Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the gift of Yourself in the Eucharist
3rd Week of Easter : Sunday 18th April 2021
Acts 3:13-15,17-19; Ps. 4:2,4,6-7,9;
1 Jn. 2:1-5; Lk. 24:35-48 (Ps Wk III)
Today’s passage from the Gospel of Luke is the aftermath of the story of Jesus’ encounter with two of his disciples on the road to Emmaus. When the two disciples returned to Jerusalem, they told their story. There are some puzzling features about their report. If they recognised Jesus in the breaking of the bread, it seems that they must have been present at the Last Supper when Jesus first gave his Apostles the mystery of the Eucharist. But then the encounter could not have occurred on Easter Sunday as Luke asserts (“on the same day”) since the early community would not have had time yet to develop the practice of celebrating the Eucharist frequently.
Perhaps, however, the puzzling features are Luke’s way of stressing a point, applying the climax of the story to all ages of Christianity. As in the Emmaus story, Jesus disappeared from their sight, so after his Ascension, he has disappeared from the confines of space and times, yet we are truly blessed that we can recognise him “in the breaking of the bread”.
Lord Jesus, we thank You for the gift of the Eucharist.
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