Happy Easter.

In order to understand today’s gospel message, one of the most beautiful in the New Testament, I think it will be useful to place it in the time and in the place where, in all probability, it was composed. The author is Luke, a doctor from Antioquia, who had converted to Christ about ten years after Easter. Then he went to live in Philippi, a very rich city in Macedonia. In this city Paul had founded a community that he was very fond ofbecause besides being very fervent, it was also very generous. It always helped Paul on his travels and in his apostolic activity.

In the background, I have placed the majestic ‘agora’ of Philippi and I want you to notice in this agora a place that is marked and very important: the Philippi library. You can also appreciate the rooms of this library. I insist because Luke, who lived in Philippi for several years, has certainly spent many days in this place, for he was a passionate reader of classic books.

And to understand the message of this text we need to bring to mind the situations that Christians were experiencing from the Luke’s community because to answer the questions they have in their hearts Luke composes this account of the two disciples at Emmaus. What situation were they in? It was a time of crisis. These are the years of Domitian, the “beast” of which the Apocalypse speaks. Christians are marginalized, discriminated against, abused, and many do not resist. They leave the community and return to pagan life. The city of Philippi was suitable for the return to the pleasures of this world. It was a rich city, with the gold mines on Mount Pangea, the very fertile plain, irrigated by the Gangites river.

This is the first context where this text is placed. Then, 60 years had passed since Easter. We are in the third generation of Christians and stagnation begins. Almost everyone who has known Jesus of Nazareth has already passed away and the Christians of the community of Luke, from Philippi, specifically, ask themselves this question: Is it also possible for us to find the Risen One? Otherwise, how can we bear witness that He is alive if we have never seen Him? With our eyes we never saw Him, we have we not touched him with our hands and never sat at the table with him? Are we to content ourselves with believing what others have narrated to us since these are credible testimonies? But to give an adherence to Christ because those who testify of what He has done are credible is it enough for an adherence of faith? I will say NO. This would be the conclusion of a reasoning of common sense.

Faith is an involvement that makes one fall in love with a person, that makes you fall in love with Christ. And for the infatuation to be triggered is not enough to have felt the narration of wonderful things that he has done. You need to have a personal experience to meet him, so that one can carry the attraction that later leads us to unite our lives with his. We like this Luke. Why? Because Luke is one of us. Luke did not know Jesus of Nazareth, as we who have not seen him. Luke converted to Christ because he has felt the apostles speak of Christ. Finally, he met Christ in the same way that we know him, through the gospel. The Gospels tell us what the apostles have also told Luke. But is this meeting enough to trigger the infatuation for Christ? The answer is NO.

A personal encounter with him is required: the experience of the Risen One. Let us try to reread the encounter with the Risen One of the two disciples of Emmaus as a parable of the experience that Luke has had and that we are called to do, as Luke did. We will hear in the reading that we have two disciples walking towards Emmaus. One is called Cleophas and the other has no name.

In that disciple with no name we can see Luke’ spiritual experience. He made the experience of the encounter with the Risen One and he offers us his experience so that we too can do it.

Let’s listen to this story:

That very day, the first day of the week, two of Jesus’ disciples were going to a villageseven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.

Who are the two disciples at Emmaus? There are two ‘of them’, two two belong to the group closer to Jesus, two disciples that today in our community we would call committed people, those who participate in meetings, courses, retreats about whom one can always trust, those who are always available. Precisely they leave Jerusalem, they leave the community and go on their own. Who are they? One is Cleophas, but why doesn’t Luke mention the name of the other one? Could it be that Luke forgot his name? NO, otherwise he would not have mentioned the first person’s name.

The second disciple, the nameless one, is a clear invitation from Luke for the Christians in his community to put their own name and to travel the path that Cleopas does to get to see the Risen One, to see the Risen Jesus of Nazareth who walks next to the community, but the eyes of the disciples were not able to see him, to see his presence next to them. They withdraw … why? It is a time of crisis, exactly what is happening in Philippi, moment of disappointment. Waiting for the kingdom of God that had been announced by the prophets; they were waiting and are disappointed. They walk away, they go on their own because they are convinced that it is not worth continuing to wait a new world that was announced but that seems to have failed.

I repeat, it is the situation of Christians of the Luke community, And, let’s also say, our situation in the Church today, where we see that, as in Philippi, there are many people who leave the Church. Many in Philippi made fun of them because they continued to wait for the coming of the Lord. This mocking expression is found in Peter’s letter: What happened with the promise of his coming? From the day our parents have closed their eyes, everything remains as at the beginning of the world, nothing changes, better to withdraw at concentrate on the concrete problems of this life.

