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Sign & sacrament

04 May 2014 - Third Sunday of Easter, Cycle A

Jesus offered his disciples two forms of knowledge, one through his words and the other through experience of his physical presence. When walking the road to Emmaus two of his disciples shared with a stranger the story of Christ’s resurrection. These were two who had learned from the words of Christ. But not until they invited the stranger into their home did they see the physical presence of Christ. We are told that it was “made known to them in the breaking of the bread.” Every Mass has two parts: the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Together these parts offer total knowledge that includes mind and body. For more “Sign & sacrament” material, search the Prepare the Word database by today’s scripture reading, a particular theme, or a special occasion.

Eucharist recognition Emmaus

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Sign & sacrament

22 Apr 2012 - Third Sunday of Easter, Cycle B

Luke’s accounts of Jesus’ resurrection appearances include Jesus in the role of “Bible teacher.” The disciples on the road to Emmaus and those in the upper room experienced Jesus in bodily form and also in his role as rabbi. He helped them “connect the dots” of their Jewish tradition so they could see that the resurrection was the fulfillment of all their ancestors had hoped for. Easter helps us locate ourselves in the vast sweep of history, the constant working out of God’s irrepressible good will. God’s grace is not only for figures from biblical times but also for us. You are not included as an afterthought but the intended beneficiary of God’s grace since the beginning of time.

Resurrection Road to Emmaus upper room Grace

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Exploring the word

08 May 2011 - Third Sunday of Easter, Cycle A

IF YOU SURVIVED school you probably studied the basic aspects of literature somewhere along the line. Beginning, middle, and end are the nonnegotiable parts of storytelling. Along with those come setting, plot, character, and narrative voice. These days, just to make things fancy, stories aren’t always told in order, teasing time through flashback and misplaced sequence. And the writer might leave out an essential bit of information (Where are we? Who’s talking?) just to keep us guessing. Each writer finds a way to tweak the basics to keep things interesting. Saint Luke invented a special form scholars call the missionary discourse—reflecting the Greek fondness for grand soliloquies in the midst of narrative action. The missionary discourse appears eight times in Acts and in a more abbreviated form in the gospel, as in the Emmaus story. The format has three parts: the recap of recent events, followed by an accusation of the listener/reader, and finally a call to repentance. The lectionary labors against our appreciation of literary forms, especially here. Our section from Acts is one of these discourses, but it leaves off half of the recap and all of the call, immersing us awkwardly in the accusation. Standing alone, it sounds entirely unwarranted. For as we know, this particular crowd will answer the call to repentance with the largest mass baptism on record. Remaining within the accusation portion would be like telling the story of Emmaus and ending on the lines, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe!” We hear the recap twice this week in Acts and Luke: how Jesus did wonderful things, according to God’s prearrangement foretold in scripture, and how he was by that same plan put to death and raised again. What we don’t hear in Luke's writings is atonement theology; the emphasis is on God’s subordination of human events to divine purposes. Like the crowds before Saint Peter on the streets of Jerusalem, the Emmaus pair are accused of seeing but not discerning, hearing without understanding. And like the mass conversion that ensues after Peter speaks, the two at table with their incognito Lord are enkindled to the heart by their encounter. These stories are Lucan bookends, demonstrating the revelatory power of both word and sacrament. Each time the community gathers across the centuries, we continue to unpack the basics of the missionary discourse: Recap the story, experience the keen recrimination it provides, and sound the call to repentance in our Eucharist. The only unknown element is our response. Will we remain “foolish and slow of heart”? Or will we acknowledge the gap between where we are and where we ought to be, and rush, like the Emmaus pair, to close it? Related scripture links Reading divine clues: Exod. 28:30 (Urim and Thummim); Judg. 6:36-40 (fleece); 1 Sam. 28:5-19 (witch); Isa. 7:10-16 (Emmanuel); Matt. 2:1-12 (star); Matt. 24:3-33 (tribulation); Luke 11:29-32 (sign of Jonah); 12:54-56 (signs of the times) Other journeys of faith: Gen. 12:1-3 (Abraham); Exod. 3:4-10 (Moses); Ruth 1:8-18 (Ruth); Matt. 2:13-15, 19-23 (Joseph); Mark 1:16-20 (disciples) Catechism links Emmaus journey: CCC 112; 572; 601; 640- 655; 659; 710; 1166; 1329; 1347

