The disciples on the road to Emmaus recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread. There’s a big difference between stopping for fast food when you’re on the run and sharing a meal with people you love. Can you think of a wonderful meal you shared with another person? Maybe it was your birthday dinner when you were a little child. It may have been a romantic dinner with the love of your life. It may have been a wonderful Thanksgiving or Christmas family dinner when everyone could make it home for the holiday. It may have been a simple meal with a good friend. There are components of a good meal that have to be there or it is just eating food. It’s nice when the food actually tastes good and delicious but it’s a lot more than the food. It’s the atmosphere and the company. You can overlook the burned chicken or the lumpy potatoes or the mushy vegetables if you’re with those you love because the meeting is so much more than consuming food. It’s about communion and realizing who and what’s most important.
Each week we come together to break bread at Eucharist. It’s not stopping for fast food so that we can get to our next appointment. No, it’s a meal. We come together to share a meal and feast on the richness of our faith. We hear of a love that not only came among us but sat on the side of the most vulnerable. It was that Love that cause so much trouble and shook those in power. It was that Love that we put to death because it was too generous, too wild, too self-sacrificing, too passionate, too much for our hardened hearts. And it was that Love that reminded us that Love never dies! Death cannot destroy it. It lives forever! Christ is the incarnation of that Love and reminds us at each Eucharist as we share the broken bread and share the cup of suffering among us that He is there is our midst. He is there in our joys to celebrate and he is there in our struggles and tears to give us comfort. What a tremendous gift to be fed with that love each week! But we can easily miss it if we don’t savor the meal. If we don’t allow the richness of this event to change our hearts, Eucharist becomes a fast food event among the many events of our week.
One way we will know if we are savoring the Love at this feast is how we imitate that which we receive. Do we allow ourselves to humbled and sometimes broken as we share our lives with one another? Do we allow ourselves to be poured out with compassion for one another? Do we allow ourselves to be as vulnerable as the bread we receive in the hands of one another? We, as Catholics, say that Eucharist is the summit of our worship. It is the most important part of our week. It is that which feeds all that is most important within us. What a privilege to be invited to so grand a feast!
Each week we come together to break bread at Eucharist. It’s not stopping for fast food so that we can get to our next appointment. No, it’s a meal. We come together to share a meal and feast on the richness of our faith. We hear of a love that not only came among us but sat on the side of the most vulnerable. It was that Love that cause so much trouble and shook those in power. It was that Love that we put to death because it was too generous, too wild, too self-sacrificing, too passionate, too much for our hardened hearts. And it was that Love that reminded us that Love never dies! Death cannot destroy it. It lives forever! Christ is the incarnation of that Love and reminds us at each Eucharist as we share the broken bread and share the cup of suffering among us that He is there is our midst. He is there in our joys to celebrate and he is there in our struggles and tears to give us comfort. What a tremendous gift to be fed with that love each week! But we can easily miss it if we don’t savor the meal. If we don’t allow the richness of this event to change our hearts, Eucharist becomes a fast food event among the many events of our week.
One way we will know if we are savoring the Love at this feast is how we imitate that which we receive. Do we allow ourselves to humbled and sometimes broken as we share our lives with one another? Do we allow ourselves to be poured out with compassion for one another? Do we allow ourselves to be as vulnerable as the bread we receive in the hands of one another? We, as Catholics, say that Eucharist is the summit of our worship. It is the most important part of our week. It is that which feeds all that is most important within us. What a privilege to be invited to so grand a feast!