The Road to Emmaus

The Gospel for today begins with these words, “That very day, the first day of the week”

What day is the first day?

Resurrection day, the day which we now celebrate as Easter Sunday. Until the Resurrection, the day of worship, the day of the Sabbath, had been Saturday, the seventh day of the week. After the resurrection, we observe the Sabbath on Sunday. We also call this time after the resurrection the 8^th day of creation. The world was made new by the death and resurrection of Jesus and so we are today living in the 8^th day.

A very intriguing and exotic word, Mystagogy, refers to the 4^th stage of RCIA which starts with an initiation into the church at the Easter Vigil and ends on Pentecost Sunday. The word is derived from the Greek words for mystery and leader so mystagogy literally means to be led through mysteries. The reality is all of us who earnestly seek to know God live in an ongoing period of mystagogy. God is not a mystery to be solved but God is mystery, mystery which we can only embrace but never break open.

Cleopas and the unnamed disciple were clearly lost in mystery as they puzzled to make sense of what had transpired during the preceding three days. The first part of the mystery for us to consider is the city of Emmaus. Curiously, there is no real evidence proving where Emmaus was located or even if the city existed at all. It is very possible that rather than being a road to somewhere, the road to Emmaus might not be a road to anywhere physical. It is entirely possible the city of Emmaus is irrelevant. The road itself is the point. Cleopas and his companion were on a journey but not a journey that would take them to a place but would lead toward a destination not meant to be reached. They were, in fact, the first ones to live in a time of mystagogy. They were seeking to be led through mystery.

What can we learn from Cleopas and the second disciple? The first lesson is to understand is the importance of seeking mystery. What we know about God is limited to what God has chosen to reveal to us. In the Gospel the disciples seek to understand what happened on that day, the first day, and the days prior to that day. Jesus responded to them.  He joined them on the journey and stayed with them until he finally revealed himself.  The disciples invited Jesus to continue with them. 

We should also invite Jesus to join us as we journey through life and not just on Sundays but every day and in every way. When we ask Him, He will accompany us as we travel our own individual Roads to Emmaus. In what manner will he respond to us? In the gospel he responded by sharing scripture with them, providing them with a testament of how the prophecies of the Hebrew Testament were fulfilled in him. We have the same testament available to us today in the New Testament. Jesus also responded by revealing his person through the Eucharistic breaking and sharing of the bread, the gift of Himself.  He gives the same gift to us in the Mass.

During this time of mystagogy, we should join the new members of the church with the same sense of awe as Cleopas and his fellow traveler. They said, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?” Shouldn’t our own hearts burn when the scriptures are opened to us? Just like the two men in the gospel we should be inspired to tell the story what happened and in so doing help lead ourselves and others into mystery.

Prayer:

Jesus, fill us with the desire to join your disciples on the Road to Emmaus and to celebrate our own encounter with mystagogy in this Easter season. Have mercy on us and grant us your peace.