3rd Sunday of Easter

The disciples on the way to Emmaus are not in "lock down." Nevertheless, staying in their "bubble," they head off for an unknown future. I wonder if it is a married couple or is it a couple of friends who have been their with Jesus "from the beginning"? They do not keep a "social distance" from the stranger who joins them on the road. Instead, they open their hearts to him and relate their dashed hopes: "But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel." (Lk 24: 21) They may not be confined with the rest of the disciples back in Jerusalem, in the Upper Room, but in their minds they remain imprisoned by fear and their insufficient/inadequate idea of who the Messiah is and what he could do. In fact, the Resurrection reveals that he is able not just to save Israel but to redeem the whole of humanity from sin and death. The disciples only get to grasp this, intellectually, when the stranger leads them once again through the Scriptures starting from the very beginning: "Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into glory?" (Lk 24: 26) Yet, the impact of the Resurrection a and what it means for them as disciples is only brought home to them at the "breaking of the bread." (Lk 24: 35)

Living in 2020 we, too, have heard of the Resurrection and we, too, have often had disappointments about the Church and our Catholic faith. In lock down, with no access to the sacraments, we have had opportunity to reflect and even to read the Scriptures or to follow Masses on line as they are live streamed throughout New Zealand and the rest of the world. Throughout all of this we have had Christ walking with us through the gift of the Holy Spirit. I pray that when we get the chance, we will be able to gather with other disciples at Sunday and weekday Mass, as well as other sacraments, with a new perspective. In this light we will be able to see how our faith has guided us even in the lowest moments of boredom, anxiety or despair and how important our Communion is to each of us. We will then understand even more clearly the disciples when they said to one another: "Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?" (Lk 24: 32)