Commentary on the Gospel of
Death and defeat on the cross bring inevitable frustration and flight for the disciples. The anguishing questions that are not answered and the hope betrayed (‘But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel’ v. 21) made them downcast. The truth of resurrection and the true nature of freedom has not entered into their world of thinking. St. Augustine speaks about their faint perception in these words: “They were so disturbed when they saw him hanging on the cross that they forgot his teaching, did not look for his resurrection, and failed to keep his promises in mind.”
Yet it was truly the new beginning that the resurrection offered, for which the world was silently waiting. Burning hearts and opened eyes were in the making in the encounter with the Risen Lord on the road, which would overturn their world view and transform them into witnesses. Overwhelmed by what burned within and what the eyes behold, every doubt and fear was dispelled, and they stepped out into the world with an utterly new fearlessness in order to bear witness: Christ is truly risen.
We can transform each journey of life into an Emmaus road where we meet the Lord. Each Eucharist can be a table of Emmaus and every encounter with the other can be soul nourishing and empowering.
