The Apostles were downtrodden and crushed, not expecting a sequel to the
story. The death of Jesus was an end to their hopes. The two disciples on the road to
Emmaus were typical of the rest. Yet, within twelve hours everything changed. Not only
is the tomb empty Jesus Himself has been seen on at least five different occasions, by
more than sixteen of His followers. His resurrected body had to look unlike His human
body, for they did not recognize Him at first. What emerges from all the accounts is a
remarkable consistency on two points – that Jesus could now reveal Himself and
disappear at will and that He only showed Himself to His followers.
He was not a ghost; they recognized Him and saw His crucifixion scars. He ate
with them, and their despondency and mourning were things of the past. Fear is gone,
and in its place, indescribable joy. On the concrete certainty of the resurrection rest the
whole of our subsequent Christian history. Without the resurrection, our faith makes no
sense. In a simple way – breaking bread together – He reassures them that, yes, He is
with them. Luke 24:35, “Then the two recounted what had taken place on
the way and how He was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.”
We pray for our eyes to be opened to the reassuring signs of God’s presence
throughout our days. Particularly, as caretakers, we need reassurance that we are not
alone, and comfort is near. God understands our hardships and pains and knows what
we need. The power of God’s love triumphed in Jesus’ death and resurrection. Like the
disciples on the road to Emmaus, we experience the Lord who instructs us in the
Scriptures and broke bread with them. The Old Testament scriptures were explained to
demonstrate that the Messiah had to suffer such things and only then enter His glory.
As a High School Religion Teacher, after reading this passage, I would ask my
students why Jesus disappeared. Usually, they could not answer and then agreed
when I pointed out that we were given an offering to see Him in the Eucharist and no
longer require His physical presence. He is truly present in the bread and wine and has
left us the gift of the Eucharist, to strengthen and support us. Belief in a literal, physical
resurrection of Jesus is supported by three lines of evidence. There is evidence of
fulfilled prophecy. There is evidence of eye-witness testimony. And there is evidence of
millions of lives transformed by faith in Him over the span of two millennia. Do we trust
and live as if we believe this?