By Rev. Canon David B. Tabo-oy
v30He sat down to eat with them, took the bread, and said the blessing; then he broke the bread and gave it to them. v31Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he disappeared from their sight. v32They said to each other, “Wasn’t it like a fire burning in us when he talked to us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” – Luke 24:30-32
We are on the third Sunday of Easter and on the 41st day of our dark journey on the road of Enhanced Community Quarantine of the Corona Virus Disease 19 (ECQ-COVID19). As of this writing all of this planet is still in the dark in finding the cure of COVID19. The pandemic has already killed almost 190,000 as of World Health Organization report on April 24, 2020. The same report reveals there are more than 2.6 million humans confirmed infected by the disease. Taken as a whole we are still on that dark tunnel looking for the light. But this is overshadowed by the light of Easter or Christ’s resurrection from the dead. Our Christian belief proclaims that sin and death have been conquered by our Lord Jesus Christ’s resurrection. The context of dread and hopelessness due to COVID19 confront us to the serious internalization of our faith and hope in the resurrection. Let us put new lens in our eyes or new perspective of seeing the risen Christ amidst this pandemic.
***
The gospel this Sunday is one of the most popular narrative in relation to human experience of the risen Christ and more. According to one preacher this is one of the ‘most compelling narratives in all scriptures. So fascinating is this scene, in fact, that the gospel writer Luke includes it in detail near the end of his gospel writing. It is a story known well and beloved in the church – the story of two disciples walking down a dusty road to the village of Emmaus, the evening of that first Easter day.’ Let us recall the story.
***
And there were two disciples walking on that road to Emmaus away from Jerusalem after the crucifixion. Their conversation centers on the crucified, dead Jesus. Their words come out slowly, almost painfully, as they trudge their way along, their feet heavy and their hearts broken. “I can hardly believe it,” one of them says. “In fact, I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. He is dead. He is really gone.” “What should we to do now?” the other asks. “Life seems hopeless.” And just then a stranger joins them – perhaps he has come up from behind, unknown to them. Perhaps he has walked along with them for a while without their noticing. But suddenly he is there. “I’m sorry,” he says, “but I couldn’t help but overhear you. What are you talking about?”
They stop and turn to him. Other travelers step around them, anxious to reach their destination before night falls. The three of them stand there in the middle of the dusty road and talk. “Where have you been the last few days,” one of the disciples asks the stranger. “How is it you haven’t heard anything about Jesus of Nazareth?” And so the two of them tell the stranger what they know.
***
The evangelist tells us, v30He sat down to eat with them, took the bread, and said the blessing; then he broke the bread and gave it to them. v31Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he disappeared from their sight. v32They said to each other, “Wasn’t it like a fire burning in us when he talked to us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24.30-32)
Before our Lord Jesus was arrested by the joint task force of the Roman soldiers and the Jewish religious leaders, he established a sign by which his disciples will always remember him and recognize his presence. Saint Paul reminds us, “… v”For I received from the Lord the teaching that I passed on to you: that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took a piece of bread, v24gave thanks to God, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in memory of me.” v25In the same way, after the supper he took the cup and said, “This cup is God’s new covenant, sealed with my blood. Whenever you drink it, do so in memory of me.” (1 Corinthians 11.20-25)
The two disciples were in their lowest morale because of the recent tragedy. They are in mourning and are afraid because of the crucifixion and death of their leader. Sorrow and fear have dulled their sense and sensitivity that they failed to recognize their teacher now risen from the dead as he promised them. Then the signs were executed by the breaking of the bread and prayers.
***
Since the lockdown congregations were not able to meet inside the church and worship together, receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. For the past month until May 15, 2020 the new norm is to worship on-line. Therefore, the faithful cannot actually receive the elements of the sacraments. Indeed, it is very much challenging to internalize the holy presence without the bread and wine physically received at communion. But that is the mystery of the sacrament. The risen Christ cannot be limited in the elements. The mere words uttered “… this is my body…. this is my body… do this in remembrance of me…” in the Holy Mass (even online) make the real presence of the risen Christ among us. This can be if we open our eyes and our hearts and let Him come in to rule our lives.
***
Like the two disciples travelling on that dark road to Emmaus on that first resurrection morning, we too are trudging on a dark road of the pandemic. As the ECQ extends until the middle of next month we need to prime ourselves for extended lockdown and its consequences. There are so many good vibes being shared in multi-media despite of the ill effects of COVID19. One of which is the strengthening of family bond. To some this is an opportunity to look deeper and in a sense through a different lens our environment, our lives, our faith.
I have heard of many people sharing their new discoveries and realization as a result of the lockdown. They have noticed new things about themselves, their likes and dislikes, and about people around them. We also see on television how the Filipino values of ‘bayanihan’ has connected even strangers by providing for the needs of those unable because of the infections. We value things more when we pay closer attention to them. The lockdown result of COVID19 has enabled us to take closer look at everything and everyone differently. For the callous, it has meant, finding more ways to swindle others for their own profits. For many however, it has meant, finding more to cherish about our communities and relationships. Paying more attention to the little things, realizing that little things matter.
***
The resurrection of Jesus Christ gives us a new set of lens or eyes. Seeing through the eyes of the resurrection a second sight that enables us to go through the hopelessness inflicted by the present pandemic and to weather the storms that this world may bring before us. In this second sight we see Jesus appearing to us in ways we have missed before. Jesus quoted and explained the Scriptures along that road to Emmaus and it consumed the two disciples’ whole being. It made them understand the meaning of the recent events in Jesus explanation of the Scriptures and of the breaking of the bread. And their faith and hope in Christ Jesus were made whole again.
Let us pray.
O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his
disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith,
that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives
and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
now and for ever. Amen.**
