Trong đoạn Tin Mừng , cho chúng thấy được hai người trên đường đi Emmau cũng giống như hành trình cuộc sống mỗi ngày của chúng ta. Giống như họ, chúng ta cũng có thể đã không nhận ra Chúa Kitô đang hiện diện với chúng ta trong những biến cố quan trọng trong cuộc sống. Họ chỉ nhận ra được Chúa Giêsu sau khi họ lấy được sự can đảm đê mời người khách lạ dừng lại với họ “ Hãy ỡ lại đay với chúng tôi vì trời cũng đã xế chiều và ngày cũng sắp hết.” Chúa Giêsu ở lại và cùng ăn tối với họ.
Chúng ta đã thất bại trong việc nhận ra sự hiện diện của Ngài có thể vì thực tế là chúng ta đã không có hiếu khách hay chưa đủ hiếu khách để cho phép những người lạ mặt chưa quen, những người nghèo khổ hay những người không có cũng một chí hướng với chúng ta để mời họ ngồi chung một bàn và chia sẻ món món quà sự sống với chúng ta. Đây chính là dấu chỉ Tình Yêu vô điều kiện và tuyệt vời của Thiên Chúa dành cho nhân loại con người và đó cũng vì đó mà chúng được chắc chắn rằng sẽ được tăng thêm niền vui vô tận của Nước Trời. Trong lúc chúng ta vui mừng chào đón Mùa Phục Sinh Có lẽ là thời gian để chúng suy ngẫm về hành động của chúng ta. Chúng ta đã quảng đại được bao nhiêu trong việc đáp lại lòng thương xót của Chúa ? Chúng ta đã bắt đầu nền tảng cho những công việc từ thiện để mang Tin Mừng và những thứ cần thiết đến cho các anh chị em của chúng ta. Chúng ta đã biết đọc và đều chỉnh dấu chĩ thời gian? Lạy Chúa Giêsu, Xin hãy biến đổi chúng con thành những khí cụ cứu rỗi của Chúa cho dân Chúa.
Acts 3:1-10; Ps. 105(104):1-2,3-4,6-7,8-9; Lk. 24:13-35
“Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”The Emmaus companions are like many of us on our daily life journey. Like them, we also may have failed to recognize Christ’s presence in various life events. They only recognized Jesus after they dared to invite this stranger to stay with them, saying: “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” Jesus stayed and shared bread and wine with them.
Our failure to recognize his presence may be due to the fact that we are not hospitable enough to allow strangers, the poor, those who do not share our views, to sit at the same table and share the gift of life. This is the hallmark of God’s abiding love for humanity and it is also that which will surely gain for us abundant joy from heaven. As we come fresh from Easter, maybe it is time to reflect upon ourselves.
How generous have we been in response to Jesus’ salvific act? Are we now doing concrete acts of charity to bring this Good News to our brothers and sisters in need? How are we adjusting ourselves to the signs of the times? Lord Jesus, make us instruments of Your salvation for Your people.
That very day, the first day of the week, two of Jesus’ disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. Luke 24:13–16
Why were these two disciples prevented from recognizing Jesus when He appeared to them on Easter Sunday? Earlier that morning, as Luke recounts (Luke 24:1–12), Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary—the mother of James—and other unnamed disciples found the tomb empty. While they were there, “two men in dazzling garments appeared to them” proclaiming that Jesus had risen. When the women told the rest of the disciples, their story “seemed like nonsense, and they did not believe them.” Surprisingly, for some of the disciples, Jesus’ Resurrection was not immediately a cause for rejoicing—it was a cause for uncertainty and, sadly, disbelief.
So back to our original question: Why were the eyes of these two disciples prevented from recognizing Jesus when He appeared to them? Because faith in the Resurrection doesn’t come from physical sight alone; it comes by hearing and understanding the Word of God, which opens our hearts to believe. Jesus preached the Gospel to these two disciples, and through that preaching, they came to believe.
The story of Emmaus not only recounts an encounter with the risen Christ but also offers a model for our own encounter with Him in the Mass. First, the Word of God is read and preached. Then, the bread and wine are consecrated into the True Presence of Jesus, which we consume. In the story of Emmaus, Jesus’ preaching inspired faith in these disciples. Once they understood and believed, Jesus “took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that, their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight” (Luke 24:30–31). In this breaking of the bread, they recognized Him. Jesus had given them faith through the Word of God and nourished that faith with the Eucharist.
Reflect today on how you encounter Jesus in the Mass. At Mass, Jesus appears to us in the exact way we need Him, through Word and Sacrament. When we listen to the Word of God, internalize it, and let it spark deeper faith in our hearts, we have truly met our Lord. When we kneel before the Eucharist and consume Him in Holy Communion, Jesus is even more intimately present to us than if He were physically before us. Each Communion infinitely blesses our souls, for through this gift, Jesus enters and makes our souls His sanctuary.
My Eucharistic Lord, You truly come to us every time we participate in the Mass. Please help me to make my participation in the Mass a reflection of the encounter of these two disciples on the way to Emmaus. Open my mind to the gift of faith as I hear Your Word proclaimed and preached. With faith, may I then receive You openly in Holy Communion, so that my soul will become a sanctuary in which Your resurrected presence may dwell. Jesus, I trust in You and welcome You with all my heart.
