THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER–5/7/11
by Msgr. Eric R. Barr, STL
READING: LK 24:13-35
I. The Sundown of a Dream
A. You know what a sunset is like. Sometimes, it is beautiful. Sometimes, it is the last blaze of a glorious day. Sometimes, it gently brings in the shadows of night. But no one ever calls a sunset hopeful. In fact, we all get a little wistful when we see one, for we know it speaks of endings, of daylight fading, of a brighter past now lost to us. There is always a bittersweet feeling about a sunset. It reminds us of the transient beauty of things and the shortness of life.
B. There were two men whose faces were turned towards the sunset. They were walking away from Jerusalem, away from hope, away from wonderful days and exciting times. As they looked at the setting sun, they saw the sundown of a dream. And the brightness of that late afternoon sun, burned into their eyes and reminded them of all the terrible things that had happened to their friend Jesus. They were confused and frightened, and they barely noticed that a stranger joined them and began to walk with them.
C. The brightness of the setting sun made it impossible for the two men to see the features of the stranger clearly. And, as often happens, as the sun abruptly set, the shadows clung around familiar images making them blurry and hard to see. Cowled inside his cloak, the stranger's face was nearly invisible. But his voice was kind as he asked the two men why they were filled with grief. And so they told him of all the terrible things that happened to Jesus, to the apostles, and they told him of the rumor that Jesus had been raised--the rumor that they just could not believe. And the stranger laughed gently and began to talk. As the shadows lengthened, he began to speak. As the sun set on a strange and wondrous day, the stranger spoke. He talked of many things--of prophecies fulfilled, of Scriptures come true, of the ability of God to do even the impossible. He made sense of things. He gave those two men hope. They were stopping at the town of Emmaus, but he did not want to impose on their hospitality. They insisted, "The night is coming; the day is almost over; stay with us." And he did. And when he broke bread with them, they saw who he was--Jesus, alive and well. And then he disappeared. And in the middle of the night, these disciples left the house where they were and ran up the road, not in the direction of the sun that had set long ago, but towards Jerusalem, towards the East, towards the rising sun, towards a new dawn, a new beginning.
II. Practical Meaning
A. This is one of the greatest short stories of all time and I retold a part of it to emphasize two important things this story speaks of:
1. Christians do not walk the path towards sunset; we walk in hope towards the rising sun. In other words, we must be positive, hope-filled people. 2. Jesus makes sense out of the confusion of our lives and gives us purpose again. In other words, if we want direction and clarity in our lives, we ought to choose Christ.
B. When we are people of pessimism, when we dwell on what's wrong with people or things, when we allow the burdens of life to oppress us, we walk the road of sunset and sorrow and we allow our problems to shadow our vision. We don't always realize that Christ is walking right by our side. The Christian was meant to be a person of the sunrise, to be a person of hope, not negativity. I thought maybe it might be a good idea to remember that this time of year when taxes come due and so much is expected of us. Look at those disciples; in the middle of the night they ran seven miles back to Jerusalem risking robbers, the chill of night, and the dangers of darkness. They could do that because they had seen the risen Jesus and their problems vanished. There was no night, no despair, no sorrow anymore. They ran towards the dawn; they truly became Christian at that moment. We need to recover some of that Joy. How does that happen?
C. By letting Christ make sense of things, we rediscover the joy of living. As those disciples walked in sorrow and confusion, Christ the Stranger explained things to them, and he made sense. He gave them answers, and they accepted what he said. Jesus gives us answers too. Why are we so afraid to accept the ones he gives? He speaks through the Church, through the Sacraments, through our friends and family. Do we listen? Do we allow Christ to help us? Notice, he does not force himself upon the disciples; he waits for their invitation to stay. Christ does that with us too. He has answers, but he wants to be invited into our hearts. He is the gentle persuader. The disciples on the road to Emmaus were not that much different from us. They had heard conflicting stories--he's risen, he's dead, his movement is finished, let's wait and see what happens, we've wasted our time with him, how foolish we've been, what do we do now? All these conflicting feelings went through them, just like they do through us. And Jesus comes and speaks to these disciples and drives all their doubts and cares away. He makes sense. Let him make sense in our lives too. Accept his answers and accept his way of life. That's the secret to hope and happiness. When you receive Communion today, let him speak to your hearts, let him point you to the dawn. Be Christian! Be people of the sunrise! Then our hearts will burn inside us with hope and happiness, and we will have the strength to make it through this life and to help others live in joy.
Grateful thanks for some of the ideas in this homily go to William Barclay's
Don't just seek Christ in the sunlight he can be found by the moon light also. He is not limited to the warmth of the sun. He is not limited to what we see or need visiually. By Day or Night. He reaches us on the coldest darkest days, when we are empty and alone. Thank You Lord, For he is Still there. He will reach into one's heart and fill it, like no amount of sun can create. Our problem is we don't seek God as much as we seek other human healing. We count on the trust and word of others only to be left feeling empty and alone. If we only seek God first, there will be less emptyness when man lets us down and he will. The Lord Our God Will Not. Not ever..........The world confuses us like the diciples were, was Christ dead or has he risen, for us today , does he truely love me is he truely there, Yes he is and Oh Yes, he does.....I am never going to be worthy but he loves me despite all my sins. Turn to the heart of Christ and not to the emptyness of man.
Posted by: dragonfly | May 13, 2011 at 05:54 PM