We just heard the famous Road to Emmaus story which took place on the day of the Resurrection. This could also be considered the second Eucharist that was ever celebrated, the first being the Last Supper and now this. So I want to just look at a few elements of that story that relate specifically to the Mass and the Eucharist.
First, while the two disciples were walking, Jesus drew near to them, and it says, “but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.” That is very important. Sometimes people will say that they didn’t recognize Him, but it cannot be that they had forgotten what Jesus looked like. He was only crucified a couple days before. Furthermore, Cleopas was a prominent disciple and actually Jesus’ uncle, we know that from the John’s Gospel.
So it’s not that they had forgotten what He looked like or that He somehow looked different, it says their eyes were kept from recognizing him. What it is revealing to us here is that Jesus, in a sense, veils His identity. He appears to them but He does not allow them to recognize Him.
We often veil the sacred. Veiling covers over things that are holy, mysterious, or beyond ordinary human comprehension. Veiling has also been associated with protecting that which has a particular holy significance or dignity.
In the Temple, the Holy of Holies was veiled, and, if you remember, that veil was ripped down the middle when Jesus died. When I use incense, it acts as a veil around the altar, a smokescreen. When you go to many churches you will see the tabernacle veiled. And we veil the altar too. But Jesus is always veiled under the appearance of Bread and Wine in the Eucharist. He is truly present but rather veiled.
Second, when Jesus draws near to them, it says “beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He interpreted to them what referred to Him in all the Scriptures.” So beginning with the first book of the Old Testament, Jesus shows them those connections, and really the Church does that for us each week, with the exception of Easter time, it tries to show us how the Old is connected to the New.
Furthermore, the explanation Jesus gives could be considered a Homily, right? I’m telling you, this is a little mini-Mass on the road. Consider even that when they get to their destination, the disciples ask Him for something. They make a request of Him, just like we do in our Universal Prayers or Petitions, these are prayers of supplication.
Third, Jesus was giving the impression He was going further, but at their request, right after they petition Him, is when the Liturgy of the Eucharist begins. We have two main parts to the Mass, right, the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. And now we are starting that second part.
Our gospel story said, “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.”
Took, blessed, broke, gave - the same four verbs which were used at the Last Supper, the same four verbs we still use today, it’s a pretty clear connection. But why did Jesus vanish from their sight at this point??
Well, I believe it was to teach them, this is actually the way I will stay with you now, in your bodies, under this form of bread and wine. I would argue that He honored their request to stay with them, it was just veiled, this was the new way, in the Eucharist, where the risen Jesus, no longer confined by time and space in His human body, can stay with everyone all over the world at the same time. Also, their prayer/request got answered, just maybe not the way they wanted… our prayers are often not answered in the way we want or expect are they?
I think it’s pretty cool to think about it all in this way… Maybe this was super obvious to everyone, but I believe it is helpful to once in a while really consider how these elements were all really present from the very beginning, and when we come to Mass we are participating in something that is just so much bigger than ourselves, dating back and recorded in history for two thousand years with the same basic structure.