• HOMILY POINTS FOR 3RD SUN. EASTER A by REV. FR. EMMANUEL N. ASOGWA
• INTRODUCTION:
• Today’s gospel is one of those gospel pericles that fascinate me most, chiefly because it has the potential of relating most intimately with our existential struggles in various and varied dimensions, and also our liturgical celebration hence our theme.
• The gospel also demonstrates one of the characteristic motifs in Luke’s gospel called ‘journey narrative motif’ in which the evangelist is wont to putting his stories in the form of journeys. Thus, for Luke the entire life of Jesus is a definitive journey towards Jerusalem, from the city of David of birth, to cradle life in Nazareth of Galilee to eventual death and resurrection in Jerusalem. In deed, the entire life of Jesus was punctuated with instructive and meaningful journeys; annunciation journey of the angel (Luke 1: 26), Marian Journey to Elizabeth (Luke 1: 39ff), he was born in the context of ‘census’ journeys-From Galilee to Judaea(Luke 2: 4),
• journey to Jerusalem for presentation (Luke 2: 22), journey to Jerusalem for feast of Passover when he was 12 (Luke 2: 41ff) etc. In fact, by Luke 9: 51-53, Jesus had set his face towards Jerusalem for the final journey but he did not reach Jerusalem until Luke 22. In other words, his entire life was couched by the evangelist as events along the journey to Jerusalem.
• The evangelist would see sin as a journey away from the Father’s house and repentance as a journey of return to the Father’s house. It would be no longer any wonder that even the entire missionary works of Paul (who also received his conversion within the context of a remarkable journey-Acts 9:1ff) as recounted by Luke in the Acts of Apostles would be woven around three missionary journeys. In deed, it is only in the context of journey narrative motif of Luke that today’s Emmaus journey can be better appreciated.
• Our interest in this immediate reflection is to see how this journey applies to my life’s journey (ije uwa m) and our common regular Eucharistic celebration which is also often referred to as food for those on journey (nri ndi ije cf. also 1st kings 19: 1ff)
• EMMAUS JOURNEY AND THE MASS
• Like the 2 brothers on the road to Emmaus, we come to mass with our brokenness, our faded dreams and shattered hopes, our disappointments and sorrows.
• But just as they, Jesus encounters us in this time of need, and begins to open our eyes first through the Liturgy of the Word in which as in every Mass, we are led to see how the old testament prophecies and life (1st R) have their fulfillment in Jesus (Gospel & 2nd R-which is the apostles’ own reflection of this experience).
• Like the two brothers, this liturgy of the word is like a mutual interaction between us and Jesus, in which we respond to his word (in the Resp. Psalm and the acclamation) and he clarifies our doubt and illumines our mind through his priest (in the homily) and we profess our faith in his word (in the Creed).
• Finally, like the two brothers, we are emboldened to make our request (in the Prayer of the Faithful) to ask him to come and stay with us O Lord for it is getting dark; dark in our moral, spiritual, physical, academic, psychological… life. He responds to our prayers by indeed coming to stay with us and we enter the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
• Here, like the 2 brothers, we provide the bread and wine (offertory) which is eventually (and through the Eucharistic prayers) transformed into the sacred species. At this stage, the Lord assumes the sacramental forms (and so disappears before the two brothers in order to avoid the fallacy of double presence). The Eucharistic experience thus ends with a missionary mandate in which we are called to go forth and share the good news (from ‘missa’ to ‘missio’) and so the brothers left at that very moment back to Jerusalem to share the news and joy of resurrection. The Eucharistic experience had reversed their journey from anticlimax (Jerusalem to Emmaus) to climax (Emmaus-small country side representative of sin and weakness, to Jerusalem- epicentre of all Christo-salvific events). THIS IS WHAT EVERY MASS SHOULD DO!
• EMMAUS’ JOURNEY AND MY LIFE’S JOURNEY
• But the story of two brothers on this rather awkward journey of despondency and darkness is also my story; it is the story of how Jesus comes to my rescue whenever I am moving away from the region of grace, from my Father’s house/feast, from salvation. It is the story of how God continues to give me second chances whenever blinded by gloom, frustration, selfishness, despair, lust, materialism, I tend to abandon him; to abandon the magnitude of his divine munificence (Jerusalem) to the minimalism of my selfish interest (Emmaus)! It is my story!
• It is the blessed story of God’s ever assured love on me that makes Him always come to me in points of need even though I often (like Emmaus brothers or even Mary Magdalene at the grave side-John 20: 15ff) I don’t even recognize him when he comes to my side or I am blind to his presence or deaf to his voice or sensitive to his assurances that He will not allow his beloved know decay (cf. the Resp. Psalm of today).
• The Journey of a Christian is a journey towards sunrise (cf. Num. 21: 11) but often my journey is that towards sunset often even taking a seven-mile (perfect) turn away from grace. It is the story of how Jesus always comes to my side to reverse my story and brighten my journey. It is my story!
• It is the story of how often ‘something prevents me from seeing God’s love around me, nor even his invitations in the needy stranger who walks with me in the path of life, nor His divine opportunities, direction & guidance (Ps. 16: 11, Acts 2:28), the bright side to my situation, his triumph (of resurrection as in the case of the gospel) or the ransom that was paid to set me free (cf. 2nd R) etc. This ‘something’ could be prejudice, bias, unbelief, despair, people, etc. Only a deep interaction with Jesus in His WORD and SACRAMENTS especially THE EUCHARIST can, in the words of the gospel, open my eyes to His loving and LIVING presence in and around me which fills me with gladness (cf. David’s prophecy in 1st R) in life’s journey.
• CONCLUSION:
• In the Gospel, Jesus after leaving the Emmaus’ brothers a rich encounter with the Word of God, still made as if to go on, because he wanted the disciples’ invitation of Him into their house and lives, to be free, personal and real.
• Today, he has also bathed us with His Word, but the decisive decision to invite Him into our lives and house/heart (or allow him to pass on) must be a personal one.
• It is a decision that must go with a personal resolve to give him some space within us, to provide our own bread and wine and allow him the rest of the work, to shelter him in our ‘house’ so He can transform our lives, enliven us with joy, invigorate our dying strength and faded hopes, and energize us for missionary tasks ahead. Peter’s experience recounted in the gospel, and his witness in the 1st reading is a testimony of how His love can still rebuild us. Maranatha; Come Lord Jesus, for it is getting dark in my life. Amen