3rd. Sunday of Easter (A)
(Acts of
the Apostles 2:14, 22-23; 1st. Peter 1:17-21; Luke 24:13-35)
As the two disciples walked towards Emmaus
they were talking about Jesus, the events of His life, and His crucifixion and death they had so recently experienced in
Jerusalem.
Reminiscences, however, dear People of God, no
matter how loving, are not faith:
The Father himself loves you, because
you have loved Me and have come to believe that I came from God. (John
16:27)
What saved those two former followers (‘we had hoped’) of
Jesus from becoming ‘no-hopers’? What
indeed inspired them to throw away their baggage of regrets, shake off their
sorrow, and become renewed and true believers in Jesus?
It was not directly due to Jesus having
explained to them the Scriptures about Himself.
For, though having gladly heard
Him as a companion-on-the-way, they were, nevertheless, initially prepared to
see Him part from their company a little later on.
No. It
was not Jesus’ enlightening of their minds that changed their
dispositions, but the fact that, on seeing Him begin to go off on His own way, they
suddenly remembered how their hearts had been so deeply touched:
Did not our hearts burn within us?
It was not
the event itself – Jesus’ explaining the Scriptures -- but their recalling, and
for the first time appreciating, its effect on them, by the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit.
These words of Jesus to His Apostles can give
us some guidance here:
It is to your advantage that I go
away, because if I do not go away the Helper will not come to you. (John 16:7)
Dear People of God, Jesus -- though a visible
‘companion’ to those He had joined on their way to Emmaus -- was not of this
world. He was, in fact, glorified by
the Spirit. It was surely the Helper for Whom Jesus had
prayed on behalf of His Apostles and His nascent Church, Who was already at
work within those erstwhile companions of His on the way, bringing to their
minds the spiritual significance of what happened to them so recently:
Did
not our hearts burn within us?
Dear People of God, facts of all sorts impinge
upon -- entering and leaving -- the active awareness of our minds. Some thoughts, some facts, penetrate deeper
-- like darts -- when they catch our attention and cause our minds to recognize
something of their importance.
There are, however, spiritual arrows that
penetrate deepest of all when we find ourselves hit by what may seem to have
been but a mere glimpse of their beauty; but notwithstanding, a glimpse
revealing a beauty that solicits almost painfully -- nay even demands --
some response, some acknowledgement of our appreciation, some embrace emanating from our deepest self.
They urged Him, ‘Stay with us, it is nearly evening and the day is almost
over’.
This Man had found them ‘looking sad’ and now,
as He was on the point of leaving them, they realised that something
wonderful had happened to them in His company, and they knew they had to
acknowledge it immediately, they must not forget it. It was almost as if they themselves were
being tested: they must not fail, could not lose the opportunity that this Man had
offered them:
Stay with us, it is nearly evening and the day is almost
over.
We know that God speaks to, draws, all who are
seeking Him. Indeed, Jesus, answering some Jews questioning Him and His
teaching, once said that anyone sincerely seeking God would know – that
is, by God’s grace and gift – that His, Jesus’, doctrine was, indeed, authentic
divine teaching.
Whoever chooses to do His will shall know
whether My teaching is from God or whether I speak on My own. (John 7:17)
Dear People of God, our God is not unknown
to us; He is not un-knowable for
whoever sincerely wants and seeks to know something of His truth.
But such seekers must also be humble enough
to be prepared to both wait and pray that they might notice when He contacts them
in His own way, for we
cannot test Him.
Notice, that Jesus kindled the faith of the walkers
to Emmaus through an appropriate understanding of the Scriptures, and that is what
God is trying to do with and for every one who, like us, is hearing Mother
Church’s chosen readings and perhaps a homily during the sacrifice of Holy
Mass. Jesus is offering them, giving us,
an opportunity, whether you have heard those readings until you are
‘sick’ of hearing them, whether you
think the priest’s words are convincing, his person acceptable enough, or not
…. Despite all that may be going on in your heart and mind Jesus is at your side, at this time, offering an
opportunity, and ready to welcome and further any positive response!!
However, it was in the Sacrament of the Most
Holy Eucharist itself that the disciples actually recognized, found, Jesus their
Lord and Saviour. And we, dear People of
God, must approach the sacrament – our Eucharist today – with faith and love
most of all. But also with a most
necessary measure of humility and openness-of-spirit if we wish to recognize
Christ truly and embrace Him sincerely: a humility and openness-of-spirit ready
to be manifested in our gratitude and our obedience to God’s comfort or guidance,
to His commands and strength, should He deign to visit us.
There are other considerations that could be
taken up from our readings today. For
example, turn over in your minds the fact that Jesus accompanies us – as He did
those two going to Emmaus – only if we walk our way-of-life in communion
with Him, sharing a few moments with Him
perhaps only occasionally, but never unwillingly,
if and when we find ourselves free to do so.
Dear friends in Christ, one of the greatest, most profitable, habits we
can possibly learn, is to learn from and imitate the blind beggar Bartimaeus (Mark
10: 46-48) who heard that Jesus was passing by and simply put himself in
Jesus’ way by crying out:
Jesus,
Son of David, have pity on me!
No one will ever hear your cry, for you will
be crying out for Jesus’ hearing only; but it will sooner rather than later win
you a blessing far greater than that which so greatly rejoiced Bartimaeus … the
Spirit, the Gift, of Jesus awakening and warming your hearts and deepening your
companionship with Jesus on the way to your heavenly home.
