The Gospel today, usually given entitled as “The Road to Emmaus”, I will always remember as the Gospel read during First Holy Communion. We had rehearsals on the participative Gospel reading. “Please stay with us. Night is coming.”
Reading and re-reading the Gospel, I am struck by the way their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. Contrary to what the priest said at the sermon, they did not recognize Jesus because of their disappointment. They were “prevented.”
I reckon that Jesus had this cloak of many faces upon his resurrection. I bet that the mysterious Faceless Man character in Game of Thrones was based on this. (Which I have previously blogged about. Hehe)
I wondered how it is to feel ‘a heart burning’. I am recalling how I become engaged and excited in certain conversations, many of them debates and arguments. Certainly, my heart beat races as I try to understand what was being said AND formulate my own on reasoning, counter-arguments, or even just questions to test the rationality of the argument.
Could this be what Cleopas and companion were feeling as the Scriptures was being explained to them by no less than Jesus himself? I imagine how impassioned the discussion must have been as those disciples had made up their mind that the prophet they were following could NOT have been the Messiah. They must have felt so lost as this figurehead they had pinned their hopes on was crucified. They must have felt crushed and humiliated. And they couldn’t wrap their minds around the stories that somehow, he must have resurrected.
They must have tried to argue against the facts being laid by Jesus. Yet they couldn’t. And they began to understand both his horrible death AND his resurrection. They probably had that “Aha” moment, just as he broke the bread. That moment of realization coincided with the ‘reveal’ - it was Jesus, all along who was with on that journey! Jesus, his tasked completed, disappeared. But he left them enlightened and even more zealous as disciples, hearts burning!
How wonderful it must have been to hear Jesus himself explain the Scriptures for us. And to have our faith re-awakened, re-ignited with a clearer understanding of His Life, Death and Resurrection! Such Good News we couldn’t keep to ourselves!
Reading and re-reading the Gospel, I am struck by the way their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. Contrary to what the priest said at the sermon, they did not recognize Jesus because of their disappointment. They were “prevented.”
I reckon that Jesus had this cloak of many faces upon his resurrection. I bet that the mysterious Faceless Man character in Game of Thrones was based on this. (Which I have previously blogged about. Hehe)
I wondered how it is to feel ‘a heart burning’. I am recalling how I become engaged and excited in certain conversations, many of them debates and arguments. Certainly, my heart beat races as I try to understand what was being said AND formulate my own on reasoning, counter-arguments, or even just questions to test the rationality of the argument.
Could this be what Cleopas and companion were feeling as the Scriptures was being explained to them by no less than Jesus himself? I imagine how impassioned the discussion must have been as those disciples had made up their mind that the prophet they were following could NOT have been the Messiah. They must have felt so lost as this figurehead they had pinned their hopes on was crucified. They must have felt crushed and humiliated. And they couldn’t wrap their minds around the stories that somehow, he must have resurrected.
They must have tried to argue against the facts being laid by Jesus. Yet they couldn’t. And they began to understand both his horrible death AND his resurrection. They probably had that “Aha” moment, just as he broke the bread. That moment of realization coincided with the ‘reveal’ - it was Jesus, all along who was with on that journey! Jesus, his tasked completed, disappeared. But he left them enlightened and even more zealous as disciples, hearts burning!
How wonderful it must have been to hear Jesus himself explain the Scriptures for us. And to have our faith re-awakened, re-ignited with a clearer understanding of His Life, Death and Resurrection! Such Good News we couldn’t keep to ourselves!
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