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3rd Sunday of Easter – Year A

甲年-复活期第3主日

Fr. Jijo Kandamkulathy CMF

甘天霖神父

Gospel: Luke 24:13-35 （路24：13-35）

Now that very day two of them were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. He asked them, "What are you discussing as you walk along?" They stopped, looking downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply, "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?" And he replied to them, "What sort of things?" They said to him, "The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place. Some women from our group, however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive. Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see." And he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures. As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. But they urged him, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over." So he went in to stay with them. And it happened that, 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, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, "Were not our hearts burning (within us) while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?" So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them who were saying, "The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!" Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Homily： Recognizing Him in the Eucharist!

The story of the disciples going to Emmaus is one of the most beautiful pages of the Gospels. The text could be narrated very superficially unless we notice some indices that orient us toward a less superficial reading. How could one not notice, for example, that the sentence, “When he was at table with them, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them,” explicitly recalls the celebration of the Eucharist? And before sitting down at the table, the mysterious traveler also presides over a solemn liturgy of the Word with its three readings: “and beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he explained to them in all the Scriptures…” [v. 27], and his good sermon: “Were not our hearts burning within us when he opened to us the Scriptures…” [v. 32]. In short, he officiated a full liturgy.

The two disciples are sad—they have seen the collapse of their dreams, the failure of their plans. They expected a glorious Messiah, a mighty and triumphant king but found themselves in front of a loser. The rabbis taught that the Messiah would have lived a thousand years; Jesus instead was dead.

This situation of desperation of the Emmaus disciples resembles that of the communities of Luke. They are persecuted, victims of abuse. They see the triumph of the works of death; the wicked have the better over the pure in heart. They find themselves in the same state of mind as the disciples of Emmaus. They also stop with sad faces.

It is our story. We too find ourselves sometimes in the same state of mind. It happens when we have to admit that cunning prevails over honesty; when we are forced to acknowledge a lie as the official truth, imposed by those in power; when we see prophets silenced or killed. We stop, sad. How to get out of this desperate situation?

The Emmaus disciples made mistaken responses to the crisis. First of all, they left the community whose members continued to search for an answer to what had happened. They did not verify if the women’s experience could be enlightening for them.

Many Christians behaved as such in the time of Luke: in front of difficulties and persecutions, some abandoned their communities; others, almost on principle, refused the answers that came from faith. They did not even verify if they could have logic and sense.

The Emmaus disciples did not have the slightest doubt that their ideas about the triumphant Messiah could be wrong. They were stubbornly clinging to tradition, to what they had been taught. They were impervious to the surprises and novelties of God.

Jesus does not abandon the people who choose the roads that lead to sadness. He becomes their companion in the journey.

证道：在感恩祭中走出绝望，主与悲伤者一路同行。

厄玛乌门徒的故事是福音中最美的片段之一。除非我们注意到一些指数，引导我们转向不那么肤浅的阅读，否则经文的叙述就显得非常肤浅了。读者怎么能不注意到，例如这个句子：“当耶稣与他们坐下吃饭的时候，就拿起饼来，祝福了，擘开，递给他们，”就是直接回应了感恩祭的庆典呢？坐在餐桌之前，那位神秘的旅行者也以三篇读经主持了一个庄严的圣道礼仪：“从梅瑟及众先知开始，把全部经书论及他的话，都给他们解释了”，并且他令人愉悦的讲道：“当他在路上与我们谈话，给我们讲解圣经的时候，我们的心不是火热的吗？”简单来说，他主持了一个圆满的礼仪。

两位门徒感到悲伤，因为他们看到了自己梦想的破灭，以及自己计划的失败。他们期待一个光荣的默西亚，一个强有力和胜利的君王，却发现自己站在一个失败者的面前。拉比宣称默西亚会存活上千年，耶稣却死了。

厄玛乌门徒的绝望处境，与路加的团体很像。他们遭受迫害，是被虐待的受害者。他们看到的是死亡的胜利，恶人比心灵洁净的人活的更好。他们发现自己与厄玛乌门徒处于同样的思想困境中。他们也带着悲伤的脸色停下了脚步。

这也是我们的故事。有时，我们也发现自己处于同样的思想困境中。当我们不得不承认诡诈胜过忠诚的时候，当我们被迫承认当权者强加的谎言作为公开真理的时候，当我们看到先知们被噤声或被杀害的时候，这情况也会发生。我们停下脚步，进入悲伤中。那么，如何脱离这种绝望的处境呢？

厄玛乌门徒面对此危机，作出了错误的回应。首先，他们离开了继续为所发生的事情寻找解答的团体。他们并没有核实一下，是否能从妇女们的经验中获得启迪。

在路加时代，很多基督徒是这样做的：在困难和迫害面前，一些人离弃了他们的团体；其他人则几乎原则上拒绝了来自信仰的解答。他们甚至不去查实一下自己的选择是否合乎逻辑和良好的理智判断。

厄玛乌门徒毫不怀疑自己有关胜利默西亚的想法可能会是错误的。他们固守自己被教导的传统，却对来自天主的惊喜和新事物无动于衷。

耶稣并未放弃那些选择走向悲伤道路的人，反而成为他们旅途中的同伴。