e broke the Bread… and their eyes were opened and they recognized Him.” (Luke 24:31)
In this way, the evangelist Luke describes the encounter of Jesus Christ with His disciples of Emmaus. Then, the disciples, by recognizing Jesus in the breaking of bread, started to understand the Scripture, that he had explained to them while walking side by side on the way to Emmaus. Was it not necessary that Christ should die in order to achieve the salvation of the world?
Now the disciples saw and understood what Jesus said. Full of joy, they set out and returned to Jerusalem to tell the other disciples that the Lord was really alive and risen.
We, the Christians of today, have the same experience and the same joy in discovering that the Lord has Risen as the disciples said. This enables us to walk on the roads of this world announcing that Christ, who was crucified, is Alive. This is the mission.
Perhaps, even for us at times, like it was for the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we are tempted by distrust and sadness. In the tragedies of today’s world, we can only see death and defeat. But, by reading the word of God, the sign of the “Broken Bread” will help us understand the Easter Mystery, that is salvation for all. We understand it now, since Jesus completely innocent bore and offered His suffering and death on the cross. Therefore, we can say that every innocent cry, in today’s world, is forever in the heart of God.
No greater news has ever been proclaimed: Christ is Risen! He has freed us from death through his own death and resurrection. Christ has made us a big family of brothers and sisters. Happy Easter 2006!
(From Xaverian Missionaries of Mary Newsletter)