Wednesday in the Octave of Easter

Lectionary: 263

And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.

In the late spring and early summer of 2024, the United States witnessed Catholics turning out in large numbers for four simultaneous Eucharistic processions. They began in Minnesota, Connecticut, Texas, and California and converged in Indianapolis on July 17. 

Our Gospel today describes the first Eucharistic procession when the Man Himself walked with his disciples to Emmaus and gathered them in Jerusalem that very evening. If it was more unexpected after his recent crucifixion, it was no more amazing than the gathering of thousands of people in Indianapolis. His healing, reassuring presence was felt, recognized, and honored in both places.

Today's Gospel reminds us of how readily we might despair of God's concern, and return to our former ways of life. The disciples had been blessed by His presence among them, but were sorely disillusioned when he was taken from them and brutally executed. Their Lord and Master had been made a spectacle and laughing stock of an entire city. The story would circulate from Jerusalem throughout the Jewish world, and his disappointed disciples would be ranked among the other fools who had followed other messiahs. It was an old story already among Jews; they had seen more promising messiahs come and go.

But here he was walking and talking with them almost as if nothing unfortunate had ever occurred. Nor was he overwhelming! That grand moment might come at some point but not yet. He simply resumed where he left off, with instruction about how to read the scriptures in the light of their experience. Even his gentle rebuke should have sounded familiar: 

“Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!"

As the Lord had refused to use spectacle as a tool of persuasion and an inspiration to believe in him, he again urged them to trust him without trying to shock and awe them into belief. If that military strategy fails to permanently cripple the citizens of any given nation, it is certainly beyond useless to the One who created, loves, and saves us. Scripture often recalls how God stoops to rescue and heal us (Psalm 113:6 and John 8:6) but he will not stoop to use that demeaning, disrespectful technique. Nor would it do anything for us. 

As Christians shared the joy of Easter and Catholics proclaim the Good News of the Eucharist, we must not stoop to brazen boasting about our superior insight into the ways of God. The scriptures old and new repeatedly remind us of our human reluctance to see the obvious and to believe what we're told. Whether we're reluctant by nature or by habit, we have no excuse. Rather than making ourselves obnoxious with empty shows of shock and awe, we do well to share our faith with generosity. The scriptures do not tell us that everyone should see how happy we are, but that they should see how generous we are.