Gospel: Luke 24: 23-35
Consider this dichotomy: two men spend an entire day with a man they consider as their teacher and Lord, and yet they do not recognize him until the very last second of the day. Now, recall yesterday that at the mere utterance of her name by the Lord Mary Magdalene recognized him at once. What is the difference, and what might we learn from this contrast?
These two men were on their way to Emmaus, a place where apocalyptic fulfillment was expected. These men saw Jesus only in a sense of worldly power: the Messiah who would restore Israel and fulfill all their political hopes and expectations. But Jesus is not a political Messiah, not an apocalyptic leader. In spite of all Jesus' attempts to tell these men about him, they still are unable to see. It is only in the breaking of bread - the act of humble table fellowship and communion - that they come to recognize him, but he vanishes from their midst.
Mary sought Jesus in the garden of her soul where the Lord is always present and easy to find. These men sought the Lord in a place where he was not - in the political, the apocalyptic. They come to find him in the simple ordinary act of breaking bread - in communion with one another at table where our soul is nourished and brought back to the garden where the Lord is ever present. During this Easter season we will find Jesus only where Mary Magdalene and these men found him.
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