Luke tells us Cleopas and his companion were downcast. Can you blame them? Their leader, Jesus, had been brutally killed and their dream of a liberated Israel shattered. That morning in the city they had heard the ludicrous news that some women had seen angels announcing that Jesus was alive, but that wasn’t enough to keep them in town.
Cleopas and his companion had, for whatever reason opted to return home to Emmaus instead of sticking around to find out more about the angel’s message. Some biblical scholars speculate that this symbolized their choice to go back to their old ways. Along the way, they encounter a man whom they did not recognize who engages them in a lively dialogue. One of them said something that catches my attention. “We were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel.” Little did they realize that their dream had indeed come true, but not in the manner they were expecting.
In response, this stranger scolds them, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!” Still, these two disciples did not get the picture! His rebuke brings to mind the image of blinders. How often do we have blinders on which prevent us from seeing beyond what we want to see? I suspect more often than we care to admit.
When some people become disenchanted or disillusioned with what the Church has said or done, they walk away, like these two disciples did. Some quit attending Mass altogether. They may be blaming God for their misfortune, such as an illness or an economic hardship or the death of a loved one or dismayed by some human element of the Church. Others will change to a different denomination, drawn perhaps by a charismatic preacher or a friend who has done the same thing.
What they leave behind is the opportunity to do what we have been doing since the first Easter in Emmaus, recognizing Jesus in the breaking of bread. If asked why they left, some former Catholics lament that they got nothing out of receiving communion. Might you be feeling the same way? Do you see communion simply as a time to come forth along with everyone else to receive a scrap of bread and a sip of wine or do you recognize Jesus in the breaking of bread as Cleopas and his companion did?
Perhaps Jesus could accuse some of us of being slow of heart as well in believing all that he has told us through the prophets and the apostles. If the celebration of the Mass has little appeal to you, consider this. Have you invited Jesus to stay with you? Consider this. If these two disciples had not invited Jesus to stay with them, he would have ventured on his way and they would have remained blind to all that had really happened.
The same holds true for us. For Jesus to become real, we must first invite him into our lives, a conscious choice that calls for faith and hospitality. Hospitality means making time for someone else. For God, we do that best through prayer and scripture. To better prepare yourself for Mass, I suggest that you take time to reflect on the readings beforehand.
So what does it take to recognize the Lord? The name for this sacrament provides a clue: gratitude. Our time together is called Eucharist, which in Greek means thanksgiving. Yet how appreciative are we for what we have? When we are not thankful, we could easily grow resentful and envious, and that would definitely blind us to the presence of Jesus in our lives, a lesson one young woman learned from her sister in a way she never expected.
Corrie ten Boom caught the attention of the world with her story, The Hiding Place. Arrested for sheltering Jews in their home in Amsterdam in 1944, she and her sister, Betsie, were sent to a concentration camp. They were assigned to Barracks 28, a dismal building with broken windows, backed-up plumbing, rancid bedding and fleas.
Betsie constantly urged her sister to be grateful for all God’s gifts. “We must thank God for assigning us to the same barracks, and for the Bible which they allowed us to keep.” Her list went on and on. Corrie kept agreeing until her sister said fleas and there she objected. Betsie replied, “Scripture says we are to give thanks in all circumstances and fleas are part of this place where God has put us.” Later, after she was liberated, Corrie learned that Barracks 28 had more freedom than the other barracks did because it was crawling with fleas. For that reason, the Nazi supervisors had been reluctant to enter.
Perhaps due to circumstances in our lives, some of us may be feeling hard pressed to be grateful, so in our anger, we remain blind to the presence of Jesus in our midst. Maybe we feel disillusioned, as did these two disciples, because God isn’t answering our prayers in the way we want them to be answered. But walking away from God is not the solution.
Instead, if we want to be redeemed, we need to walk toward God. That is, we need to make more time for prayer in our lives, beyond the Mass. That can be done in so many ways, from sitting quietly and meditating, to taking a walk and savoring God’s presence in the beauty of creation, to picking up the Bible and reflecting on his divine message. Our hearts will burn within us when we invite Jesus to stay with us, so that he can have the chance to open our eyes to his awesome unconditional love.