing!!! The same thing happens to us NOW, when we speak of him, HE IS PRESENT to all of us today! He tells us one thing: peace be with you!! The Risen Lord brings you peace, even today. If you have peace, that means it comes from God. He is here. This is a criterion of discernment. It is God who gives us peace in the middle of suffering, of precariousness, in our weakness, in the midst of who we are. And why are you afraid since you thought you saw a ghost, it was not a ghost but the Risen Lord; He really exists, even today!!
I hope you have an experience of seeing Christ act in your life. Perhaps for you Jesus Christ is like a ghost for you; he is kind of a spirit for you. Hopefully, you see Jesus Christ as someone who helps you or perhaps you think he is of no use for you because you are like the disciples and are terrified and full of fear thinking you can live your life on your own. When Christ comes into our life, he totally changes everything. You are no longer afraid of anything, because Christ is with you and with him everything changes. Life becomes wonderful, stupendous.
If Christ has not risen, then He is just an idea, which is the way many Catholics think. He is just an idea in someone’s head no matter how much they say they love the Lord with all their heart. Often, it is all baloney, baloney. It is a lie. If you love the Lord with all your heart, then why don’t you sell your goods and give the money to the poor. If you love Christ with all your heart, why do you not love the one next to you, why do you divorce or commit adultery? To love the Lord with all your heart means you can forgive the injustice done to you. If we don’t love the brother who we see, how can we love God who we don’t see? Christ is like a phantasm, an idea, a kind of power that changes our lives, but only superficially. It is like a hysterical pregnancy.
The woman believes she is pregnant, but she is not. Her stomach gets bigger, and her breasts give milk, but she is not pregnant. Psychically she believes she is pregnant, but it is not true. There are many Christians who are this way. In the end there is nothing inside. Christ is a ghost in their life. But the Risen Christ is the truth. You can touch his hands and his feet; you can eat with him and walk with him. He is present in this host, in this piece of bread, in the wine that you drink. It is the same Christ who walked with the disciples to Emmaus. The same one who is proclaimed in the word. The same one who touched the leper. He is the same one who touches you and you can touch in this Eucharist today.
Do you understand the depth of what the Eucharist is for us. That is why they always celebrated on the first day of the week, on Sunday. It was on a Sunday that they walked to Emmaus. On a Sunday the disciples gathered together to celebrate the Eucharist. They gathered with the community, touching the mercy of God, touching the wounds of Christ, touching him, and eating with him. Let us go eat with him because without him we can do nothing.
I hope you recognize in the breaking of the bread today how Christ gives himself again for you. He gives himself to the point that he lets you eat him because he knows that without him you are nothing. You cannot do anything; you are afraid and have no peace. You are stuck in your sins, and you don’t know what to do with your life. But with him you are a new man and man who is resurrected. Let us eat with him and go to the banquet with him. What a marvel, a spectacular feast, the food that he gives us is eternal life.
Christ says it at the end of the gospel: he came so we would repent and convert and announce the forgiveness of sins to all the nations, beginning with Jerusalem. You are witnesses to what he has done. He has truly forgiven all your sins. Are there sins that you have not even forgiven yourself? It is true he has forgiven all your sins, isn’t it? You are a witness of this, a witness of the forgiveness of sins so you can have a mission. Your mission is here, in your home. There are some who think it is in Africa or other far-off places. The mission is in your home. Your mission is to live chastity. Your mission is to love your children, to love the one who did an injustice to you. It is not to bring chocolate to Africa. It is to forgive the one who was unfaithful to you. To forgive your mom who abandoned you or the one who murdered your son, this is a Christian. He is a Christian because he has witnessed God’s love and forgiveness in his life and therefore, he can forgive and can love you.
A priest who lived in a monastery out in the country in Malta had a simple experience that touched him. He left a piece of chocolate on the table and saw an ant and picked it up and put it near the chocolate. He was surprised to see that the ant took a bite and quickly left and in a few minutes returned from his colony with a long line of ants following him. To be a disciple is how all things are made. When we find something beautiful we want to share it with others. May the Lord give us this grace to see how close Christ is to us and to meet him on the road of our difficulties.