Authors Alice Camille

missionary discourse saint luke Emmaus writer

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Homily stories

08 May 2011 - Third Sunday of Easter, Cycle A

Dorothy followed the Yellow Brick Road through the Land of Oz and came upon all sorts of signs pointing to different ways back home. In the end, she had the secret to getting back to Kansas right at her heels. But, as the Good Witch of the North tells her, she couldn't have been told the secret to achieving her heart's desire. She had to discover it for herself. Jesus' disciples on the road to Emmaus and all Christian disciples down through the ages have a similar challenge before them as they skip along on their spiritual journeys. The secret to finding their way home to God lies within their burning hearts, but they don't discover that until they've taken a few wrong turns and been set straight by the collection of characters they encounter along the way.

Road to Emmaus spiritual journey

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Jesús murió para darnos vida eterna

Funeral, Sacrament-based, Holy Day, Holiday, Special Occasion - Sample homilies to be adapted for your use

Readings: Lucas 24:13-35; El Camino a Emaús NUESTRA FE CRISTIANA NO TIENE SENTIDO. ¿Qué clase de dios se haría hombre, tomando todas nuestras debilidades y sufrimientos, hasta la muerte? ¿Para qué? ¡Eso no tiene sentido! Fíjense que hasta los mismos discípulos en los tiempos de Jesús no lo comprendían. Al frente de la muerte, del fracaso, los dos discípulos camino a Emaús se sienten desilusionados, defraudados; están tristes. Así como nosotros hoy estamos tristes. Y cuando estamos tristes, quizás enojados, dudamos y cuestionamos lo que creemos. A veces, como los discípulos camino a Emaús, queremos regresar a como las cosas eran antes. Pero Jesús se aparece. Jesús está ahí. Jesús los acompaña; Jesús los escucha. Y lo que no entienden lo explica: El hijo del hombre tiene que sufrir y morir. Es necesario. La muerte es necesaria. ¿Cómo que la muerte es necesaria? Si queremos llegar al cielo, la muerte es necesaria. Pero la muerte de Jesús, la muerte del mismo Dios es necesaria para destruir la muerte – y hoy estamos pensando en la muerte física, porque extrañamos a nuestro(a) hermano(a) N. Pero los funerales Cristianos no solamente son para recordar y celebrar una vida bien vivida. No estamos aquí para despedirnos solamente. El funeral Cristiano es para celebrar a Aquel que vino y se hizo hombre para tomar nuestra humanidad, nuestra debilidad y nuestra mortalidad, para morir; para destruir la muerte para siempre. Jesús vive y muere para que nosotros, para que tú y yo, para que N no tenga que morir. Para que tengamos la vida eterna. Jesús muere para destruir la muerte para que nosotros podamos ir al cielo para vivir en eterna unión con Dios, para siempre. Puede que no sea fácil de comprender, pero es la Buena Nueva. Es por eso que creemos que N. ya no está sufriendo. Creemos que hoy nuestro(a) hermano(a) N. está en la casa del Padre donde ya no hay dudas, ya no hay dolor, no hay enfermedad, y no existe la muerte. Y es a veces en estos momentos de dolor y de tristeza en que nos encontramos con Jesús. Fíjense que al principio los discípulos camino a Emaús, no lo reconocen. Cuando estamos tristes no ponemos atención. Pero Jesús está ahí. Jesús está aquí hoy en nuestro momento de dolor. Jesús se aparece en estos momentos y nos acompaña, nos escucha y se queda con nosotros hasta el momento en que lo podemos reconocer. Jesús se hace presente a través de la Palabra y a través del partir del pan. Y puede que no lo reconozcas, pero ahí está. Aquí está. Jesús se aparece en estos momentos y nos acompaña, nos escucha y se queda con nosotros hasta el momento en que lo podemos reconocer. Jesús se hace presente a través de la Palabra y a través del partir del pan." Y una vez que lo reconocemos – hasta antes de reconocerlo – lo vamos sintiendo, y después de reconocerlo, nos impulsa a ir; nos impulsa a salir. Cuando estamos tristes queremos quedarnos encerrados, enclaustrados, pero Jesús nos llama a salir; a llevar esa Buena Nueva a otros. Hoy podemos creer firmemente que la muerte no tiene ningún poder sobre nosotros. Hoy sabemos que Jesús ya acabó con la muerte. La batalla ya se venció. Y por eso podemos decir con confianza que no solamente N. esta ya camino a Dios, sino que todos nosotros también podemos estar camino a Dios – no hay que esperar a morirnos para comenzar el camino al cielo. No esperes a comenzar a buscar a Jesús cuando se aparece a caminar contigo. No esperes a buscarlo en la Palabra y en el partir del pan. Búscalo. No esperes a reconocerlo. Y cuando lo hagas, no tengas miedo de ir a proclamar la Buena Noticia que Cristo está vivo y nos llama a todos a estar vivos con El eternamente en el cielo.

