Let me tell you the story before the beginning of today’s gospel: There are two disciples going to a little town named Emmaus; they are depressed, unhappy, very sad. Then a stranger comes along. They do not know who it is; it is Jesus. The stranger asks the two of them, “What is wrong?” They say, “You do not know the story of Jesus of Nazareth. He was crucified, but today there are stories about Him that He is alive. Some women came to tell us the tomb was empty. Some of our group went to see and, yes, the tomb was empty. We thought, we hoped that He was the Messiah, the Savior. Now we do not know anymore.”
Then the stranger reads from the different parts of the Bible and explains to them that the Savior, the Messiah, had to suffer, die and then rise again on the third day. The two were very excited as He was talking with them.
They wanted to stop and eat. But the stranger seemed to want to go on His journey. They asked Him to stop and eat with them. Then during the meal, He takes bread, blesses it, gives thanks to God and breaks the bread and gives it to them. It is the same action Jesus did at the Last Supper. He broke the bread and give it to them and said, “It is my body; eat it; it is given for you.” Immediately the two of them recognize He is Jesus alive with them. They know Him in the breaking of the bread. We call it now the Eucharist, the Mass.
Now we go to the beginning of today’s gospel (to see the gospel, click here). The two disciples are very excited; they come back to Jerusalem to tell the others that they have seen the Lord. He appeared to them and they knew Him in the breaking of bread. Then the others told them that Jesus appeared to Peter.
And then the Lord Jesus himself appeared. They thought He might be a ghost; they were afraid, terrified. Jesus says to them, “I am not a ghost. Come, touch me. See, I am real, alive. This is my body a real body.” Then he asks for some food. They give Him some cooked fish. Perhaps again He breaks bread with them, has Eucharist with them. Maybe He gives them again a share of His body. They eat with Jesus; Jesus is clearly alive with them.
Now we are here in his Eucharist, this Mass; we sit with Jesus. We eat with Him. He is like a good mother, a good father; He feeds His family. He feeds you; He feeds me. He loves us that much.
Jesus is alive with us. We know it in so many ways, especially here in this Eucharist, this Mass. And Jesus is here with us. It is a wonderful gift that He gives us. He lets us eat Him. He comes into us and rests next to our hearts. If we really believe Jesus is in us, loving us, resting within us, then we will be changed. We will be different. We cannot be the same people when we take the Lord’s loving person into our lives, into our hearts. We want to become the holy people the Lord asks us to become.
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