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Last week, during one of the school Masses, I spoke with the kids about a common experience most of us have had at some point in our life. It’s that moment when you see someone familiar but in an unexpected context. Because you are not expecting to see this person in that place, you wonder if it is actually them at all or just someone who looks like them. A little game of peek-a-boo ensues as you try to covertly determine if that is who you think it is, all the while not trying to let them know that you are actually staring at them. The situation we all agreed on having was that awkward moment of seeing one of your teachers (or priests) at Target, Dierbergs, or the movie theater. When you don’t expect to see someone or something, you can miss whatever is right front of you.
We see this in the gospel today. Two of the disciples are on the road to Emmaus, about seven miles away from Jerusalem. They were downcast and debating about the life and death of Christ. Jesus himself joins them, but they do not recognize him. You can hear the frustration, dejection and confusion in their voices as they speak with this “stranger”.
During the entire walk, the two disciples do not recognize the Lord. Even after he explains the scriptures for them, they still cannot fathom how he could be risen. For them, it didn’t seem possible that the Messiah, the Son of God, could redeem the world if he died on the cross? Their expectations and perspective made them blind to the wisdom of God, working through Jesus Christ. It is not until the breaking of the bread that they recognize Jesus and begin to understand.
The same thing can happen to us. Throughout our lives, we find ourselves on the road to Emmaus when we are downcast, confused, disappointed, angry, and hurt because we expected one thing from God but got something entirely different. Perhaps it is the death of a loved one, a personal affliction or illness, difficulties at work or home, and or the million other things that break our heart. These hardships challenge the way we think of God; they can make us feel alone and abandoned. Because of our own expectations of God, we can be blind to the fact that he is walking right alongside us. We often have our own ideas of how God should act and what the plans for our lives should look like. When those don’t work out, it can cause great distress, disappointment, and even anger.
But even in the darkest moments of our lives, we should not despair or give up. Christ is always with us during these moments but we may not recognize him right away. Like the disciples, we may walk quite a distance down our road of difficulty before we recognize the presence of Jesus. This healing, calming presence of our Lord may be found where we least expect it: in the kind words of a stranger, in the beauty of fine spring day, or the smile of a friend or family member.
Finally, we can see our time at Mass each week as our own journey to Emmaus. Here in this first part of the liturgy, we can bring the things we have on our mind and present them to God. Here we have the Word of God, which is opened up and explained to us as it relates to Christ. Jesus is working here and now to show how the Scriptures point to him and his saving message.
But He doesn’t stop at explaining the scriptures. In a few minutes he will become present in the breaking of the bread on our altar. It was this breaking of the bread that opened the eyes of the disciples and helped them to recognize the risen Christ in their midst. He wants our eyes to be opened too, so we can see him working in each and every situation of our lives. He wants us to let go of our own expectations of God so we can believe and trust completely in him, that he is Lord of heaven and earth, that not even sin and death can overpower his plan of salvation for us.
My prayer for all of us here today is that we approach this Eucharist and our daily lives with the eyes of faith, a renewed perspective which sees that Jesus is walking alongside us, every step of the way. May we be a people who recognize the presence of Christ here in the breaking of the bread. May we, like the disciples, say to one another as we leave this church: Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?”