Authors Deacon Pedro Guevara-Mann

funeral all manner of death Road to Emmaus Lucas 24:13-35 Spanish

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Jesus died so that we could live forever

Funeral, Sacrament-based, Holy Day, Holiday, Special Occasion - Sample homilies to be adapted for your use

Readings: Luke 24:13-35 CHRISTIANITY MAKES NO SENSE: What kind of God would become a human being, with our weaknesses and suffering, our mortality? This makes no sense. See that even the disciples in the time of Jesus didn’t really understand either. In the face of death and failure, the two disciples on the way to Emmaus feel disheartened and let-down – they are sad. Today we are sad. When we are sad, maybe angry, we doubt and we question our beliefs. Sometimes, as the disciples on the way to Emmaus, we want to go back to the way things were. But Jesus appears to them. Jesus is there. He walks with them. And he explains what they don’t understand: The Son of Man had to suffer and die. It was necessary. Death is necessary. If we want to get to Heaven, death is necessary. But the death of Jesus is also necessary in order to destroy death. Today we are thinking about physical death, because we miss our brother/sister N. But Christian funerals are not just to remember and celebrate a life well-lived. We are not here just to say goodbye. Christian funerals are so we can celebrate the One who came and became man, who took our humanity, our weaknesses, our mortality, who died in order to destroy death forever. Jesus lives and dies so that we, so that N. doesn’t have to die. So that we can have eternal life. Jesus dies so that we can go to Heaven and live in eternal union with God forever. It may be hard to understand, but it is Good News. This is why we believe that N. is no longer suffering. We believe that N. is now in the Father’s House where there are no more doubts, no more pain, no more sickness and no more death. And it’s at these moments of pain, of sadness that we find ourselves with Jesus. See that at the beginning, the disciples do not recognize him. When we are sad we don’t pay attention. But Jesus is there. Jesus is here right now in our time of grief. Jesus appears to us in these moments and walks with us, he listens to us and stays with us until the moment when we are ready to recognize him. Jesus makes himself present in the breaking open of the Word and in the breaking of the Bread. You may not recognize him, but He’s there. He’s here. Jesus appears to us in these moments and walks with us, he listens to us and stays with us until the moment when we are ready to recognize him. And once we recognize him, even before we recognize him, we begin to feel his presence. And after recognizing him, he propels us to go – he drives us to go out. When we are sad we want to stay inside, inside ourselves – but Jesus calls us to go out – to go and bring the Good News to others. Today we firmly believe that death no longer has any power over us. Today we know that Jesus destroyed death. The battle has been won. And it’s because of this that we can say with confidence that not only is N. is on his/her way to Heaven, but all of us can also be on our way to Heaven. We don’t have to wait to die before we begin making our way to Heaven. Don’t wait to start looking for Jesus when He appears and begins walking with you. Don’t wait to look for him in the Word and in the breaking of the bread. Don’t wait to recognize him. And when you do, don’t be afraid to go and proclaim the Good News that Jesus is alive and calls us live with him eternally in Heaven.

