Recently, I was reading a commentary on the Gospel of Luke by the Anglican scripture scholar, N.T. Wrigh, and the following line really resonated with me:
If the story of the prodigal son has a claim to be the finest story Jesus ever told, the tale of the two on the road to Emmaus must have an equal claim to be the finest scene Luke ever sketched…At the level of drama it has everything. Sorrow, suspense, puzzlement, gradual dawning of light; then, in the second half, unexpected actions, astonished recognition, a flurry of excitement and activity. It is both a wonderful, unique, spellbinding tale, and also a model (and Luke surely knew this) for a great deal of what being a Christian, from that day to this, is all about. (Tom Wright, Luke for Everyone (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004), 292–293.)
The Gospel account of the two disciples going to Emmaus is one that I always look forward to reading, and these words from N.T. Wright put words to why I (and so many) are drawn to this passage.
I am always struck by the candor of the two disciples as they speak to Jesus about Jesus (as they did not yet know it was Him to whom they were speaking). They said: “we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel.” (Lk 24:21) Their hope about Jesus, that He might finally be the Messiah, seemed now to be dead, just as Jesus was dead. Jesus then takes the opportunity to present to them the story of salvation, the details with which they were no doubt familiar, but Jesus connects those details in a way that makes it clear that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. Their hope had not been in vain! No doubt Jesus stirred something within them, as seen in the reaction to Him as He prepared to part company, urging Him: “Stay with us, for it is evening and the day is almost over.” (Lk 24:29) Then, as Jesus breaks and blessed the bread, Luke writes that “their eyes were opened and they recognized Him.” (Lk 24:31) The hope that they thought dead was revived, which meant that everything He had said about Himself and what He would accomplish in bringing about salvation was true. I have therefore chosen the following invocation from the Litany of the Sacred Heart to connect with this scene from the Gospel:
Heart of Jesus, Salvation of those who hope in thee, have mercy on us
During this Easter Season, we are invited to renew our faith that all that Jesus did and said is true. Nothing is more remarkable than what happened on that Easter Sunday, and if He was able to accomplish that miraculous feat, then all of His promises can be trusted, not the least of which the one He gives to us when speaking about the Eucharist, which Pope Pius XII calls a gift of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to the Church. Here is that promise from Jesus about the Eucharist:
he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever. (Jn 6:54-58)