And like the two disciples of Emmaus, also many Christians from the community of Luke, they go. And I will say that it is the same thing that happens in our Church today. Then, the place where they are going: Emmaus. They walk away because they have lost all hope.And what happens on the way? They talked among themselves about what had happened and they discussed… The Greek verb is ‘συζητεῖν’ = syzétein = debated. How can this be? They are two friends… yes, they were disappointed but is it worth debating? Why is this happening? They fight among themselves, sulking. They are not happy that they have abandoned the community. Each one looks for the reason for what has failed because they are not resigned.

A little like today. Some move away from the community because they don’t like it; there are certain things that shouldn’t exist and then they start blaming each other … ‘it’s the conservatives’ fault …’ ‘No, the fault lies with the innovators.’ The fight does not give any joy. If they had made peace between them and they would have said ‘the experience ended badly … patience, let’s accept it bitterly, but let’s not fight; let’s not continue looking for solutions that don’t exist; Let us each go our way.’ Many times it happens that when things are not going well the culprits are always sought. It is pointed to someone who has failed because the feeling of bitterness and with discontent wants to vent.

It’s what we hear happening today with some important, very committed Christian who has left the community. Outside they are not happy and continue to vent, accusing situations or people that have caused this disappointment in them. I would say that it is a fact in favor of these people, that they are vulnerable for this suffering because if they did not experience this pain it means they had never loved the cause. If they were indifferent, they would be comforted easily. But it also means that they did not care much about the life of the ecclesial community. As they walk, Jesus approaches.

It is a situation of bitterness, but Jesus is present at their side, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. There has been no miracle. It is not that Jesus wanted to give them the surprise after being seen. NO. He has always walked alongside these disciples. It is their eyes that were unable to see him.

Those two are us, the ones who continue to love the Christian community but, at the same time, we are angry about what happens because things are not going as we would expect. And now we seem to be alone, we forget that Jesus is by our side because he is, but our eyes prevent us from recognizing him.

Let us now listen to how Jesus enters into dialogue with these disciples:

He asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?” They stopped, looking downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?” And he replied to them, “What sort of things?” They said to him, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place Some women from our group, however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive. Then some of those with us went to the tom and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see.”

Let’s try to imagine how we would have behaved with the two disciples who went away from Jerusalem. I guess we would have done right away a very clear speech and we would have said to them: ‘You are mistaken … what is it you are discussing? Go back to Jerusalem….’

Jesus’ pedagogy is different. Jesus is in front of wounded people, bitter because they have loved Christ, they loved the project in which they felt part and now they are disappointed. Jesus wants them to explain why they are sad. And he asks a very interesting question: What kind of arguments are they arguing about?

The Greek verb is very beautiful: ἀντιβάλλετε = antibalein; it means ‘exchange darts between them’. I would say that we also find ourselves facing brothers/sisters who have left the community and are bitter because something has happened that left them sad. They have seen their dreams disappear—they are people in love with Christ and the Church—not thosewho were never deeply linked to faith but only in a very random and superficial way. NO.These are people in love with Chris who experienced the bitterness of seeing their dreams failand have drifted away. The pedagogy used by Jesus is needed when meet these people: to bring out their sadness.

In fact, they stop, grief-stricken, and respond to Jesus unkindly. “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem, unaware of these things?” ‘Where are you living?’ It is similar to what those who are leaving respond today of the ecclesial community. They say: ‘Can’t you see what’s going on in the world, can’t you see what’s going on in the Church? This Church that is not open to the proposal that the Gospel makes, not decided and able to make the leap in quality, to be more evangelical… where do you live?’

This sadness of people in love with Christ must get out of them. And they respond to the question that Jesus asked them, practically reciting the Creed: ‘Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet, powerful in works and words, who has preached love; then he was handed over to the high priests and chiefs and has been crucified.’

This word ‘crucified’ means: hanging from a cross meant being cursed by God. This is what embitters them because Jesus was righteous, but Deuteronomy says: “Cursed is he who hangs on a tree” (Deut 21:23). And this is precisely what the high priests wanted to show: that Jesus was not a martyr; he was cursed by God, as Scripture says.

These two know the life of Jesus, the good things he has done, the wonderful message he has preached. But the resurrection is missing. And when this faith in the risen is lacking, defeats remain defeats, life ends with death and it is a senseless tragedy. This is the darkness where these two are moving into. And they continue: “We expected him to be the liberator of Israel!”

This is the first mistake they are making. They expected a successful messiah, they had not been reached even minimally outside their traditional conception. Jesus had spoken of the kingdom of God, but not the kingdom they had in mind. They thought of the kingdom of rulers and Jesus preached the “kingdom of servants”. They await the resurrection of the late kingdom of Israel. They seek power while Jesus has spoken about service. And they saw their dreams collapse.