Authors Deacon Pedro Guevara-Mann

funeral all manner of death Road to Emmaus Luke 24:13-35

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Homily stories

08 May 2011 - Third Sunday of Easter, Cycle A

I heard a story once of a little girl who was lost in the woods. She wandered around looking for the family she had been separated from, but she soon grew hungry and tired and lay down and fell asleep. All through the night her parents searched for her, anxious for her safety. When morning came the little girl awoke to the sound of her name. It was her father, looking for her high and low. The little girl sat up and yelled, "Daddy, I found you!" It's easy to be like that with God. Some people, when they make any inroads in their spiritual lives, act as though they finally got the attention of a disinterested God. But Jesus is the Good Shepherd, the one who searches us out, even when we're fleeing him, as the disciples who were on the road away from Jerusalem and toward Emmaus were fleeing. The fleeing disciples were wise enough to be intrigued by this stranger on the road and urged him to "stay with us." That invitation was all it took, and soon the resurrected Jesus was offering his very self to them once again in the breaking of the bread. When they returned to Jerusalem they reported they had found the Lord. So continue your search. Invite God into your life. You, too, might wake up saying, "Abba (Daddy), I found you!"

Authors Tom McGrath

Good Shepherd jesus Emmaus lost

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Homily stories

08 May 2011 - Third Sunday of Easter, Cycle A

It was not going to be an easy day. Just two weeks earlier the family had gathered with profound sadness to bury my mother. We all knew she was the glue that held us together. We were still raw with the pain as we gathered for our Christmas celebration and meal. It would not be an easy day. But we all knew we had to make sure the little ones had their special day. Still, we felt her absence. A new generation had taken over the holiday. My niece and her husband hosted the day. Everyone had brought something for the meal, including my brother who had learned some of my mother's special recipes like mashed fava beans. Without warning, during the meal everyone seemed to brighten up. Our conversation grew more animated, and we were laughing now. Miraculously, the meal, the food, gathering around the table had made Mom present to us again. Past memories, good ones, filled what had been the void. It is no surprise that the disciples on the way to Emmaus were so distraught that they were not able to recognize Jesus. But having experienced what I did that Christmas, it is even less of a surprise to me that they recognized him in the breaking of the bread. Meals can do that--special meals.

Authors Father Dominic Grassi

Christmas Mother jesus Road to Emmaus

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Homily themes

08 May 2011 - Third Sunday of Easter, Cycle A

He was made known to them in the breaking of the bread. The gospel very nearly presents the eucharistic celebration in story form. The two disciples are speaking together on the "first day of the week," just as Christians gather on Sunday. When queried by the hidden Jesus about what has taken place, they tell of the "things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word"--a retelling that sounds a lot like a creed, a statement reflecting what they understand. In response, Jesus, "beginning with Moses and all the prophets . . . interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures": a proclamation and exposition of the Word. They all sit down to eat, and "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"; Christ's presence becomes real in the breaking of bread--a eucharistic moment. Finally, after all this has happened, the disciples "set out at once" like the faithful who go forth from the Mass to proclaim and witness to the Good News. Homily points The couple journeying to Emmaus is moving in the wrong direction. They need to take the journey of faith back to the community of faith. They need to see "the way" as more than creeds, facts, and hearsay--as an encounter of generosity and hospitality of Jesus. We all have that encounter, and our eyes are opened in the breaking of the bread.

jesus prophet good news Emmaus

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Homily stories

04 Apr 2010 - Solemnity of the Resurrection of the Lord (Easter Sunday), Cycle C

Fishermen will often be out on the lake before dawn, sitting quietly observing how the light filters in and brings clarity to the shoreline, the trees, the horizon. The true meaning of the Resurrection has to “dawn” on us like that—over time—just as it did for the first disciples on the scene on Easter morning. It was still dark when Mary of Magdala arrived. Things became clearer when she returned to the scene with Peter and John and they “entered the empty tomb,” symbolic of following Jesus’ Way of the Cross on its natural progression. Likewise, the two wayward disciples who were walking away from Jerusalem toward Emmaus remained “in the dark” even while Jesus walked beside them talking to them. For them it took experiencing the breaking of the bread on the shore to open their eyes, minds, and hearts. Jesus invites us to be fishers. While it is still dark in our own lives, we follow Jesus’ way and let the light slowly filter in and bring clarity to our hearts.

Resurrection dawn fishermen empty tomb Emmaus

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