Wednesday in the Octave of Easter
I am blessed to spend time volunteering for the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program at IC. Every lesson we give is framed within its relevance to the 3 key moments in the History of the Kingdom of God – creation, redemption, and Parousia (the time when God will be all in all). I am always inspired by my students’ reflections on these moments and their hopeful longing for Parousia.
I remember my sophomore year religion teacher framing our religion class in terms of the key covenants that God made throughout salvation history. Mrs. Grzan helped us to understand our faith by leading us through an examination of each covenant that had been made along the way, from the moment of creation to Moses, Daniel, Abraham, several others, and finally Christ – the new covenant. She made church history and the significance of Christ’s sacrifice make sense in a new, deeply profound way.
I think that the recounting of the history of our salvation in this way is one of the reasons I so deeply love the Easter Vigil. I had not been in a few years but was blessed to be in attendance as a sponsor this year. This communal remembrance of each of the covenants made along the way to bring us to this moment of redemption is simultaneously humbling and empowering.
Today I was surprised to see another place in which this model of retelling the history of the covenants and the foretelling of the prophets was very present. Today’s Gospel reading, the road to Emmaus, is one I have heard many times and have spent time praying over on various retreats. But when I read this Gospel today, I noticed something I had never picked up on before. As Christ walked along the road to Emmaus, he led his two disciples on a similar journey to the one we take at Easter Vigil, similar to the journey Ms. Grzan took her students on and similar to the one we take our CGS students on. Luke tells us “Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the Scriptures” (Luke 24:27). He helped them to understand all that had come before and the significance and importance of these moments.
BUT if we keep reading, we go on to see a very important detail. Luke tells us “He was made known to them in the breaking of the bread” (Luke 24:35) For these disciples, it was not until he “took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them” (Luke 24:30) that they truly understood who He was. They were “in the dark” as to who this man was they traveled with. It wasn’t until the Eucharist that their eyes could be opened, they could see the light and could understand the significance that Jesus brings to the journey of the past. Much like the journey of the Easter Vigil – a night that begins in darkness – we literally see the light of Christ spread through the church. Then we share in the breaking of the bread. Our eyes are opened, and our hearts change as we share in the Eucharist. We are a Eucharistic people. Hallelujah is our song.
—AJ Grimm