This is the first reason for their disappointment. I would say that even today, when many leave the Christian community, it is because they have not seen their hopes fulfilled. When you hear people say: ‘What is the use of staying in the Christian community, to pray, when I have to solve problems like everyone else, and heaven does not save me from certain misfortunes or certain problems? I must face life like everyone else. So, what is the use of going to church?’ This is the first mistake. Do our dreams coincide with the kingdom of God?Because our disappointments may depend on this.

And they continue: “It is true that some women in our group have baffled us; they wereat dawn to the grave, and when they did not find the body, they returned saying that some angels had appeared to them….”

Second mistake these two are making. Some had begun to see something, but they preferred to close the argument and not think anymore. Let us think about the ecclesial situation we are experiencing. Some are seeing a future and a more evangelical spring for the Church while others leave without hope. They don’t check if the prophets who are present in the community today have already seen a wonderful, splendid future, for the life of the Church. They prefer to get away. Without verifying, they resign themselves. Their hopes disappear.

And then they continue… not just women, but “also some of ours went to the grave and found everything as the women had recounted; but they didn’t see him.” Third mistake they made. They walked away while the others continued to believe, they remained in Jerusalem even without having seen the Risen One. A group continued to seek light while these two walked away.

Not that those who remained in Jerusalem suffered less than the two from Emmaus, but they did not escape.

Let us now hear how Jesus progressively opens the minds and hearts of these two:

And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the Scriptures With his question, Jesus made the reason for their bitterness come out of the heart of these two. And it has also brought up the mistakes they have made. And now what does he do? He uses harsh words. “How hard of understanding! How hard to believe what the prophets said!”

He rebukes them, but then explains the reason why they reached a state of religious bitterness and confusion. They have come to this situation because they have forgotten to read the events in the light of the word of God. And now Jesus opens their mind to Scripture and starting with Moses and the prophets interprets to them what had happened. The events remain the same, but it is one thing to read them in light of human criteria and another to read them in light of the word of God.

The meaning totally changes and it is understood that even dramatic events enter a design of the Lord when read in light of the word of God. It is the word of God that reveals the mystery. Without having understood the Bible, these two do not see with the eyes of God what has happened. And this is why Jesus says to them: foolish, hard-hearted.

The way of the cross is inconceivable if seen with the criteria of this world, a defeat. But seen in the light of God, the life given is the one that is truly glorious. And now comes the moment when the two open their eyes and see the Risen One.

As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?” So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of bread.

The Risen One was always next to the two who were on the road. It was their eyes which prevented them from seeing Him because of the mistakes they had made. They arrive at Emmaus. And note that the evangelist avoids all details of a chronicle. For example, he does not say that they found family members… who greeted each other… NO. The protagonists remain the same.

Luke is doing catechism. He is narrating how he has seen the Risen One and how Christians from his community and we also are invited to see Him today. It is late. The day is ending. It is the hour in which in the community of Luke the Eucharist was celebrated,breaking of bread on the day of the Lord. To ‘break bread ’was the technical expression used to define the Eucharist in the community of Luke.

And here the reference to the Eucharist is explicit. It seems that the mysterious traveling companion was the one who presided over a solemn liturgy of the word when, beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He explained the Scripture.

And then He does a good homily… a homily that warms the heart. And when in the Eucharistic celebration there is, above all, a celebration of the word that warms the heart, when the bread is broken, and then the eyes are opened and the presence of the Risen One is recognized. In that bread and in that wine is the presentation of a whole life delivered. And when you contemplate this donated life, you realize that it is true.

We also do the experience. When we hear a word that inflames the heart, we say ‘what we are hearing is true.’ And when with broken bread we see life donated for love we feel inside a voice that tells us: the life given does not end in a grave, it ends in the glory of God’s life, in the resurrection. That’s the moment in which we see the Risen One.

The person who is not enlightened by Scripture can think that ours is an illusion, but those who are prepared by the word of God, know that everything is true, that it is not an illusion. “They said to each other: Didn’t we feel our hearts burn as he spoke to us along the way and explained the Scripture to us?” They don’t marvel at not seeing Him with the physical eyes anymore, but the time has come that, in the face of that broken bread, which indicates the donated life, their eyes have been opened because they have received a light that told them ‘it is true’ that the donated life is the one that enters the world of God.

And, at this moment, they become apostles. They return to the community to announce to the brothers and sisters the experience of the Risen One that they have had. And together with the others they proclaim their faith: “Truly the Lord is risen.” And we can say that this is the final song that concludes the celebration of the Eucharist on the Lord’s day.

I wish everyone a good Easter and a good week.