Wednesday, April 4, 2018

On the Way to Emmaus

       Today, we are being invited to accompany two companions on their way to Emmaus, a town approximately 6-7 miles from Jerusalem [Lk.24:13-35]. The first companion is Cleophas. According to Hegesippus' record, he may have been the brother of Joseph, Mary’s husband. This theory is supported by St Jerome. The Church History by Eusbuius of Caesarea written in 324 AD  notes the second companion was Simon, the son of Cleophas.
         Both were members of the chosen 70 sent out to preach the Coming of the Kingdom.  They were very sad and depressed on the suffering and death of Jesus literally heartbroken.
         Another stranger has joined us on this journey.  His eyes locked onto ours.
We could not recognize him so heavy were our hearts.
          As we walked along this stranger began to review all the scriptures beginning with Moses and all the prophets.  How did He get this knowledge?  As He spoke 
the eyes of our hearts were beginning to open and and a solace began to burn
within us.
          As we reached Cleophas' home in Emmaus, he invited the stranger to join us for a supper meal. As He blessed the bread at the table, our physical eyes were opened wide and we truly recognized Him as Jesus our friend and savior and our joy and gratitude overflowed.  Then He vanished from our sight.
          We knew we had to return to Jerusalem this very night and let the others know
what had taken place and that Jesus had truly risen within the 3 days as promised.
Other thoughts to ponder:
1.     How do we welcome those who accompany us in our daily duties?
2.     Do we walk with another in pain and in sorrow?
3.     As we meet Jesus in disguise, how long before we recognize Him?
4.     Cleophas means “proclaimer” in Greek.  How will we proclaim Jesus?

In Pope Francis Easter Vigil's homily, He stated:  “To celebrate Easter is to believe once more that God constantly breaks into our personal histories, challenging our
conventions and our fixed ways of thinking and acting that could end up paralyzing us.”
Let us joyfully ‘celebrate Easter’
       Sr. Joan Gripshover, OSB





2 comments:

  1. Dear Sister, thank you for presenting this wonderful passage, truly it is a gift from God. We knew it was Jesus when he blessed the bread. What did we see? Was he for an instant transfigured before us? We saw him as he had been before Friday, in our minds, in fullness in the figure before us? Jesus is not homo sapiens at this point. He has flesh and bone but is in some sense in heaven. Did we see the Father there? It would be too much for us. We must see the Father in his gentle servant, who is called his son, but is more than that of course. The descriptions are not enough for God. We can only know a part. I'm so glad that we are given various levels to understand the teaching. Happy Easter OSB God bless!

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  2. thank you for your reflections, Sr Joan. This has always been one of my most favorite parts of the Gospel. Ruth Traut

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