Homily, third week of Easter - God always walks with us

About 11 years ago I had the opportunity to go through a Christ Renews His Parish retreat.  I was at a point in my life that I really needed some peace.   I was in a high-pressure job that was totally consuming my life.  I was thinking about my job almost every waking moment and had very little peace.  The only time I found peace was for about 15 minutes during the Sunday Mass when I received the Eucharist.  I wanted that peace to last longer, but just didn’t know how to get there.  I was invited to attend a CRHP retreat several times, but didn’t see how I could fit it in with my work and family responsibility.  After a third personal invitation I finally decided to go on the retreat, reluctantly.  When the day came to go the retreat I did attend, but I had already made up my mind to leave early.  I felt that I just couldn’t afford to commit the time.  Before it started I was already planning my own my own walk to Emmaus alone.

In the Gospel today we hear about the disciples on their way to Emmaus.     Where was Emmaus and why were they going there?   The exact location of Emmaus is unknown, but scholars have several ideas of where it was.  One of them is that it was a Roman garrison town outside Jerusalem.  This was the home base for Roman soldiers who were in control of Jerusalem.  Why would they be going there? They were grieving the loss of their dear friend Jesus who they believed to be the messiah.   Jesus was going to rescue them from the Roman occupiers, but he had been killed. They were leaving Jerusalem because they associated it with the cross and wanted to get as far away as they could, as it was a place of suffering. Their hope was gone.  So with hope lost, they walked away from Jerusalem, the center of their faith, and turned toward the forces of world.

Even though the disciples were walking the wrong way, Jesus comes to them.   God doesn’t abandon us. He seeks us out.  Jesus draws near the disciples and walks with them.  But the disciples weren’t able to recognize him, as their eyes prevented them.  Their troubles skewed their ability to clearly see Jesus was with them.  But Jesus wanted them to see so he asks, “what were you were discussing as you walked along the way”?  At this point they did something significant: They stopped to engage with Jesus.   How often do we get going in the wrong direction and continue the wrong way because we won’t engage with Jesus in our struggles?

So the disciples tell Jesus all the events that happened: that the messiah they hoped to redeem Israel was condemned to death and crucified.  Now after three days some woman reported that Jesus’ body was gone from the tomb and an angel told them he was alive. The disciples were probably confused, fearful, and did not know what to believe.

Jesus desired to open their eyes, so he interpreted the Scriptures of the Old Testament to show them where the prophets referred to him and that he must suffer to

enter into his glory.    The disciples knew the scriptures, but they did not look at them through the lens of Jesus’ suffering.   They were expecting a messiah who would triumph using the power of the world.  But the way of the world was not Jesus’ way.  He fulfilled the prophecies through suffering love.  But what really opened up the disciple’s eyes was Jesus taking the bread, blessing it, and giving it to them.   They recognized Jesus’ presence in Eucharist. After receiving it they set out “at once” to return to Jerusalem to share the good news. They returned to their faith in God, a newfound faith of hope and joy in the risen Christ.

Some of us may have our own troubles that cause us to travel in the wrong direction, away from God.  We may be suffering due to a broken relationship, job loss, a serious illness, or loss of a loved one.  These issues may cause us to turn to the world for pleasure and entertainment to distract us from our own suffering.  But this worldly pleasure also distracts us from seeing Jesus in the midst of our suffering.

Jesus is always there in our suffering, and stays with us even when we are traveling in the wrong direction.  He is always right there for us, just like was for his disciples.   He is ready to bear the cross with us, because he knows that there’s redemption in suffering.   His own suffering through love brought resurrection and new life.  How can we see through our own troubles and recognize Jesus when we are downcast?  By stopping on our own journey to Emmaus to encounter Jesus so we can return to Jerusalem.  We do this by turning to the Church. We may be just like the disciples and unable to see Jesus, but even if we don’t recognize him right away it’s ok. At least we are traveling in the right direction.    Through the Church we can encounter Christ who will be there to walk with us on the journey.  We can do so at Mass we’ll hear the scriptures, have them interpreted to us, and feed on Jesus’ body and blood.  Jesus is truly present to us in the Eucharist in a most profound way. We also have the body of Christ in the church to rely on who will walk with when we’re troubled. Our priests, deacons, and lay ministers will listen and provide spiritual support.  We have many support groups in the parish and diocese, such as our food pantry, emergency crisis support, counseling services, bereavement ministry, caregiver and divorce support groups, which can provide ongoing help. But most of all have help through our brothers and sisters in Christ at the parish to help support us.  We just need to let them know we need help. 

Well, I didn’t leave the Chris Renews His Parish retreat early.   I stayed for the entire retreat.   One of the highlights was my own walk to Emmaus, but it wasn’t alone as I planned.  I shared my troubles with another brother in Christ who helped me see that Christ and his Church were here for me. It opened up my eyes to recognize Jesus presence in my faith community here at Ss. Francs and Clare to walk with me on my journey through life.  Through this experience it helped me build a personal relationship with men who are like brothers to me that I can rely on for help and see the Church is there for me when I am in need.

Our troubles may still be with us just like the disciples, but we’ll be renewed in hope of resurrection that Christ gives us by sharing our suffering with him.    Through Christ’s presence in the Church through the Eucharist and faith community we have someone to walk with us. God bless you.