[stephenkhoo]

TRAVELLING THE JOURNEY OF FAITH TOGETHER
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ACTS 2:14.22-33; PS 16:1-2, 5, 7-11; 1 PT 1:17-21; LK 24:13-35 ]

All of us are like the disciples at Emmaus on the road of life. This life is complex and there are many questions that we cannot answer and mysteries that we do not understand. This is particularly true when we face crises, like the disciples. Their great hope, as the gospel mentioned, was in Jesus. “Our own hope had been that he would be the one to set Israel free.” But with the death of Jesus, their hopes were totally crushed. It was almost an anti-climax because Jesus of Nazareth seemed to be “a great prophet by the things he said and did in the sight of God and of the whole people.”

This could be true for us as well. We might have had great hopes of doing well in our studies or getting into the school we want. Or just when we thought that everything was going well for us, we suffer a broken relationship, or discover that we have an illness that is incurable. When such things happen, our life crashes. We feel that life is a chore; it is nothing more than keeping up with others. Doing well in our studies, getting a good job and being popular. So much so, many of us wonder what life is all about. Why all the stresses, competition, the vain pursuit of nothing? Isn’t this the useless way of life that Jesus came to free us from that St Peter spoke about? A life without meaning, an aimless life?

Indeed, Christ has come to set us free from this hopeless and aimless life. St Peter wrote, “Remember, the ransom that was paid to free you from the useless way of life your ancestors handed down was not paid in anything corruptible, neither in silver nor gold, but in the precious blood of a lamb without spot or stain, namely Christ; who, though known since before the world was made, has been revealed only in our time, the end of the ages, for your sake.” By His death and resurrection, Christ has shown us that God has His plan for us. “Through him you now have faith in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory for that very reason – so that you would have faith and hope in God.” That God raised Him from the dead is the basis of Christian hope. We too are certain of our hope in the future and what we are called to do here and now. St Peter reminds us, “If you are acknowledging as your Father one who has no favourites and judges everyone according to what he has done, you must be scrupulously careful as long as you are living away from your home.”

But that is not all. St Peter clearly demonstrated through scriptures that nothing happens outside the purview of God’s plan. “This man, who was put into your power by the deliberate intention and foreknowledge of God, you took and had crucified by men outside the Law. You killed him, but God raised him to life, freeing him from the pangs of Hades; for it was impossible for him to be held in its power”. There are many things that happen in life that we might not understand for now. We are called to have faith in God who does all things well. Instead of allowing our sorrows and woes to discourage us, we must find faith in the Lord and entrust all things to Him as Jesus did in commending His life to the Father at the cross.

Today, the Lord continues to journey with us as He did with the disciples at Emmaus. He understands our desire to walk the way of truth and love. Like the psalmist, our prayer is “Show us, Lord, the path of life. I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel, who even at night directs my heart. I keep the Lord ever in my sight: since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm. You will show me the path of life, the fullness of joy in your presence, at your right-hand happiness forever.” Only by walking the path of life that Jesus walked can we find fullness of life. But we must invite Him into our lives if we want Him to journey with us.

Today’s lesson from Emmaus teaches us how we can allow Jesus to journey with us so that we need not feel that we are alone in this journey. The reason why many Catholics fall out of their faith is because they are loners. They have no Catholic friends to help them grow in their faith or to make sense of their lives. So in the face of trials, doubt and temptation, they are led astray by the world and lose their faith. Today’s lesson has a two-fold purpose; the first, to teach us how to let the Lord enter into our lives, and the second, how we can help others to let the Lord enter their lives.

If we want to find hope in life, then we must begin by speaking to the Lord in prayer. Prayer is a dialogue and a conversation. So we have Jesus initiating the conversation by inquiring into their sorrows. The Lord is interested to hear from us. Prayer is always the means by which we unload our fears, our sorrows, our pains and our aspirations onto Jesus. In the gospel, we hear the disciples pouring out their disillusionment and confusion to the Lord. They could not make sense of Jesus’ death and less still. the sightings of the empty tomb and the reports that He was alive. Connecting with our wounds is a necessary stage to clearing our minds and to see things in perspective. That is why prayer is always necessary in daily life. It was at the Garden of Gethsemane that Jesus came to terms with His passion as well.

Once the connection is made, once we have said all we need to say to the Lord, we are called to listen to Him. Only after letting them pour out their fears, anxieties and pains, did the Lord begin to explain the meaning of the events that had happened. To connect these events, the Lord used scriptures to help them understand the plan of God for humanity. He said to them, “’You foolish men! So slow to believe the full message of the prophets! Was it not ordained that the Christ should suffer and so enter into his glory?’ Then, starting with Moses and going through all the prophets, he explained to them the passages throughout the scriptures that were about himself.” The way to understand life events is never to isolate them from the bigger picture. When we do that, the single event does not make sense. Life is out of perspective whenever we detach our problems, struggles, pains and disappointments from the larger picture of life. In life, everything has a purpose. It is how we connect them and make sense of them. What better way to do so than to connect and interpret our events in the light of the Word of God!

But the healing would not be complete without a meal. This was why the Lord shared a meal with them. “Now while he was with them at table, he took the bread and said the blessing; then he broke it and handed it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognised him; but he had vanished from their sight.” It was at the breaking of bread that they were reminded of the Jesus of Nazareth. The Eucharist indeed sums up the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord. So when they had the meal, they were reminded of how the Lord anticipated His death and resurrection at the Last Supper. The Eucharist for us remains the hope for all of us that by undergoing the same passion of our Lord and death, we will rise with Him in glory. All sufferings in life when taken positively is our participation in Christ’s death. Such sufferings will end in glory.

But all this is possible only with the grace of the Holy Spirit. The personal encounter with the Risen Lord is always through the assistance of the Holy Spirit. St Peter’s first homily rendering an account of the resurrection of the Lord was the outcome of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. They could see for themselves the power of the Spirit at work in their lives. This same Spirit is the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. St Peter reiterated, “God raised this man Jesus to life, and all of us are witnesses to that. Now raised to the heights by Gods right hand, he has received from the Father the Holy Spirit, who was promised, and what you see and hear is the outpouring of that Spirit.” This explains why the faith of Catholics who have not experienced the outpouring of the Spirit in their lives, remain an intellectual faith; not a personal faith. But when we are receptive to the power of the Spirit at work in our lives, in prayer, in miracles, in healing and in the understanding of the Word of God, then we know that Jesus is Lord and that He is alive.

What the Lord has done for us, we must now do the same for others. We must now journey with our fellow Catholics and all those who are seeking for meaning, purpose and hope in life. Our hearts must go to those who need our fraternal support and encouragement. As Catholics, we need to reach out to each other. Church organizations must not only think of members as people who serve the Church and perform their duties and functions. Rather, they must first be seen as brothers and sisters sharing the faith with each other in Christ. Only when we travel together, will the journey become bearable and not too daunting.

How do we journey with each other? We must begin by making friends and reaching out in sincerity. Then, we are called to listen to each other, sharing our joys and sorrows together in faith. But this must be done in the context of the Word of God; not through licking each other’s wounds or gossiping. Through the sharing of the Word of God, we are called to enlighten and encourage each other. And out of this shared faith, shared community and love, we then pour out our love to the rest of the community. Praying and sharing the Word of God together is critical in faith formation. Celebrating the Eucharist sums up the Christian experience of being in communion with God and with each other. This is then expressed in Christian fellowship through shared activities, shared meals where we are called to enjoy each other’s company and Christian love.