The Gospel today is one of my favorites. It comes from the Gospel of Luke and gives the account of two disciples walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus. It occurs on the evening of Easter Sunday. Jesus appears to the two disciples, walks with them, talks with them, but they do not recognize him. We'll dive in and comment on the various details of the story.
Jesus asks the two what they are talking about. They respond by asking him if he's the only one in Jerusalem who has not heard the news of the things that have happened. "What sorts of things?" Jesus replies. So they reply that they thought Jesus was the Messiah, but how their hopes have been dashed, because he has been killed. That is significant. Bishop Barron draws this out in one of his reflections: the Messiah cannot be defeated. If the Messiah is overcome, he's not the Messiah. So Cleopas and the other disciple presume that Jesus, having been crucified, cannot be the anointed one. Then Jesus starts explaining the scriptures to them, starting with Moses (that is, the Torah, the first five books of bible) and the prophets. He explains precisely how death is not an ultimate defeat, but part of the plan for the Messiah, who will conquer even death itself.
Who are these two that Jesus privileges with an appearance on Easter? One fascinating suggestion I've heard is that they are actually a
married couple. The suggestion is that Cleopas is traveling with his wife. The idea becomes very plausible when we consider that in the Gospel of John he mentions that one of the people at the foot of the cross is Mary, the wife of Clopas. Now, between Hebrew, Latin, and Greek names, there would oftentimes be little variations, especially in the vowels. So the possibility of Cleopas and Clopas being the same name is pretty good. If so, then this completes, so to speak, the appearances of Easter. Jesus appears to Mary Magdalen, a woman, he appears to Peter, a man, but on the road to Emmaus, he appears to a family.
The next gripping detail is that Jesus joins them for dinner. He takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them. Then he vanishes! Suddenly Cleopas and his wife realize that it was Jesus. He was made known to them
in the breaking of the bread. The pattern is very liturgical, as if it comes straight from Mass. Jesus' disappearances almost suggests his presence in the Eucharistic bread. Furthermore, we should remember that before the meal of bread, they were reading and interpreting scripture, just as we do at Mass! So the entire account flows like the Mass.
Finally, I love the closing. When Cleopas and his wife were approaching Emmaus, they had to convince Jesus to stay for dinner. Their reason to persuade him was that it was getting late. But after they realize that they have seen the risen Lord, they immediately head back for Jerusalem! The encounter is too startling, too breathtaking, to delay until tomorrow, even though it was late. So they head back to Jerusalem.
May we too lay to heart the incredible privilege of knowing the risen, living, Eucharistic Lord, and have the courage to live entirely for him.