Commentary on the Gospel of
Different encounters with the risen Lord show that one does not remain the same after meeting with the resurrected Jesus! From sitting by the tomb and weeping, Mary Magdalene found herself running to inform the brothers that He’s risen; and from ‘looking downcast’ Cleopas and his companion set out at once and returned to Jerusalem! Yes, Jesus restores life.
What happens when things appear to be going to the opposite direction from your expectation; when an experience seem to drain your whole energy? How do you handle the situation, how do you uphold or compose yourself? How do you relate to those around you? Cleopas and his colleague backed off from Jerusalem, where it had been happening! Though disappointed that the Jesus whom they ‘had hoped’ was the Messiah is no more, they could still tell his story! When it seems life is ending, can you allow oneself to breathe from the tiniest life remaining therein ‘inside’ of oneself? Many a time that ‘tiniest breath’ revives oneself. At least Cleopas and his companion opened up and the story resumed anew.
Let us not be hesitant in initiating stories of our experience of Jesus. Their opening up to Jesus led Him to a prolonged proclamation of the salvation history to them once again. And of course, that prepared them, such that the disciples who were in a state of ‘down cast’ while on the way got ‘revived’: “He took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him.” The Jesus in the Upper room is the same on the Cross; the Jesus on the road to Emmaus is the same in the Breaking of the Bread, in the Eucharist. What is your attitude towards the Eucharistic Jesus? Do you recognize Jesus risen from the dead when you receive Him on your tongue? Does His presence in the Holy Eucharist mean anything to you? How do you normally approach the Holy Eucharist? Oh, Eucharistic Jesus, revive us now and forever, amen.
