Today we hear (Lk 24:13-35) of the appearance of the risen
Lord by some disciples on the road to Emmaus. We learn not only of this amazing
encounter between the two disciples and the resurrected Jesus, but also at
another level how it is a model of what the Church does for us.
The Church does for us what the risen Jesus did for the
disciples on the road. First He walked with them. Secondly He gave the ‘interpretation
of Scripture’. Thirdly He celebrated the Eucharist (He took bread; He said a blessing; He broke
it and gave it).
Through the Church our risen and ascended Lord walks with us.
Our pilgrim journey as disciples is not a lonely one, but one in which we are
accompanied by the Lord through His Church. The Church gives us the ‘interpretation
of Scripture’, through the Church’s teaching authority (the magisterium). We do
not need to wrestle alone with understanding the Scriptures but have the wisdom
of all those who have been guided by the Holy Spirit to teach with authority. And,
the Church celebrates and most truly is the Church when she celebrates the Eucharist.
We can come close to Jesus in the conversation of personal prayer
and meditating on His words. We find Him present in our fraternal meetings, for
when “two or three are gather in my name, there am I in your midst.” But our
risen Lord makes Himself known to us in a wholly and qualitatively different
way when we share the Bread of Life, His Body and His Blood.
Fr Ian
