THE JOURNEY TO EMMAUS

HOMILY FOR THE THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR A

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

Acts 2:14, 22-33        1Pet 1:17-21        Luke 24:13-35

Today’s Gospel reading presents us with an account of two men on their way to Emmaus, a village allegedly sited seven symbolic miles from Jerusalem. As they gloomily discussed the recent event of the death of Jesus, the Lord Himself joined them on their journey and walked along with them. During their conversation with Jesus, the men opened up about their feelings of disappointment, their loss of hope and belief on account of the death of the man they thought to be the Messiah, the long-awaited one who would lead them to political freedom from Roman rule. But when the risen Lord dug into the Scriptures to explain to Cleopas and his companion the meaning behind what they foretold - that the Christ would suffer and so enter into His glory - their understanding grew and grew. They were entranced by His teaching and wanted more, and so they invited Jesus to stay with them. Now, when they were having their evening meal, it was at the breaking of the bread that their eyes were opened, and they realised that it was the Messiah Himself who was with them … but He was no longer visible to them. Straight away they upped and returned  to the Eleven in Jerusalem to tell them their story, including how they recognized Jesus when He broke the bread.

The journey to Emmaus was one in which hope and faith were restored. Cleopas and his companion were filled with deep disappointment, emptied of belief in Jesus and consequently were suffering feelings of  hopelessness. How they spoke about the events to each other demonstrated their sorrow that Jesus had proved not to be the militaristic Messiah they wanted Him to be: our own hope was that he would be the one who would set Israel free. Jesus fitted right in with the two men as they walked along, keeping pace with their movements and feelings. He listened to them on their journey so as to become completely one with them. He dispelled the darkness that clouded their spiritual eyesight by exposition of the Scriptures. Alleluia! Their journey to despair ended with the joy of hope, understanding and faith. I put it to you that this outcome is possible in our own spiritual and physical pilgrimage of life.

Of course there are times when we feel disenchanted with the things of God. Our minds fill with multiple unanswered questions about belief, we harbour doubts about the veracity of the things of God because we have so many gaps in our understanding of them, and we become so overwhelmed that we are tempted to take a step back from God. There are other times when our expectations of other people are shattered, especially those expectations that we thought would be beneficial to us! While the experience of Cleopas and his companion is - in many ways – our own today, we can take from it the need to give our full attention to listening actively and attentively to Jesus. He is always present to us, listening to us, speaking to us (if only we will put down our mobile phones and listen) and walking side by side with us, especially in times of worry. God is closer to us than we are to ourselves. God redeems and saves mankind, not by suddenly showing up triumphant in the full flush of victory, but by wrestling with evil throughout our long struggle.

The Emmaus story teaches us a lesson about Christian unity. Before the intervention of the Lord, those two disciples were on the point of isolating themselves from the community of faith. The road they were following out of Jerusalem led nowhere. We can read into the story a journey of self-isolation due to a loss of faith in the Messiah. But - thanks be to God - they made an about-turn and were reintegrated into the Faith following the speedy journey they made after witnessing the breaking of bread. This is also true for us today. Divine revelation is given to us for the sake of unity, never for disunity. Whenever we encounter our Lord personally, our duty is to search out ways of using the fruits of our encounter with the divine to strengthen the unity of the Church. Faith is enhanced whenever there is connection and community. It is rarely enhanced in isolation. It is therefore our bounden duty to help to promote Christian unity under the umbrella of the Church.

Finally, the Emmaus story mirrors the liturgy of the Holy Mass. Let us examine the sequence of that conversation as it pertains to the Mass. At the Introduction of Holy Mass, we are invited to present our petitions to God and to ask for His mercy; Jesus invited the two disciples to talk to Him about their worries and concerns, which they did. During the Liturgy of the Word, we listen and receive teaching; Jesus opened the Scriptures to the disciples by citing and explaining relevant passages. In the Liturgy of the Eucharist, we are nourished physically and spiritually; after the bread was broken, Jesus was no longer visible to them. At the end of Mass, we are commissioned to go forth in peace, glorifying the Lord by our life; Cleopas and his companion returned to Jerusalem straight away in order to give testimony that Jesus was indeed risen. 
In common with these two disciples, we engage with other people to witness to the risen Lord in our lives. In the same way as the encounter Jesus had with His disciples prompted them to witness to Him in Jerusalem, so too the encounter we have with our Lord in the Holy Mass prompts us to witness to Him wherever we are from day to day, whether we are at home, at work, socialising, fulfilling appointments or travelling. The Christian message is never fully ours until it is shared with others. St. Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, shared this message with the people of his time on the day of Pentecost. We too, inspired by the Holy Spirit, are called to share the same message - the message that the ransom that was paid to free us from our literally dead-end way of life was paid once and for all by the Blood of Christ, the Lamb without stain, by Christ who is risen from the dead! It is through Him that our faith and hope in God are completely and utterly secure. Let us commit to being heralds of the glorious messages of our Lord’s resurrection and of our redemption. Amen. God bless you.