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With Hearts Burning
It not easy to believe that something can truly transform our lives. We are challenged by the world everyday. In our homes, schools, work places - in society as a whole - we are expected to succeed. And yet, this is not our only calling, for as Christians, we are also called to live the Eucharistic life.
But how? Does the Eucharist still mean anything to us? Do we still know what we are a part of? Is it merely a ritual that we need to be concerned with or a comfortable routine?
First Movement: Mourning our Losses
Just like the two people who were traveling from Jerusalem to Emmaus, we have our own share of losses, disillusionment, disappointments and resentment in life. Perhaps in many ways we are like those two, lost and broken, with the immediate response to go as far away as possible from what hurts us. Our journey starts here, whether our losses lead to resentment or to gratitude. And too often we choose resentment. An empty tomb elicited a different reaction from the women who went there: they were rejoicing while these two were walking away in resentment and despair. But herein lies the mystery of celebrating the Eucharist - through mourning our losses, we come to know life as a gift.
Second Movement: Discerning His Presence
Jesus joins us in our journey, but oftentimes we are too preoccupied with our own problems and losses that we fail to recognize His presence. Too often we complain more than we face reality and hardly do we listen to what God is telling us. We only filter what we want to hear. We sometimes see Him as a stranger who cannot understand us, a distant God who does not know what is happening in our lives. But Jesus is always reaching out to us through His Word - just like to the two disciples with whom He discussed the meaning of Scripture and its fulfillment. But when we listen and discern carefully the readings from the Old and New Testament and the homily that follows, we learn something, we sense something, and our hearts begin to burn. It is this presence that encourages us to let go of our resentment and with grateful hearts and offer Jesus to come into our homes, our lives.
Third Movement: Inviting the Stranger (Jesus) into Our Lives
Inviting strangers to our home has never been a good idea - on the contrary, we are taught not to talk with strangers. The Eucharist is often seen as Christ welcoming us to stay with Him, but on the contrary it is Christ longing for us to invite him into our hearts. After hearing His words we have two responses to choose from: "Yes, the readings were inspiring, the homily was good. Thank you and hope you have a safe journey. Goodbye!" or as what the two disciples said, "Come and join us." It is this invitation of offering our vulnerability that Christ requires in the Eucharist. By this act of invitation we are entrusting Jesus with our lives. It is not easy to trust anyone, much more a stranger. Yet they put aside the unfamiliarity of the stranger and in good faith invited Him as a friend sharing the same table. "Iba ang may pinagsamahan sa hapag kainan." We do not invite people who are not intimate with us to eat on the same table. This intimacy is powerfully symbolized by the table that we share.
Fourth Movement: Entering into Communion
At the table where we invite Jesus as guest, He becomes the host and takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it and gives it to us. This was when the two disciples realized who the invited stranger was. For it is in communion that we are constantly reminded that Jesus is with us in the form of bread and wine. "Do this in memory of me." The strangest thing about the Emmaus story is that right after Christ gives the bread to them and they recognize Him, He is nowhere to be found. The time when he becomes most present to us is a communion that happens in His absence. Communion with Jesus means becoming like Him. Suddenly the two disciples were alone again but they knew that they were not alone because Communion creates community. Christ is living in each of us and together through the Spirit of the risen Christ we can see each other as belonging to God in a family. We can see here the transformation from a hardened heart to a grateful heart. A transformation that gives life - a life that has the power to overcome death.
Fifth Movement: Spreading the Good News
Communion does not only create community. The two disciples then set out immediately back to Jerusalem to tell the eleven about the good news. Obviously their joy could not be contained for the Spirit was working in them, and told the others that it was not the end. Communion leads us to mission; that it is not the end but the beginning. The Eucharist is always a mission. But the movement always starts from communion to community to ministry. Sometimes we have the tendency to go from communion to ministry without forming community. Our individualistic society has somehow taught us to be self-reliant but it should not be the case. You do not just keep the faith, you must share it. For when we receive Christ in the Eucharist we are called to be messengers of hope. Not everyone will listen to us and you will receive a lot of ridicule especially from immediate family and people near to you. But that is the cost of discipleship. The choice has always been freely given to us.
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