The account of the encounter with Jesus on the road to Emmaus, found in the Gospel Reading for this Sunday, is one of the most famous and beloved passages from the New Testament. Emmaus was a town about seven miles northwest of Jerusalem. Today, pilgrims can visit the ruins of a Byzantine era church that, according to one tradition, was built at the site where Jesus ate with the two disciples.
In the passage, we see that the two disciples walking toward Emmaus still do not understand what has truly happened. They do not know who Jesus really is and do not understand what he has actually accomplished. Jesus uses the Old Testament to instruct them, starting with Moses and the Prophets. Our contemporary nomenclature with regard to the Books of the Bible is different from what the books were called at the time of Jesus. "Moses" referred to the first five books of the Bible, known as the Five Books of Moses. "The Prophets" meant what we now call the historical and the prophetic books.
By reviewing the Books of Moses and the Prophets to point out how the text was pointing toward him, Jesus interprets for them the bulk of the Old Testament. What is more, the implication in the passage is that he starts with Moses and the Prophets and then continues with the other texts of the Old Testament. He must have talked for hours as they made their way from Jerusalem to Emmaus.
The Scripture lesson Jesus gives to the two disciples underscores an essential point. The Old Testament was inspired by God to point the way toward Christ. We cannot interpret the Old Testament meaningfully without looking through the lens of Christ. Christ is the fulfillment and completion of all that had started in the Old Testament. At the same time, the New Testament presupposes the Old Testament. We cannot interpret the New Testament fully without a thorough knowledge of the Old Testament. The two texts are organically connected.
The Gospel passage for this Sunday also highlights the framework of the Mass. During their long walk, Jesus breaks open the Scriptures for the disciples. Similarly, at Mass, we start with the Liturgy of the Word, when we hear the proclamation of the Scriptures, followed by the homily, which helps us understand and apply the meaning of the passages proclaimed. After reaching Emmaus, Jesus eats with the disciples and they recognize him in the breaking of the bread. The phrase "breaking of the bread" always has Eucharistic overtones in the New Testament. At Mass, after the Liturgy of the Word, we continue with the Liturgy of the Eucharist, when, through the prayers of the priest, the bread and wine are transformed into the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ. When we receive Communion, we receive Christ in the fullest, most intimate way possible in this life.
The passage also points toward the presence of Christ in the liturgy. As Catholics, we believe that Christ is present in the Mass in four special ways: 1) in the assembly, 2) in the Scriptures being proclaimed, 3) in the priest, 4) and in the consecrated bread and wine, which have become Christ himself. In the passage, the two disciples walking toward Emmaus do not understand what has happened, but their hearts are open to Christ, who comes to be with them. Christ then explains the Scriptures to them, showing them how he is present in the text, how the Scriptures are about him.
He then breaks bread with them, which, as we have seen, is an allusion to the Eucharist. He himself presides at the breaking of the bread. At Mass, the priest who presides is there "in persona Christi," which is a Latin phase meaning "in the person of Christ." When the priest presides at Mass, Christ is acting directly through him. When the priest says the words of Consecration, Christ speaks the words through him, thereby bringing about the transformation of the bread and wine into his own body, blood, soul, and divinity.
In the passage, the disciples recognize Christ as he breaks the bread for them. At this point, Christ vanishes from their sight, but we can surmise that he enters into them in a special way through the breaking of the bread, since now they know him and they are eager to spread the Good News about him. They decide to return to Jerusalem immediately, which would have been both challenging, after walking the better part of the day already, and dangerous, given that they would be walking in the night, just two of them together alone. At Mass, we do not see Christ face-to-face, but we recognize him the Eucharist, and, by receiving Communion, we enter into the closest possible union with him on this side of Heaven.
The two disciples in the passage are deeply transformed by their encounter with Christ. The question for us is how transformed are we by each Mass? Are we any different after attending Mass? Are we on fire to proclaim Christ to those in our lives, to the world around us? Are we transformed in our behavior, acting more Christ-like in every aspect of our lives? If not, why not? Are we truly open to the presence of Christ in the Mass?
If not, we should start by making sure that we are well prepared for Mass. If we are conscious of a grave sin, we should seek out the Sacrament of Penance in preparation for attending. As we plan for going to Mass, we should make it the highlight of our day, not just a box to check off, before rushing to the things that might interest us more. Before Mass, we should spend a few minutes in prayer, opening our hearts and minds to Christ. Likewise, after Mass, we should spend time in prayer, asking that the great gifts we have received may live on in us.
Years ago, the night before I went to Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina for the first time, I attended Mass at the beautiful cathedral in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. Medjugorje is known for many miraculous occurrences. But as I was going up to Communion that evening, I had a strong sense that regardless of the miraculous things I might experience in Medjugorje, nothing could be as important as what I was about to experience right then and there - the reception of Christ in the Eucharist. I came to think that if we really took the Eucharist seriously, we would spend half of our time preparing for receiving Holy Communion and the other half thanking God for giving us such an unspeakably beautiful gift.
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The readings for the Third Sunday of Easter, Cycle A, are:
Acts 2:14, 22-33
Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11
1 Peter 1:17-21
Luke 24:13-35
The full text can be found at the USCCB website.
Photo Credit: Ruins of the Byzantine era church at Emmaus by Zoltan Abraham (c) 2016.