Jesus appears to his disciples

Today’s gospel (Luke 24:35-48) is about Jesus appearing to the disciples as they listened to the story of the two who had met Jesus on the road to Emmaus. As they were listening to this amazing story, Jesus appeared standing among them. He tries to assure his followers that he is not a ghost and invites them to touch him. The text goes on to say, “Their joy was so great that they still could not believe it, and stood there dumbfounded …” (24:41) This is a very strange experience. It is an experience of great joy and disbelief. They were struck speechless. It is like an in-between experience. Seeing his disciples caught between the feeling of overwhelming happiness and the sense that “this can’t be happening”, Jesus does two things. He eats food in front of them and then he opens their minds to understand what their Sacred Scriptures were saying about him. This reminds me of the introductory passage from the Eucharistic Prayer for Various Needs I which reads, “Blessed indeed is your Son, present in our midst when we are gathered by his love, and when, as once for the disciples, so now for us, he opens the Scriptures and breaks the bread.” In a sense, you are the unnamed disciple on the road to Emmaus who having told your story about your encounter with Jesus are now invited again to listen further to what Jesus has to say and to share the meal with him and to come to know him present in your brothers and sisters as you enter into communion with one another in the Risen Lord.