Wednesday of the Octave of Easter
(Acts 3:1-10; Luke 24:13-35)
There is a legend about St. Thomas Aquinas which may help us
understand this resurrection appearance.
Toward the end of his life when writing about the Lord’s Passion and
Resurrection, Thomas was praying before a crucifix. Suddenly a voice came from the image,
“Thomas,” it said, having written most of his famous Summa, Thomas was
praying before a crucifix. He heard a
voice from the crucifix say, “You have spoken well of me, Thomas, what shall be
your reward?” Thomas replied, “Nothing other than thee, Lord.” Serious biographers of Thomas doubt the story’s
veracity. Nevertheless, it does relate
Thomas’ devotion to prayer before the crucifix and his insights into the
Paschal mystery. It can be said that
there is much truth in this legend.
Today’s gospel in many respects is a reflection on the
Eucharist. The two disciples, of whom
nothing is known except one was called Cleopas, may be Christians of any era. Their walk to Emmaus may be a way of saying how
they enmeshed themselves fully in life.
Then Jesus accompanies them as he meets his followers at mass. He interprets the Scriptures for them by
showing how “the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and the New
Testament is the Old Testament revealed.”
The disciples discover that it is Jesus when he breaks bread with
them. Thus, the story likely refers to
Christians having Jesus’ spiritual accompaniment through the ups and downs of
life. They further meet him physically in
the Eucharist.
If this is a legendary story, some will want to ask if Jesus really rose from the dead. Or is the resurrection supposed to mean only an uplifting of hearts when Christians celebrate the Eucharist? This same gospel gives a positive answer, “Yes, Jesus rose.” When the disciples in the story return to Jerusalem, they are told, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon.” The apostle Paul notes this appearance to Simon Peter and a few others as well. The story assures us that we may have an experience of the risen Christ by giving faithful attention to the Eucharist.
