“Were not our hearts burning within us
while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?”
Today’s scriptures continue to speak to us of the joy of the Resurrection. The disciples once again have experiences of the Risen Lord. Today’s experience is one that is really a foreshadowing of the Mass. Here the disciples walking along the road find that they recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread, and remember how their hearts burned with joy as he explained the Scriptures to them. That’s the Liturgy of the Eucharist, and the Liturgy of the Word, respectively.
What’s important about what they experienced is that we get to experience it too, every time we come to this holy place to celebrate Mass together. We too are on a journey in our life, a journey from confusion to understanding, a journey from fearfulness to faith. And along the journey, we are nourished just as those disciples were, by the words of Scripture and the breaking of bread. The Sacred Liturgy forms us in faith as a holy people.
These disciples had been walking away sad, perhaps returning to their former life, disillusioned that their Messiah had been arrested and crucified. Nourished by word and sacrament, they return to their new life, energized to proclaim the Good News. That is our task too as we go forth from this Mass to the life God has given us. We too are called to proclaim the Good News that Christ is risen to all those who need to hear it, everyone God puts in our path.
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!