"Did not our hearts burn within us as Jesus spoke to us on the road, and explained the scriptures to us?"
Gospel of Matthew
In the Gospel story about the two disciples on the road to Emmaus after Jesus crucifixion, we see two people very confused, very disillusioned, and very dismayed.
The first question that came to my mind as I was reading again this story was: Why was it so difficult for these disciples to recognize Jesus as He joined them in their walk home?
The truth of the matter is; Jesus' death shattered their hopes and dreams. They had hoped that Jesus was to be the one to redeem Israel. But His arrest and cruel execution caused them such grief, such a sense of loss, that their hopes were destroyed and their senses dulled. This made it impossible for them to remember the scriptures and the teachings concerning Christ's mission.
This whole Gospel story is about how Jesus re-awakens their senses so that they could again understand the message and see the "Risen Lord" in their midst. And when they did, their hope and vision was restored. They returned to Jerusalem full of joy and excitement in order to tell their companions what they had seen and heard. They returned to witness to their personal encounter with Christ on the road to Emmaus.
There is an equally compelling story in the Book of Acts. This story took place after Pentecost, probably a few months after Jesus' crucifixion. It is the story of Peter and John passing through the place called "the Beautiful Gate" on their way to the temple to pray. On their way, they ran into the man who was lame from birth who asked them for some money. Peter and John are no longer confused, disillusioned or dismayed from past events. They are now embracing their new mission with courage and enthusiasm. They have been convicted by the presence of Christ in their lives. As a result of that conviction, they are now able to do the work of Christ; to bring those outside the faith into that same conviction that they themselves share.
The most beautiful line in this story is: "Everyone could see the lame man walking and praising God, jumping and running, and they recognized him as the one who use to sit begging at the Gate of the temple. And they were "astonished", and unable to explain what had happened to him." They were "astonished".
During the season of Lent, our parish went through a series of Lenten Transformation sessions on the New Evangelization. The purpose of these sessions was to try to bring us to a greater awareness of the message of the Risen Christ so that we may begin to give witness to what we have seen, what we have heard, and what we have experienced. We needed to realize that before "astonishment" can be realized by others (the "astonishment" that we read about in scripture) we must begin to direct some of our attention and energy beyond the pews of our own church.
If you read the Gospels, or the stories in the Book of Acts and Paul's letters, very little has to do with what has happened in Church. "Astonishment" happened to others as Jesus and His disciples gave witness in the streets, in the market places and with those they encountered in their daily walk. "Astonishment" happened as they gave credible witness to their faith. We read in the above Gospel of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus: "Did not our hearts burn within us as Jesus spoke to us on the road, and explained the scriptures to us?"
The message of Christ burns deep in all the hearts of those who believe. As a community of faith, can we not discover together the ways and means to share our own "astonishment" with those whose only Gospel may be us?
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