Sunday Gospel Reflection, April 23, 2023: He was made known to them in the breaking of the bread...

He was made known to them in the breaking of the bread…

How will the risen Lord be revealed to us? 

    Is it so surprising that, in John’s gospel, the two disciples Jesus encounters on the road to Emmaus do not recognize the risen Lord immediately? Even though every one of Jesus’ Passion predictions included his resurrection, no one expects to see Jesus walking the earth again. He must therefore guide them through a progression from confusion to discovery to insight. First, Jesus encourages the two disciples to verbalize their grief: What are you discussing as you walk along? he asks them. This simple question allows the two to speak of their hopes that have been disappointed. Jesus then draws them together through the use of the word of God: beginning with Moses and the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the Scriptures. Finally, Jesus takes bread, says the blessing, breaks it and gives it to them, and they immediately know through this sacrament that he is with them, before he vanishes from their sight. 

    How will we encounter the risen Lord? How will he be revealed to us? In the Acts of the Apostles, Peter speaks a harsh truth to all staying in Jerusalem, making clear their participatory role in the crucifixion of the Messiah: This man you killed, he says. Their response is forceful; shortly after the passage we hear, we learn that they are cut to the heart (Acts 2:37) by the realization of their own culpability. Here, God is giving all of them a possibility in the midst of difficulty: God is nudging the crowds to see things differently, to accept a new vision from God, and to allow it to direct their choices and their lives. The First Letter of Peter also reminds us that we have much left to comprehend as we pass through this life, and thus we must conduct ourselves with reverence during the time of our sojourning, as we come to open to all that God has to reveal both to and in us. For, as Psalm 16 reminds us, the Lord does show us the path of life; we have but to open to him, present in both word and sacrament, in the scriptures and the breaking of the bread. In so doing, we too can come to recognize Jesus Christ as our risen Lord, the consummate source of our faith and hope in God. 

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class. 

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