Thursday in the Octave of Easter
| First Reading: Psalm: Gospel: | Acts 3:11-26 Psalm 8:2, 5-9 Luke 24:35-48 |
Luke 24:35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.
I have always loved the story of the road to Emmaus. I especially am struck by the revealing of Christ with the breaking of the bread. In today's Gospel that point is made again and this time Jesus appears rather than disappear. He was there physically. He was real. I think that often we are hesitant to truly believe in the power of God. We like everything to be symbolic, including the sacraments. But I think that Christ is not symbolically present, but truly present in the breaking of the bread; the Eucharist.
When we receive the bread and the wine, we should truly expect that Christ is right there with us.
Heavenly Father, help me by your Holy Spirit to truly be aware of Christ's presence in the breaking of the bread and in all areas of my life.
Amen
3 comments:
I believe scripture attests to Him being there with us through the Holy Spirit of God which is not symbolic, but spiritual. Scripture also testifies that Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father and will come again in judgement at His second coming. If He is somehow present physically in the Eucharist, then that would be a contradiction. Jesus said of the Lord's supper, "Flesh and blood profit us nothing, but these things I say are spirit and they are true." So Jesus here is not saying the communion is symbolic, but it is Spiritual. If it was symbolic how would people die or get sick because they were taking it in a state of sin.
I think trying to link the physical appearance of Jesus on the road to Emmaus to the Eucharist is a stretch.
Tim,
I don't think that the breaking of the bread somehow invokes the presence of Christ. I think, as the scripture says, that he is revealed in the breaking of the bread.
That does not mean that he is there physically, but the church is the body of Christ,and the church is defined by those who are in covenant with Christ. The new covenant is the Eucharist. So when we break the bread we are celebrating His presence and entering to a covenant relationship with him.
I can agree with that interpretation, but what I have heard from Catholic priests is that Jesus is physically present in the bread and wine. If the Catholic doctrine of the Eucharist is in fact how you explained it then their priests are doing a bad job of representing that doctrine.
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