"Another, better world is possible!"
"Another, better world is possible!"
Tomorrow is the Third Sunday of Easter. In the Gospel narrative of St. Luke, the risen Christ encounters the disciple named Cleofas and another disciple on their journey to Emmaus, a village seven miles from Jerusalem. Jesus did not tell them who he was straight away. Instead, he asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?” as the two were talking about the things that had occurred.
They stopped, looking downcast. Cleofas said to him in reply, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?’’ And Jesus replied to them, “What sort of things?” They said to him, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place.”
And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the Scriptures. As they approached the village to which they were going, they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. And while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them.
With that they recognized him, but Jesus vanished from their sight. They exclaimed, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?”
The disciples set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the 11 and those with them who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!”
We have been on lockdown for more than six weeks now and we have just been informed this will continue until May 15—maybe even beyond. Many of us are anxious, fearful of getting infected by the coronavirus, even feeling abandoned and helpless. When Christ said to his disciples that they are foolish and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke, he might as well be directing the same gentle rebuke to us. But if only we open our eyes and hearts, we can see that God, in his tenderness and compassion, continues to accompany us even in the midst of this pandemic.
When the disciples recognized Jesus, their hearts burned and instantly they set out to tell the others that Jesus had risen. They understood that death was not the last word in their lives, that they could not be “held in its power.” They were overwhelmed with joy and hope, knowing that Jesus had resurrected and risen, victorious against suffering and death.
In his homily, last Divine Mercy Sunday, Pope Francis pointed out that: “Mercy does not abandon those who stay behind.” He emphasized that in looking forward to a slow and arduous recovery from the pandemic, the grave danger is that we will forget those who are left behind and that we will be struck by an even worse virus—that of selfish indifference.
According to Francis: “A virus spread by the thought that life is better if it is better for me, and that everything will be fine if it is fine for me. It begins there and ends up selecting one person over another, discarding the poor, and sacrificing those left behind on the altar of progress. The present pandemic, however, reminds us that there are no differences or borders between those who suffer. We are all frail, all equal, all precious. May we be profoundly shaken by what is happening all around us: The time has come to eliminate inequalities, to heal the injustice that is undermining the health of the entire human family!”
In an interview about the pandemic, the Pope also stressed that the only way to conquer the coronavirus pandemic is through “the antibodies of solidarity.” It has shown the need to unite the entire human family, in the knowledge that what’s done in service of others, “our giving, our vigilance and accompanying in all possible ways” will not “be in vain.”
We are walking in the road to Emmaus, with unique journeys that converge in communities of faith to which we belong. Let our eyes be opened to his presence in our lives. Let us cooperate with his amazing grace, as Andrea Bocelli sang so beautifully last Easter Sunday from the Duomo in Milan. It is not coincidental that San Carlos Borromeo, who led the fight against the Bubonic Plague in the 17th Century, is buried in that cathedral!.
On the road from Emmaus, going to our new Jerusalem, with hearts burning, let us proclaim in word and deed: Christ is risen! Another, better world is possible!
Facebook page: Professor Tony La Vina Twitter: tonylavs