After the women encounter the empty tomb, two bewildered disciples on the seven-mile road to Emmaus encounter the risen Lord. He comes fulfilling his promise, "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Mt 20:17).
Let us consider the faith of these disciples. Jesus calls them foolish and says they were slow of heart to believe all that the prophets said. But they had some faith. One father remarks that they had walked the sixth mile, lamenting that Jesus had been put to death. They also walked the seventh mile, believing Jesus was laid in the tomb. But their journey had not reached the eighth mile, assent to the glory of the resurrection. Furthermore, they here profess Jesus as a great prophet, and not as the Son of God. They might have been also blaming themselves for putting their hopes in the man Jesus.
But Jesus does not leave them bewildered and incomplete. Rather, starting from where they are, he instructs them. "Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" (Lk 24:26). (And he interpreted the scriptures for them.) This suffering Messiah is a detail peculiar to Luke. The fathers write that the evil men did not do God's intention when they put Jesus to death, but nevertheless God brought good from it. And somehow it was only through suffering an evil death that Christ could enter into his glorious resurrection. When we are faced with sufferings in life, Christ is there with us, calling us to unite our suffering to his and to press on to the resurrection, to the moment when God works it all out for our good and the good of humanity. "If we have died with him/ we shall also live with him;/ If we persevere / we shall also reign with him" (2 Tim 2:11).
How does Jesus educate us and draw us to a greater faith? By the methods of the Church. This episode was probably used as a catechetical and liturgical text. Think of its resemblance to the Mass - the word be proclaimed and broken for us in the readings and homily, and the breaking of the Eucharistic bread at which we can recognize Christ in his body, blood, soul, and divinity and say with Thomas "My Lord and My God" (Jn 20:28).
Lord, come meet us wherever we are in our faith journey and accompany us to the next step. Respond to what we know and believe, but do not leave us there. Rather, challenge us and explain to us the secrets of Yourself. Lead us also through our sufferings into a greater communion with You. Help us to find our place in the Church where You can work through Your human instruments to communicate Your divine goodness to us.
Mary, seat of wisdom, send forth a ray of Christ's brilliance to penetrate our minds. Teach us to meditate humbly but worthily on the Scriptures, finding Christ throughout their entirety. Set our hearts ablaze for your Son. And let us recognize His Body and Blood as concentrated Wisdom, as a Person Whom we love.
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