St. Benedict's Monastery, Arcadia
Sunday Gospel Comment
Alberic Jacovone OSB
YEAR B THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER Acts 3,13-15.17-19; 1 Jn2,1-5; Lk 24,35-48 Jesus opens eyes & minds It was necessary & it is written. Today’s
Gospel is from Luke Ch. 24, last of the book.
Luke starts it, saying: quite a few people have written about Jesus, I too want
to investigate the events & present them, just as the first witnesses have
handed them down. Thus I will show how the story of Jesus is solidly founded on
reliable evidence. Ch. 24 of Luke is an on going & continuing narrative. In
it all events are meant to be read as one running into the other. First comes
the discovery of the empty tomb - then two disciples go away from Jerusalem -
totally disappointed-. As they travel, the Risen Lord joins them as a stranger
& explains the Scriptures to them - When they get to Emmaus they invite the
stranger for a meal & then they recognize him at the breaking of the bread.
- Straight away they run back to Jerusalem to tell the others, - & just
then, Jesus himself appears to all the disciples, explaining that it was God’s
plan that He should die on the cross & rise from the dead for the salvation
of all: all was written in the Scriptures, & was necessary. Scholars have
remarked that Luke gives the name of only one of the two disciples on the way to
Emmaus: his name is Cleopas, a Greek noun which means ‘child of a famous
father’. Some experts (especially feminist theologians) have rightly argued
that the other disciple was a woman (perhaps his wife?), since women at the time
were not considered as important to
the story. If that is the case, I suggest that we should call her
‘Cleopatra’, which is feminine of Cleopas & also means ‘child of a
famous father’. Whatever their names, Luke invites all his readers to explore
the Scriptures, & see how in them God’s plan had been foretold, in all its
details. As we study the Scriptures, Jesus opens our minds & eyes, so we can
discover the truth about God who really wants us all saved. The breaking of the bread. At
the time of the early Christians, the ritual of breaking the bread during the
celebration of the Eucharist was a very special & solemn moment. It was
called “FRACTIO PANIS = breaking of bread” & it gave the whole
Eucharistic ceremony its deepest meaning, as it was a visible sign that the
‘many people’ present, were
becoming ‘One Body’ in Christ. The special prayer associated with the
‘FRACTIO” made reference to the ‘bread which had been formed by many
grains of wheat’. The early Christians felt it was worthwhile to reflect on
the mystery of death & resurrection hidden in the tiny seed of wheat.
(Remember the phrase: unless a wheat-grain falls in the ground & dies, it
will not produce abundant fruit...). So the celebrant prayed that it took many
grains from many fields & hills to be sowed & attended & harvested
& garnered... Even then, it took these grains to be crushed into floor -
mixed with water - turned into dough & leavened all through
- & finally it took baking in the oven... Only then it became “one
bread”, yes only then that fragrant bread was to be broken &
distributed as Eucharist to the congregation. Just as many grains of wheat
(& grapes for the Eucharistic wine!) form one bread (& one cup), in
which the Risen Lord comes to us in holy communion,... so we who are many and
from many races, cultures & walks of life, form ‘One Body - one Church -
one people of God, & we receive the one eucharistic Lord, present in the
consecrated bread. It is at this point (at the FRACTIO!), that we experience our
deepest union with the Lord & with one another. At this point, our mission
to go & tell the good news to everyone, begins. Now it makes sense that we
share with all nations & for all time & to the end of the earth, the
same Spirit that Jesus has lavished into our hearts. ______________________________________ |
