1 Peter 1: 17-21 and Luke 24: 13-35
“Were not our hearts burning within us
as he was talking to us on the road,
while he was opening the scriptures to us’ (Lk.24:32)
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INTRODUCTION
So we draw close to Emmaus and celebrate
together in this great Abbey church, home to a French order of Benedictine
monks and nuns, which witnesses to the Resurrection; to hope in a divided land.
Long before this village was given the
name ‘Abu Ghosh’ it was biblical Kyriat Yearim where the Ark of the Covenant
rested before being taken to Jerusalem by King David. So, like the Ark, we rest here before beginning
our journey to our earthly homes, to the places we belong for the time being.
Yet no longer, maybe, quite at
home. Maybe our journey, our pilgrimage,
has awakened the eye of our heart to desire something else, a Land to which
this one witnesses – the Kingdom of God.
We have encountered much, and it may take a long time for the effects to
become truly apparent. But, just like
those two disciples as they walked along the road from earthly Jerusalem to
Emmaus, the eye of our heart has been opened to the presence of Christ
journeying with us as a fellow-pilgrim.
Perhaps, like them, we have begun to see something which has yet to
fully reveal itself. Yet we have seen
– something – which has moved our heart.
Maybe we’ve come to a deeper sense of
belief because of what we’re seen, which is just what another gospel – St.
John’s – is all about. Seeing and
believing. And just as St. John begins
his gospel by acclaiming that: ‘… the Word became flesh and lived among us, and
we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and
truth’ so Luke gives us his own
‘sign’ of the glory of the Father’s only Son as he recounts the eucharistic Breaking
of Bread set in the context of a journey.
SEEING AND BELIEVING
We’ve ‘seen’ so much, places which have
appealed to the eye and heart, or not: signs on our pilgrimage of our hidden
God.
At Tabor we were in the ;place where three
disciples saw beneath Christ’s bodily appearance and were blinded by the glory
of God shining through His body and clothes – that great epiphany/ manifestation. How does that event move you in your relationship
with Christ?
At Nazareth we saw that place where
Mary, our Lady, had a vision of Gabriel who announced that she was invited to become
the Mother of the Blessed One, Mother of God Incarnate, and in her “yes” to that
invitation she became the most blessed amongst women. How do you hear God calling through angel
voices to you – to what is God inviting you to say ‘”yes” – how does her humility
speak to you? And how do you, in your
devotion, affirm Mary’s blessedness?
At Bethlehem, the House of Bread, we
encountered the Word made Flesh through stones and Sacred Bread. Many were profoundly moved by stones built up
for separation – many by a stone starred that we might see the place where the
Word was made Flesh. We were affected by
stones and rocks – by caves and wells – in this hard land, each reminding us
that God entered deep into the earth, both in birth and death. How do you feel called to break down barriers
and deepen your devotion to the Eucharist where Christ is timelessly
present? Deepen your life in the heart
of Christ?
We saw the waters of Baptism, the waters
of new life, and affirmed that we wanted to live that life, and one of us made
a public declaration that he wanted to commit himself to walking that way. How will you be refreshed in your life in Christ?
At the Mount of the Beatitudes we
listened to Christ’s instructions on living a blessed life – how will you keep
returning to be formed by those words?
At Jerusalem we realised the horror of
carrying the Cross, unrecognised by the crowds in life yet faithful to
death. So we venerated the place where
He died just as we had the place where He had been born; powerful signs of the
price God paid for us and the love, the deep love, that drew Him to die for you
– and me. What does Calvary say to you about
the way you live?
Yet, just a few paces away, was the sign
that life had not ended – that place continuously venerated by Christians for
2000 years, the place millions long to see and touch – the promise of eternal
life in God which all our senses draw us to desire. How does the resurrection speak into your
heart?
So much seen, so many sings. What do they mean for you? R. S. Thomas
expresses this well in one of his poems:
I have seen the sun break through
to illuminate a small field
for a while, and gone my way
and forgotten it. But that was the pearl
of great price, the one field that had
treasure in it. I realise now
that I must give all that I have
to possess it. Life is not hurrying …
to illuminate a small field
for a while, and gone my way
and forgotten it. But that was the pearl
of great price, the one field that had
treasure in it. I realise now
that I must give all that I have
to possess it. Life is not hurrying …
on to a receding future, nor hankering
after
an imagined past. It is the turning
aside like Moses to the miracle
of the lit bush, to a brightness
that seemed as transitory as your youth
once, but is the eternity that awaits you.
an imagined past. It is the turning
aside like Moses to the miracle
of the lit bush, to a brightness
that seemed as transitory as your youth
once, but is the eternity that awaits you.
LIVING IN THE RESURRECTION
So here, in the
final place of encounter on our pilgrimage in the Holy Land, we remember two
disciples who, dejectedly, walked the road to Emmaus. But whose hearts were warmed – set on fire – as they journeyed through the
scriptures. Words came to life for them
just as that stranger would be known by them. Christ became present in bread just as he will
become present in these elements; present to us that we might be made one with
Him in the mystery of the Trinity. For
in our Faith Christ constantly invites us to know the Father in the love of the
Spirit as He invites us to life in the Trinity.
CONCLUSION
Just as we are indebted
to the monks of this French monastery so generations have been indebted to another
Frenchman, a 17th century Jesuit
– Fr. Jean Pierre de Caussade – who wrote an important book called ‘Self
Abandonment to Divine Providence’. In it he writes of the ‘Sacrament of the
Present Moment’ and says this:
‘There is no moment at which God does
not present himself under the guise of some suffering, some consolation, or
some duty. All that occurs within us,
around us, and by our means, covers and hides his divine action. He is there, most really and certainly
present, but in an invisible manner, the result of which is that we are always
being taken by surprise. Could we pierce
the veil, and were we vigilant and attentive, God would reveal himself
continually to us and we should rejoice in his action in everything that
happens to us. At every occurrence we
should say 'Dominus est, it is the Lord.’
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