STAY CLOSE TO THE SCRIPTURES: Some Reflections on the Post-Resurrection Appearances in Luke 24 - Thursday, April 8, 2010

The two stories in Luke 24 offer a very important insight for believers 21 centuries removed from the Resurrection and especially for Catholics. In both the account of Jesus’ appearance into his disciples on the Emmaus Road (Lk 24:13-35), and the appearance to the gathered disciples in Jerusalem immediately following (Lk 24:36-49), Jesus, always the teacher, does not simply appear to his followers, he helps them move from emotional shock (sadness, confusion, skepticism) to belief in a very specific way: He teaches them from the Scriptures.

Before Cleopas and his companion can recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread, first they must be instructed: “beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures.” (vs 27). Even after they recognized Jesus “in the breaking of the bread,” the disciples would realize that that was only possible in light of their instruction in Scripture: "Were not our hearts burning (within us) while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?" (vs. 32). I think there is an important admonition here for all believers – in those moments when we doubt the resurrection, in those moments when we are trying our best to make heads and tails of our relationship with Jesus or who Jesus is, when we are simply too sad, to angry, too confused to get the Lord, the place to turn is our Scriptures. And I think there is a particular admonition for Catholics who sometimes treat the Scriptures as a pain to be endured until so we can get to the “good stuff” (the Eucharist). If the Emmaus story teaches us nothing else, it teaches us the essential connection between our life in the Word and our Sacramental life. Jesus could only open their eyes in the breaking of the bread because he instructed them in the Scriptures. Vatican II sought to restore a balance in Catholic Life and worship between Word and Sacrament. The Emmaus Story validates that balance: we can see Jesus present in the Eucharist because we have come to understand his presence in the Word.

Likewise in Jesus’ immediate appearance to the disciples in Jerusalem, he instructed them in the Scriptures: "’These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. “ (vss. 44-45). This would come immediately before he reminded them that “repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (vs. 47), and that such preaching would be their responsibility. The lesson for us is that before we can fulfill our commission to be witnesses to Jesus we must open ourselves to be instructed in the Word. Not only would the disciples need the word to help them believe in the Resurrection, they would need it to strengthen them for the work ahead.

If even those who were eyewitness to the Resurrected Jesus needed the witness of scripture to aid them in their unbelief and to strengthen them for their ministry, how much more do we, 21 centuries later, need that same help. Read the Bible, stay close to the Scriptures, allow God to write it on your hearts, it is impossible to believe and work as Jesus calls us, without it: “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”(2 Tim 3:16)