The Road to Emmaus
Today we heard the beloved story of Emmaus in Luke’s gospel. This is one of the most famous and loved stories in all the gospel, and it gives us an account of the first Eucharist celebrated after the Resurrection. But didn’t the first Eucharist take place at the Last Supper? Well, yes and no. Christ instituted the Eucharist, as well as the priesthood at that Last Supper, thus tying together the sacramental presence of Christ with the service of others. Remember, the Last Supper was the seder meal of Passover, not something new unto itself. What was new was Jesus’s offering of the bread and the cup as his Body and Blood, and his command to remember him whenever the meal is celebrated.
Emmaus, however, was different. In the three synoptic gospels (Mt. 26:26–29; Mk. 14:22–25; Lk. 22:14–20) there are accounts of the institution of the Eucharist. John gives us the institution of the priesthood (Jn. 13:3–20). St. Paul also gives us an account of the eucharistic institution in 1 Corinthians 11:23–26. Yet, it is at Emmaus that Jesus again engages in those same four actions of the Last Supper, those actions that we imitate at each liturgy: Jesus 1) took the bread, 2) blessed it, 3) broke it and 4) shared it. It is in these four actions that he was recognized by his disciples.
Our celebration of the Eucharist has within it several rites, some major and some minor:
The Introductory Rites
The Liturgy of the Word
The Liturgy of the Eucharist
The Communion Rite
The Concluding Rites.
The Emmaus account gives us a simpler version of what has become our Eucharistic liturgy, so let’s take a look:
In Luke 24:13–26 we see the dejected disciples walking the road to Emmaus, depressed, defeated. Jesus, incognito to them, joins up with them. Jesus toys with them, in a sense, by pretending not to know the goings-on of the previous three days, and Cleopas ridicules him for being so out of touch. Thus, we have the first Gathering Rite (or Introductory Rites, if you will). Next, in verses 27 & 28 we have the first Liturgy of the Word, in which the glorified Christ explains and exegetes the prophetic writings that referred to him. In verse 29 we have a beautiful response to hearing the Word: “Stay with us.”. Thus, God, who comes to us in the Word then comes to us in the Eucharist: In verses 30–32 we have the Liturgy of the Eucharist (including the Communion Rite), in which Christ took the bread, blessed it, broke it and shared it with them, and they recognized him. His vanishing at this point may at first seem almost cruel, but had he stayed it would not have had the impact that it did, and they would not have had the burning in their hearts that they had, for they would simply have felt, “Lord, it is good for us to be here.” (Mt. 17:4a; Mk. 9:5a; Lk 9:33a). Instead, they did the most important thing we are called to do in any celebration of the Eucharist: They went forth and proclaimed Christ crucified and risen (Lk 24:33–35). This is the dismissal rite (Concluding Rites), and is the very root of the word “Mass”: missio, a sending. We come to the Eucharist, to the Mass, to be sent forth, to bring Christ to the world throughout the week (more on that in a later post).
Thus, the Emmaus story gives us the sense of awe, mystery and wonder that God gives us in every celebration of the Eucharist, if only our eyes are open to seeing it.
Emmaus, however, was different. In the three synoptic gospels (Mt. 26:26–29; Mk. 14:22–25; Lk. 22:14–20) there are accounts of the institution of the Eucharist. John gives us the institution of the priesthood (Jn. 13:3–20). St. Paul also gives us an account of the eucharistic institution in 1 Corinthians 11:23–26. Yet, it is at Emmaus that Jesus again engages in those same four actions of the Last Supper, those actions that we imitate at each liturgy: Jesus 1) took the bread, 2) blessed it, 3) broke it and 4) shared it. It is in these four actions that he was recognized by his disciples.
Our celebration of the Eucharist has within it several rites, some major and some minor:
The Introductory Rites
The Liturgy of the Word
The Liturgy of the Eucharist
The Communion Rite
The Concluding Rites.
The Emmaus account gives us a simpler version of what has become our Eucharistic liturgy, so let’s take a look:
In Luke 24:13–26 we see the dejected disciples walking the road to Emmaus, depressed, defeated. Jesus, incognito to them, joins up with them. Jesus toys with them, in a sense, by pretending not to know the goings-on of the previous three days, and Cleopas ridicules him for being so out of touch. Thus, we have the first Gathering Rite (or Introductory Rites, if you will). Next, in verses 27 & 28 we have the first Liturgy of the Word, in which the glorified Christ explains and exegetes the prophetic writings that referred to him. In verse 29 we have a beautiful response to hearing the Word: “Stay with us.”. Thus, God, who comes to us in the Word then comes to us in the Eucharist: In verses 30–32 we have the Liturgy of the Eucharist (including the Communion Rite), in which Christ took the bread, blessed it, broke it and shared it with them, and they recognized him. His vanishing at this point may at first seem almost cruel, but had he stayed it would not have had the impact that it did, and they would not have had the burning in their hearts that they had, for they would simply have felt, “Lord, it is good for us to be here.” (Mt. 17:4a; Mk. 9:5a; Lk 9:33a). Instead, they did the most important thing we are called to do in any celebration of the Eucharist: They went forth and proclaimed Christ crucified and risen (Lk 24:33–35). This is the dismissal rite (Concluding Rites), and is the very root of the word “Mass”: missio, a sending. We come to the Eucharist, to the Mass, to be sent forth, to bring Christ to the world throughout the week (more on that in a later post).
Thus, the Emmaus story gives us the sense of awe, mystery and wonder that God gives us in every celebration of the Eucharist, if only our eyes are open to seeing it.
No comments:
Post a Comment