Homily Easter 3A: "Stay with us Lord"

Homily for 3rd Sunday of Easter Year A 2017 

Acts 2:14, 22-33 · Luke 24:13-35 

Introduction 

An ancient proverb says that “guests are like fish; they begin to smell after three days.”  And so, whenever I am a guest, I try not to overstay my welcome. 

What  kind of guest is Jesus?  We have just heard his two travelling companions invite him to be their guest for the night, saying: “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.”    

Scripture and Theology 

In this story Jesus comes upon the two disciples on the seven-mile journey from Jerusalem to Emmaus. They are discussing the recent events in Jerusalem: the arrest, suffering, death of Jesus, and now the astounding news that he is risen.  They are downcast! They are confused!  They do not know what to believe!   

But this stranger, whom they fail to recognize as the risen Jesus slowly helps them to understand the events of the previous few days in the light of Scripture.  He goes back to the very beginning of the Old Testament, that is, to the writings of Moses and to the writings of the Prophets, and using those passages shows them that all those things that happened to Jesus were foreseen.  But more importantly when seen through the light of Scripture, these events make sense.  He shows them that the Messiah was to come, not in power, but in suffering and sacrifice, just as the Scriptures had promised.  And so, even before they get home, Jesus helps them see God’s plan of salvation in its true light and meaning. 

But there is more that he has to offer when the disciples invite him into their home.  What these two disciples do is nothing out of the ordinary for the time; with the lack of quick transportation, highways and Motel 6, it was not uncommon for people to host for the night total strangers and stranded travellers.  In the case of Jesus, how could they leave stranded such a guest, who had just explained the Scriptures to them so well.  They probably figured that he would not turn around at night and slit their throats.  In fact their invitation for him to stay with them brings them a great surprise. 

We read in the gospel that “while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them.”  These are the very four actions he had performed on two previous occasions: 

• When he fed the five thousand people, he also took the bread and fishes, said the blessing, broke them and then gave them to the crowds. 
• At the Last Supper, he also took the bread and gave thanks, broke and gave it to his disciples, saying: “Take and eat.  This is my body.” 

And so when this guest does the same things for them, the two disciples immediately recognize that he is the risen Jesus, their Saviour and Messiah. 

And so, they are able to recognize Jesus because of two things. 

• They said: “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?”  He spoke to them in the Word. 
• And after their minds were opened by the scriptures, they recognized him in the breaking of bread.  He spoke to them in the Sacrament. 

Christian Life 

My friends, as Catholics we continue to invite the Lord to be our guest, to stay with us, in the same ways he was a guest of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. We too recognize Jesus Christ both in the Word and in the Sacrament.  These are the two pillars, the two planks that sustain our Catholic Faith.  These two planks are what separate us from some of our Protestant brothers and sisters in Christ. 

I recently attended the funeral of a friend's mother, in a Baptist church.  What surprised me on entering the building, was the large pulpit in the centre of the sanctuary.  I guess I was looking for an altar, but it was nowhere to be found.  It was just the pulpit and the choir pews around it.  It was very clear that in this Church, there was only one way to encounter Christ, that is, through his Word. 

For Catholics, however, inspired among other things by today's gospel passage, Jesus is present among us not just in his Word, but also in the breaking of bread, in his Sacrament.  That is why at every Catholic liturgy, every Mass, we both hear the Word of God and celebrate the Sacrament. 

• The first part is the Liturgy of the Word: the readings, the responsorial psalm, the gospel acclamation, the gospel and the homily.  Like the two disciples, we let our hearts burn within us as we hear the Word of God. 
• The second part is the Liturgy of the Eucharist, in which we present bread and wine, which the priest using the very words of Jesus himself, turns into his body and blood, through which we too recognize him and receive him. 

And so, as a Church, as an institution, as the community of Christ, we keep inviting Jesus to stay with us in his Word and in his Sacrament.  But actually Jesus had promised that he would stay with us until the end of the world.  And so it might be more accurate to say that by our regular reading of his Word and in celebrating the Eucharist, we are simply taking him up on his promise, so that he can do for us today, what he did for those two disciples.  His Word and Sacraments console us spiritually and strengthen us in our relationship with God. 

Which of us has not experienced the disappointment that these two disciples felt?  Their hopes in this man, Jesus of Nazareth have been dashed.  The gospel described them as “looking downcast.”  They spoke in the past tense: “We were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel,” meaning that they had given up hope.  We too have probably felt the same despair and loss of hope. 

• Perhaps we are disappointed that a boyfriend or girlfriend, a fiancé or fiancée, a husband or wife turns out not to be what we thought they were. 
• Our disappointment might come from our job, our career, our future prospects; things don’t turn out to be what we thought they would be. 
• But we are at our worst, when our disappointment is spiritual in nature, when it has to do with our faith, our relationship with God; that kind of delusion, like that of the two Emmaus disciples hits really hard, because it takes away that hope of life with God. 

When we are faced with these kinds of situations, like he did for the two disciples, Jesus directs us to his Word and his Sacraments, for an answer. 

Conclusion 

And so what kind of guest is Jesus?  Does he overstay his welcome and begin to smell after three days.  No.  Rather he rises after three days and continues to give us benefit by staying around, in his Word and sacrament.  But there is more.   

Did you notice what the two disciples did after they had experienced Jesus in the Word and Sacrament?  "So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem,"  even though it was nightfall, even though they were getting ready for bed.  They went to Jerusalem to share the Good News that the Lord is risen from dead. 

We too, after hearing the Word of God and receiving his Body and Blood at Mass, must set out at once and do exactly that.  That is what the dismissal by the deacon at the end of Mass, in any one of its four forms tells us: 

• Go in peace. 
• or Go forth, the Mass is ended. 
• or Go and announce the gospel or the Lord. 
• Or my favourite: "Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life."