Easter Sunday - Walking to Emmaus - End of the Desert Journal

Gospel	Luke 24:13-35 ©

They recognized him at the breaking of bread

Two of the disciples of Jesus were on their way to a village called Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking together about all that had happened. Now as they talked this over, Jesus himself came up and walked by their side; but something prevented them from recognizing him. He said to them, ‘What matters are you discussing as you walk along?’ They stopped short, their faces downcast.

  Then one of them, called Cleopas, answered him, ‘You must be the only person staying in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have been happening there these last few days.’ ‘What things?’ he asked. ‘All about Jesus of Nazareth’ they answered ‘who proved he was a great prophet by the things he said and did in the sight of God and of the whole people; and how our chief priests and our leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death and had him crucified. Our own hope had been that he would be the one to set Israel free. And this is not all: two whole days have gone by since it all happened; and some women from our group have astounded us: they went to the tomb in the early morning, and when they did not find the body, they came back to tell us they had seen a vision of angels who declared he was alive. Some of our friends went to the tomb and found everything exactly as the women had reported, but of him, they saw nothing.’

  Then he said to them, ‘You foolish men! So slow to believe the full message of the prophets! Was it not ordained that the Christ should suffer and so enter into his glory?’ Then, starting with Moses and going through all the prophets, he explained to them the passages throughout the scriptures that were about himself.

  When they drew near to the village to which they were going, he made as if to go on; but they pressed him to stay with them. ‘It is nearly evening’ they said ‘and the day is almost over.’ So he went in to stay with them. Now while he was with them at table, he took the bread and said the blessing; then he broke it and handed it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he had vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road and explained the scriptures to us?’

  They set out that instant and returned to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven assembled together with their companions, who said to them, ‘Yes, it is true. The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.’ Then they told their story of what had happened on the road and how they had recognized him at the breaking of bread.

My flight from Tel Aviv arrived on time and my wife picked me up at O'Hare International Airport and we were famished for one another's company.  This was the longest we had ever been apart in our marriage. We got home and I didn't even unpack.  I was too tired and we went to bed.  We slept from about nine until seven the next morning.  I awoke with still feeling the effects of crossing so many time zones in such a short time, jet lag!  But we hurried along and made it to Mass fifteen minutes early.  All of the relatives were there and the Mass was memorable, beautiful, and the choir sounded as if they were inspired by angels!  Afterward, we all went to the restaurant where we had reserved a party room and we all had a wonderful time reliving old stories and laughing at ourselves and one another.  The birthday cake for our daughter was brought out and we all sang Happy Birthday to her and with our second cup of coffee, Aunt Ginger spoke up and asked me about my trip to the Holy Land.  Everyone there knew that I had been gone for over forty days and they wanted to hear all about it.  I had no prepared remarks but I did my best. 

"Thank you, Ginger.  I never realized that my little journey would become a subject for an after breakfast talk so I do not have any prepared remarks but let me put in terms reminiscent of the Gospel reading we heard today.  You all know me, I have always been interested in the history of the time Our Lord walked the earth.  Every aspect of it fascinates me but none more so than the walk of two disciples to Emmaus. Emmaus, as we reckon it today, is about ten miles from Jerusalem.  This made it slightly outside of the distance that the two men could walk on a Sabbath which legally was about seven miles.  I would assume that these faithful Jews started from a house outside of the city proper which most likely made the journey legal.  Imagine the two of them, heartbroken because they really thought that this Jesus was the Messiah.  But how can He be the Messiah if He is dead?  Picture this, the two of them are in the middle of nowhere.  There are no crowds on the road on this day and suddenly, out of nowhere, a third man joins them in their journey.   We know it is Jesus because the Gospel writer tells us so, He asks the two what they are talking about as they walk along.  They say Jesus of Nazareth.  Jesus feigns ignorance and you can almost hear the disdain in the disciple's response which was basically, "Were you living under a rock?  Don't you know that Jesus gave every indication that He was the Messiah?  Now our Chief Priests delivered Him over to Pilate and had Him crucified?  Where have you been?  Were you in your cups and in a stupor?"  

"Jesus calls them to task and calls them foolish and slow to believe. He then holds a clinic in Bible prophecy about Him and explained every scripture that referred to Him. The travelers must have been spellbound. They arrive at the place in Emmaus. Jesus makes as if He is going to go further but the two invite Him in so the conversation could continue. He accepts their invitation and when they were at the table He blessed and broke the bread and they suddenly realized that Jesus, the Messiah that had been crucified, was there, alive with them. No sooner had they realized this and Jesus disappeared from their midst. He had disappeared because He was still there in the Eucharist, His very Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. They immediately went back (a ten-mile walk!) and told the others what had happened."

My days in the Holy Land were like a forty-day journey to Emmaus. I learned more in the desert about myself and about my spirituality than I ever knew before. I learned that Jesus did not come to earth to die for the sins of the world, no, He came to die for my sins, the offenses I committed against God and my fellow travelers. I learned that God is not impersonal but very personal. He knows me inside and out. I cannot hide from Him but I can hide from myself. Walking through the desert, the mountains, the city of Jerusalem was an experience I never will forget. To see the very place where the Cross was erected that Jesus was on and to touch the stone where His body was prepared for burial was amazing but more amazing was that after this trip I felt that Jesus was no longer out of reach for a sinner like me but rather He was a personal friend and that as a friend I could ask for and receive help in my life because I have a twenty-four hour a day lifeline to Him. Now when I go to communion, I take time to be with Him and to bare my soul to Him for He is with me and in me. No longer do I feel that going to communion is just a social norm for me to practice, no, it is a personal act where I am united to Jesus and to all of my fellow Catholics inside my church and in the Church as a whole. So, yes my trip changed me and changed me for the better. I can never go back to the way I was. Praise God and Jesus for I know now what it means to be an adopted son and a member of the Household of God.