They are joined by a mysterious stranger, whom they do not recognize. Scripture tells us that this is Jesus but their eyes have been kept from recognizing him. He asks them what they are talking about. They come to a complete stop, saddened and shocked. Cleopas asks sharply "Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?" They tell him about Jesus, mighty in word and work, his betrayal, his trials before kangaroo courts, his senseless and terrible crucifixion. It hurts so much to tell him that at times they can barely speak for grief and anger. "We had hoped," they say, "that he was the one to redeem Israel."
They share the confusing news from the women in their group, who have reported that the tomb is empty and Jesus is alive. Some of the men returned to the tomb and said it was just as the women had described. What are these disciples to think?
Then this stranger surprises them. Using the Scriptures, he explains to them why Jesus had to suffer and die, even scolding them for being foolish and slow of heart. All of what has happened to Jesus has been foretold by the prophets, he says. He reminds them of the passages from Moses and the prophets which refer to Jesus. Don't they remember and believe what the prophets have said? This stranger makes sense of everything for them. First he listens to them so they can express their agony. Then his words challenge and heal them.
The disciples are so taken with this man that they ask him to stay with them in an inn or in their house, and, simply waiting for their invitation, he agrees. Fr. James Martin, in "Jesus A Pilgrimage," recounts what happens next:
"Then, over dinner, he distributes the bread in a striking way. 'He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.' It is the familiar pattern: take, bless, break, give, which occurs in the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes and the Last Supper. Perhaps Cleopas and the other disciple were present at both of these events. Just then, 'their eyes were opened' and they suddenly recognize who he is.....As Luke tells the story, as soon as the two recognize him at table, Jesus 'vanished from their sight.' Not surprisingly, the disciples castigate themselves for their inability to realize who was in front of them. 'Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the Scriptures to us?' "
Cleopas and his friend rush home to Jerusalem - because it has become their home again. There they are told that Jesus has already appeared to Peter. "The Lord has risen indeed!" They tell the disciples that Jesus had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
This wonderful story teaches us that Scripture, our daily life, and the Eucharist are all places where God can come to us, where we can recognize Jesus, if we become aware, alive to his presence so that we will notice him.
But - why didn't Cleopas and the other disciple recognize him? Why didn't Mary of Magdala recognize him until he spoke? We don't know what glorified bodies look like. From stories of the Risen Jesus we know that his glorified body is physical - he has a body , he can eat, he can show Thomas his wounds - but his body is wonderfully transformed - he can vanish, he can walk through walls. It also seems as if Jesus reveals who he is when he wants others to recognize him.
Jesus approaches us in the same way when we are on the road of our daily lives. First, he walks with us when we are depressed, dejected, full of despair. He understands these emotions! Martin reminds us "...here is something we often forget: the Risen Christ understands it (feeling loss) too. It is quite possible that, as he died on the Cross, he thought But Father, I had hoped that my ministry would be a success. I had hoped. After the Resurrection, Jesus does not forget his human experiences; he carries them with him. He is still human."
But, as happened to these two disciples, loss can cloud our eyes for awhile. Yet Jesus still waits until we are ready, and then he will reveal to us new ways of looking at our situations, new reasons for hope and new life. We need to inquire, examine, discuss, as the disciples did, face our losses and pains head on, instead of hiding from sore emotions in various forms of escapism.
The Risen Jesus challenges us and heals us through flashes of insight in our minds, often during or after prayer, or through the wisdom words of Scripture, or through the inspired words of our family, friends, or others. The Risen Jesus challenges and heals us when we approach his Table so he can give himself to us in the sacred, life-giving Meal of the Eucharist. Jesus will always rekindle our faith, jog our memories about why we believe. He will remind us that he has given everything of himself to us in, as Bishop Fulton Sheen calls it, the greatest love story the world has ever known.
Interestingly, the disciples recognize Jesus after they have put aside their own grief and offered Jesus hospitality: food and lodging. Often it is only after we put aside our own problems and become involved in other people's lives that we can begin to heal. We discover a huge world outside ourselves just waiting for our "special touch" and also just waiting to hug us and literally bring us back to ourselves.
Dom Helder Camara, former Archbishop of Brazil (1964-1985) , spoke of the power of recognizing the voice of Jesus and walking with Jesus on the road of our daily lives: "If you will live your religion, you will become different." He noticed the Presence of Jesus everywhere, especially in the poor. He was so active in working for the poor that he was called "The Bishop of the Slums." He encouraged peasants to overcome their fatalistic outlooks and discover Jesus walking with them by helping them form small groups to study the Gospels and find ways for social change. He founded a philanthropic organization to fight poverty by making it easier for poor people to receive loans.
Dom Camara also recognized the power of Jesus' Presence in the Eucharist. He attended all four sessions of Vatican II, and forty days before the Council ended, encouraged forty Bishops to meet with him at night in the Catacombs of Domitilia in Rome, places where the early persecuted Christians
celebrated Mass. There Dom Camara and the other Bishops celebrated the Eucharist and signed a Document, the Pact of the Catacombs.
In thirteen points they challenged their fellow Bishops to follow Jesus in poverty and humility by living lives of evangelical poverty, without honorific titles, without privilege, and without ostentation. (Dom Camara was instrumental in convincing Bishops to stop wearing ostentatious rings.) They taught that the main ministry of Bishops is in jointly serving the two-thirds of humanity who live in physical, cultural, and moral misery. They called for openness to all, regardless of their beliefs.
Dom Helder Camara was willing to notice and to allow Jesus' Presence in his life, even though he knew he would become different in the process. So did those early disciples who turned around and ran back to Jerusalem, back to the place of Jesus' death, knowing that persecution and death could face them as well.
Once we notice Jesus in our lives, we can't help but become different. We begin to trust the process of our lives, knowing that Jesus is leading us and inspiring us. We trust hope and joy because we know the power of the Resurrection. We are less inclined to "escape our troubles" in unhealthy ways and more inclined to talk about them, think about them, work our way through them by facing them head on. Like the disciples, we often find our hearts burning within us with love and hope and joy because we know God in Jesus never leaves us: we continually find him in the Scripture, in the Eucharist, and meeting us unexpectedly as we walk the road of our daily lives.