Gospel - Luke 24:13-35

+ The proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
according to Luke.
13 In that same day, the first day of the week,
two of Jesus' disciples
went to a village called Emmaus,
seven miles from Jerusalem.
14 They talked about all the things they had
happened.
15 While they talked and argued,
Jesus himself drew near
and started walking with them.
16 But the disciples were as blind,
and they didn’t recognize him.
17 Then Jesus asked,
'What are you talking about along the way? '
They stopped, with their sad face,
18 And one of them, named Cleophas, said to him,
'You are the only pilgrim in Jerusalem
who doesn’t know what happened there
these last few days? '
19 He asked, 'What is it? '
The disciples answered, saying,
'What happened to Jesus, the Nazarene,
who was a prophet mighty in works and words,
before God and before all the people.
20 Our chief priests and our leaders
handed him over to be put to death and the
crucified.
21 We hoped that he would deliver Israel,
but despite all this,
It’s been three days since all this happened!
22 It is true that some women in our group
They gave us a fright.
They went at dawn to the grave
23 and they didn’t find his body.
Then they returned, saying they had seen angels
and that these affirmed that Jesus is alive.
24 Some of us went to the tomb
and found things as the women had said.
But no one saw him. '
25 And Jesus said unto them,
'As you are dull and slow
to believe everything the prophets have said!
26 Should Christ not suffer all this
to enter into his glory? '
27 Beginning with Moses and passing through
the Prophets, explained to the disciples
all passages of Scripture
who talked about him.
28 When they came near to the village where they
were going, Jesus pretended to go further.
29 But they urged Jesus, saying,
'Stay with us, it’s late
and the night is coming! '
Jesus came in to be with them.
30 When he sat down at the table with them,
And he took the bread, and blessed it, and brake it,
and gave unto them.
31 And the disciples' eyes were opened
and they recognized Jesus.
But Jesus vanished from their sight.
32 And they said one to another,
'Our heart was not burning
When he spoke to us on the way,
and explained the Scriptures to us? '
33 At that very hour they arose
and returned to Jerusalem where they found the Eleven
reunited with the others.
34 And they confirmed:
'Indeed, the Lord has risen and appeared to Simon! '
35 Then they both counted
what had happened along the way,
and how they had recognized Jesus when
he broke the bread.
Word of Salvation.

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The crucifixion of Jesus was a heavy blow to the Christian
community. With it came down the projects of liberation,
affectionately cherished by the disciples. The Master’s
words and actions seemed worthy of faith. His way
of being had something special, quite different from
what had been seen until then. His death on the cross,
however, left in the disciples the taste of frustration
and disappointment!
It was necessary for the Risen One to call them to reality.
They were not exempted from the mission. Therefore,
there was no reason to disperse and return to their
hometown, since they had, before them,
a world to be evangelized. It was foolish to cultivate
feelings of death when life had already begun to bloom
and was present in the Risen One. Why fixate on
the negative aspect of life, since the reality
goes much further?
The disciples of Emmaus portray disillusioned Christians
of all times, since they do not believe in the possibility
of creating a fraternal world. They are the pessimists,
centered on themselves, unable to project them
selves beyond their own horizons. That is, they are
Christians in whom the resurrection has
not yet borne fruit.
Only the discovery of the Risen One enables the
Christian to overcome the setbacks of life.
Then he will realize that, despite the cross,
it is worth adding efforts to build the Kingdom.