And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:30–31
Two of Jesus’ disciples had been discussing the events of the past week as they walked the seven-mile journey along the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus. They previously had hoped that Jesus was the one Who would redeem Israel—but then He was killed. And three days later, there were rumors of His Resurrection, which only left them confused. As they journeyed, Jesus appeared to the two disciples, but they did not recognize Him at first. His identity was hidden from their eyes. Jesus listened to them and expressed sorrow at their lack of understanding, so He explained to them the teachings of Moses and the prophets and that the Messiah needed to suffer, die and rise on the third day. As Jesus spoke, the disciples began to understand, and their hearts burned within them. Finally, in the gift of the Holy Eucharist, in the breaking of the Bread, their eyes were opened to see that it was Jesus with them.
Why did Jesus hide His risen presence from these disciples? It appears that He did so because they lacked faith. They said, “…we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel.” But the Crucifixion was too much for them to handle. They could not comprehend why the Redeemer had to suffer as Jesus did, so they began to doubt.
Too often we are like these disciples who are confused about matters of faith and who struggle with doubts. For that reason, we must see ourselves in the persons of these disciples as they walked the road to Emmaus. Jesus offered these disciples a wonderful gift of mercy by helping them to understand His saving act. He explained to them all that was taught in Scripture regarding Him. And as these disciples listened to Jesus teach them, they slowly came to believe.
We, too, must allow Jesus to teach us about the transforming power of His death and Resurrection. We must listen attentively and allow our hearts to burn within us as we listen to His holy Word. Only in this way will we come to the level of faith we need to more fully comprehend and accept the transforming power of the Paschal Mystery.
Reflect, today, upon these disciples and their need to reflect upon the Word of God so as to understand, believe and have their eyes opened. Know that you need this same grace. You need to spend time with our Lord, immersed in His Word, listening to His voice, so that you will come to believe more fully. Allow the message of Jesus’ death and Resurrection to burn within you so that you, too, will come to believe.
My resurrected Lord, You appeared to these disciples who lacked faith and understanding and gave them the gift of Your holy teaching. Teach me, dear Lord, all that I must come to understand and know about You, Your death, Resurrection and glorious gift of new life. May Your Word burn within me and lead me to a transformation of my life. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord God, each mass is a new Emmaus. In the Liturgy of the Word, I walk with your Son and he opens the Scriptures to me. In the Liturgy of the Eucharist, I sit at table with your Son and receive the Bread of Life. Open my eyes today to see with faith and inflame my heart with your divine love.
1. Cleopas and Mary? One interpretation of the identity of the two disciples who journeyed to Emmaus was that they were Cleopas and his wife, Mary. They were Jesus’ uncle and aunt. “According to John’s Gospel, we know that ‘Mary the wife of Clopas’ followed Jesus and was in Jerusalem for the Passover. Indeed, she was with Mary the mother of Jesus and Mary Magdalene at the foot of the cross (Jn 19:25). John’s spelling of Clopas follows the Semitic spelling, whereas Luke, naturally, uses the Greek spelling” (Gray and Cavins, Walking with God, 274). It seems, then, that Clopas/Cleopas is returning home after Passover with his wife, Mary.
Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, open my spiritual eyes to the power of your word and your faithful presence in my daily life.
2. Stay with Us, Lord: “At every time and in every place, God draws close to man.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1). In every place and moment, Jesus comes unobtrusively near and patiently awaits us to welcome him. This is an experience we desire whenever we pray. We start out on our own, perhaps a little hopeless and in need of His divine inspiration. When we share what is in our hearts, Jesus listens, then gradually and gently sheds light. When he draws us to his word, a line from Scripture comes alive and reveals a nugget of understanding, consolation, and guidance. Our heart becomes lighter. Perhaps it even begins to burn with fervor and passion. Time spent with the Lord is never wasted. It allows for our friendship to grow. By the end of the prayer, we can sometimes find it difficult to leave. “Stay with me, Lord.” What a mysterious and awesome privilege to know the Lord’s presence in prayer.
3. Back on the Road: In the Emmaus scene, we ponder how much Jesus not only wants to spend time with us but desires to remain with us. Jesus gives us not just ordinary bread but his very self. Deep down in that mysterious place of our hearts, we are nourished and strengthened with food for life's journey. All we need is to be open, empty, and hungry to receive Him. Satisfied and strengthened by his word and the Eucharist, the two disciples courageously returned to Jerusalem. They knew that the same forces that had killed their hope still existed, but everything else had changed. Jesus was alive within them. They were resurrected! Fear, disbelief, and despair dissolved into faith, hope, and zeal. They were truly alive. Let us speak to Jesus about how the Good News of his Resurrection gives us the experience of life in abundance (John 10:10)!
Conversing with Christ: Like the two disciples, I walk with you, Lord, journeying along many paths, but I do not always walk in the right direction. You made sense of the disciple's distress through your presence and your word. Open my heart to your word and increase in my heart a desire for receiving you in the Eucharist. I thank you that I can always turn to you in prayer to open the ears of my heart to hear your voice and recognize your presence sowing seeds of hope. Give me the courage to move forward, living from a life resurrected in you.
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