We were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel

3 APRIL (Lk 24,13-35)

Our relationship with God suffers from two major flaws. There may be a faith without truth, but also a truth without faith. You have a faith without truth when you draw near Jesus Christ, but also to all his gifts of grace, without the knowledge of the truth contained in its mystery. This vice encompasses all areas that the faith is lived in or that are ways and means of it. Think of the priesthood, the episcopate, the papacy, marriage, confirmation, Eucharist, Baptism, the Christian community itself. In this defect, there is the outer casing, but not its content of life.

The other great vice is the one of having a truth without faith. We know everything about God, we possess all the moral theological, dogmatic, ascetic, mystical, fundamental science. We know every word of the Gospel. We know what the Fathers and every other Doctor of the Church have written. This complex of truth is only a pure scientific fact. It does not transform our lives. We do not possess the God, we do not believe in the God we know rationally, by research and reflection.

The one of the disciples of Emmaus was a faith in Christ, but without the truth of Christ. Without the truth of his death and resurrection mystery. They had the case of Christ, but not his purest essence, the substance of his being the true Messiah of the Lord.

Now that very day two of them were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?” They stopped, looking downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, 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 he 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. Some women from our group, however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive. Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see.” 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 Messiah 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, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. But 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 it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning (within us) while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?” So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

In his infinite patience, charity, compassion and mercy of salvation Jesus does not want these two disciples to be lost, remain confused in their faith without truth. He approaches them on the road to Emmaus and with divine wisdom introduces them into the truth of his mystery. The Word of Jesus stirs their hearts. But that alone is not enough to rekindle the faith in their hearts. It is necessary that Jesus manifests himself in one of his daily gestures. The truth of Christ needs to encounter Christ. Before, they had seen Christ without the truth of Christ. Now they see him with his truth. But he disappears from their sight. There is no more need of vision. The unity between truth and faith is reassembled in their heart. This is the work of the Church. It is her daily work. Every day she must start this long journey to rearrange truth and faith in the hearts.

Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redemption, Angels and Saints recompose faith and truth in us.