Host: Welcome to Saint Patrick Catholic Community podcast. We're glad you're with us.
Fr. Alex: So my sisters and brothers, on this third Sunday of Easter, we just heard that famous passage passage of the disciples on the road to Emmaus. And I think most of us assume that both disciples were men. We know one was a male for sure, Cleopas, but we're not given the name of the other disciple. And because it was women who were most present during Jesus' passion and resurrection, I don't think it's a stretch to think that the other disciple was probably a woman. Maybe even Cleopas' wife.
So for the sake of my homily, I'd like us to consider that the two disciples on the road to Emmaus were husband and wife. And as Luke describes this passage, there are three movements that this couple made that I'd like to explore with you. And the first is turning away. The gospel said the disciples were on the way to a village seven miles from Jerusalem. They were disheartened by the suffering and death of Jesus.
They just witnessed Jesus being rejected by the authorities, abandoned by his disciples, crucified like a criminal, and considered a failure by the Jewish people. Their faith in his messiahship had been lost. We were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel, they said. So with heavy hearts, bereft and frustrated, they walked away from Jerusalem, away from the place where Jesus appeared. But Jesus did meet them on the road even though they did not recognize his presence which brings me to the second movement, they invited.
The couple invited the stranger to stay with us. This was a movement towards hospitality. In the culture of Jesus' day, welcoming a stranger was vital to the to living a virtuous and holy life. And so by welcoming this stranger, this couple was performing a hospitality that connected them to their Jewish roots of a faith filled life. Which brings me to the third movement, they returned.
After Jesus breaks the bread and gives it to them, we're told their eyes were opened and they recognized him. They recognized the truth of the visitor who was with them. And Luke tells us that they got up in that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. They wanted to share that encounter with Jesus with others. They became evangelists proclaiming the good news of the gospel.
So what can we take away from these three movements of turning, inviting, and returning? Well, think that first movement, turning away from Jerusalem is something that we've all experienced when our faith is tested, when we struggle to believe in Christ. And like these disciples and maybe for us, that struggle does not have to do with information. They were reciting all the events of passion week. They had all the information at their disposal.
They even knew of the recent news of some women in their group who had found the empty tomb and would claim to see a vision of angels announcing that he was alive. Yet with all this information, they could not understand scripture. They could not understand how this tragedy could be a part of god's salvific plan. All they understood was their pain and sorrow. And so, they turned away and walked in the other direction away from Jerusalem, away from Jesus.
In our world today, is much suffering due to war, injustice, discrimination, disease, lack of care for our environment and its creatures. Perhaps some of some of us are going through a painful situation. Maybe our hopes have been dashed by death, disease, or diminishment. Maybe our struggle has to do with addiction or the loss of a relationship or maybe just the feeling that God is absent in our lives. In these moments, it's hard for us to see how God is present in our lives.
And like the couple, we are tempted to turn and walk the other way. The road to Emmaus is a temptation for all of us when we can't see God at work. But Jesus does come to us just like he came to those disciples even though they did not recognize his presence. And notice, it was Jesus who took the initiative. It was Jesus who made the first move to encounter us when we turn away.
And when the disciples welcomed him, they were not only welcoming an opportunity for hospitality, they were welcoming the lord himself. And it's in that welcoming, that openness to welcoming that they were able to have a real and genuine encounter with god. We too know that when we have open hearts and when we welcome and encounter god, we call that real encounter with God sacrament. Because every time we break bread at the altar, we know the real presence of Jesus is with us. Now it's up to us to recognize the presence of Jesus out there in the world when we leave this place.
Every time we perform an act of hospitality, every time we greet somebody, every time we open a door for somebody, every time we offer a glass of water to a stranger, we are giving ourselves the opportunity to encounter Christ and to have a divine encounter. Luke says their eyes were open and I think he was very intentional in using Luke those words because the last time we heard that a couple had their eyes open was in the Garden Of Eden after Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree. And that meal of rebellion turned Adam and Eve and the world in the wrong direction away from God. But here now, with Jesus and the breaking of the bread, this meal of redemption turned the disciples and us back to him which is the third movement. They returned.
When the disciples realized who was with them, they were no longer disheartened. Their hearts were burning because the one who baptizes with the holy spirit and fire was with them this whole time. That encounter changed their lives. They no longer had to see him with the eyes of flesh. They now saw him with the eyes of faith.
And Luke tells us, they immediately went and returned to Jerusalem to proclaim the good news. And that's what we are called to do. Whenever we break bread together, we are called to go out and proclaim the good news because we know that Jesus is really present on all our roads and on all our tables. And the only appropriate response is to go and share that with others. Not just the fruits of that encounter, but also to give others the opportunity to experience that encounter themselves.
In a few moments after mass, we're gonna have the opportunity to encounter Christ in the sacrament of anointing, to experience his healing presence physically, emotionally, spiritually, psychologically. And we'll also have the opportunity to encounter him through the intercession of Saint Odelia, the Crozier patroness from the March who as a teenager trusted in God so much, she gave her life as a virgin and martyr. And because of that, God gave her a special privilege that through her intercession, there's healing of diseases of the eyes and other illnesses. And so after mass, we have her relics here today. You can be blessed with her relics.
So as we continue our life's journey this Easter season, let's be mindful that Jesus is with us in our ups and downs, in our sorrows, in our struggles just like he was with the disciples on the road to Emmaus. And when we are tempted to turn away, may we remember to keep open and inviting hearts that give us an opportunity to encounter him because it's in that encounter with him that we will receive newness of life and a returned sense of hope. May our eyes be opened and our hearts remain burning within us. Amen? Amen.
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