Sunday 26th
April 2020. Read Acts 2:14-33, Psalm 16, 1st Peter 1:17-21 and Luke 24:13-35)_
_“While
they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with
them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.” *(Luke 24:15-16)*_
Have you ever felt disappointed before? Did you ever engage in some
business or try to learn a new skill or join a particular society or group in
the church only for your expectations to be dashed? Have you had serious thoughts
about leaving the church or even abandoning the faith altogether?
Do you feel the need to return to your old ways (of sin) perhaps because
of scandal, hurt or betrayal? Are you sick and tired of being a disciple of
Jesus Christ? Has life treated you so unfairly that you feel God is no longer
the solution? Perhaps you are already on your way to Emmaus. This was the
situation of the two disciples in our Gospel passage today. As we reflect on
their story, we discover how it plays out in our own story today and the
lessons we can learn from it.
*1. Jesus
Understands Your Plight. He Never Abandons You.*
In our moments of pain and confusion, when we think prayer is useless
and we feel like giving up completely, God, in His love for us, never abandons
us. As our Psalmist today sings: “You will show me the path of life.” By
joining these two disciples on their way to Emmaus, Jesus displayed His
kindness as the Good Shepherd who abandons the ninety-nine in search of the one
lost. (Cf. Luke 15:4).
Just as Jesus came to these two disciples, Jesus continues to visit us
in different ways. Luke tells us that “their eyes were kept from recognizing him.”
Haven’t you encountered strangers who turned out to be Angels? Can you recall
an experience when someone from nowhere came to your rescue or said something
to you that saved your life and to this day, you cannot tell who that person
was?
Remember the story of Tobit how God sent the Archangel Raphael to bring
an end to his tears and that of Sarah? The book of Hebrews admonishes us
saying: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have
entertained angels unawares. (Hebrews 13:2) On the other hand, we too can
become Angels to persons in need if only we refrain from selfishness and allow
God to use us.
*2. There is Danger in Misunderstanding the Scriptures.*
When Jesus joined them, He sought to find out what exactly was their problem
and in their explanation, they said: “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth…” meaning
that they were yet to recognize that Jesus is God. Furthermore, they said: “We
had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel…” And so, even though they were
aware of Jesus’ resurrection, it didn’t make any meaning to them since Israel remained
a Roman colony.
These disciples were disappointed because they couldn’t reconcile what
had happened with prophecies in the Scriptures such as Jeremiah 23:5-6, “Behold,
the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous
Branch and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice
and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will
dwell securely.” Jesus said to them: “O foolish men… was it not necessary that
the Christ should suffer…?”
And beginning with Moses, and all the prophets, Jesus interpreted to
them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Unlike these
disciples, Peter displayed the depth of his understanding of the Scriptures in
our first reading today wherein he noted how a statement of David was fulfilled
in Jesus Christ because David died but Jesus could not be held by death.
Dear friends, it is one thing to know what the Scriptures say but a different
thing altogether to understand it. For instance, in this time of the pandemic,
some of us Christians cannot reconcile our suffering today with the promises in
the Scriptures such as Philippians 4:19, “My God will supply every need of
yours according to his riches in glory.” But did God say we shall never suffer?
*3. The Best Way to Study the Scriptures is to Use the Pattern of Jesus.*
Another important lesson we learn from Jesus’ response to these two
disciples is that Jesus began with the Old Testament and gradually moved into the
New Testament. Be careful of taking portions of the Bible out of context or
treating them as though they are totally unconnected to the whole. Bear in mind
that Jesus Christ is at the very heart of the Bible such that while the Old
Testament is fulfilled in the New, the New Testament is revealed in the Old.
We make a great mistake when we assume that the Old Testament is no
longer relevant or that all we need is the New Testament. This is because
without the old, we cannot understand the new and if we must grasp the inner
meaning of the language of the Bible, we must try to place ourselves in the
shoes of its original audience.
Above all, we can only get the message of the Bible with a heart full of
love. It is sad to see Christians today argue and fight over the Bible with
each trying to prove the other wrong by all means. This is what happens when we
allow hatred becloud our hearts; we start quoting the Bible like Satan did
while tempting Jesus.
*4. Every Mass is an Emmaus Experience.*
What Jesus did for the disciples is exactly what happens at the Holy
Mass. First, Jesus opened the Scriptures to them and taught them everything
about himself; how it was necessary for him to suffer, how he had not come to struggle
for earthly kingdoms but to defeat death itself. Secondly, Jesus proceeded to
give them his body and blood at the breaking of bread. This was when their eyes
were opened to recognise Jesus.
You see, the Mass is in two parts, the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy
of the Holy Eucharist. In the Liturgy of the Word, Jesus speaks to us in the
readings and at the homily. Our hearts burn within us and with that frame of
mind, we proceed to the Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist where we receive His Body
and Blood. When we pay full attention at Mass, we are able to recognize Jesus
and our eyes are open to His real presence with us.
Furthermore, every Mass ends with “in te Missa est” meaning: “Go forth
and proclaim the Good News.” Like these disciples who couldn’t wait till the
following day but found their way back to Jerusalem that same hour, every time
we attend Mass, we are called upon to go out and spread the message to the whole
world joyfully. It is quite painful that we cannot gather physically to
celebrate the Mass but at least we are able to participate in it electronically.
Even more painful is that we can only receive Jesus spiritually and we are not
able to leave our homes to spread the message like these two disciples.
It is my prayer that this pandemic will help to deepen our longing and
appreciation of the Mass which we sometimes take for granted. That
notwithstanding, God has provided us with the means of technology to reach more
people than we could ever do physically. Let us use our social media handles to
the fullest in spreading the Good news of Jesus Christ. As Peter explains in
both our first and second reading, the resurrection of Jesus is the essence of
our faith. Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Let us pray: Lord Jesus, come into my heart and speak your word as you did to those
two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Amen.
Happy Sunday. Be Happy. Live
Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Third Sunday of
Easter. Year A. Bible Study: Acts
2:14-33, Psalm 16, 1st Peter 1:17-21 and Luke 24:13-35).
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