Bright Tuesday; our Venerable Father and Confessor Nicetas, Hegumen of the Monastery of Medicius (824)
Bright Week. No fasting or abstention from foods.
Read
Acts 2:14-21; Luke 24:12-35
Christ is risen! Truly, He is risen!
Where is Emmaus and why were these two disciples leaving Jerusalem to go there? No one knows exactly where Emmaus was. Some have thought it was the place where Judas Maccabees fought against and defeated Gorgias (but that distance was almost three times more than what is found in the Gospel text), others have thought it would have been a place of hot springs not far from Jerusalem. There was a small community of about 800 men at that time, former soldiers of the Roman army, who lived in what is now called Motash. Perhaps the two disciples were travelling there.
In their conversation with the Lord, we find that perhaps these two disciples were going the wrong way. When they realized the truth of who Jesus is, and the fulfilment of all the prophecies, and their eyes were opened in the breaking and giving of the bread (a direct allusion to the Eucharist), they also realized that Jerusalem was the place they ought to be—not only to announce that the Lord is risen, but to gather with the community of believers that had seen and heard about this incredible event.
Brothers and Sisters, like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, the Lord comes to us, to enlighten us, and show us the Truth, and gather us with His Bride, the Church! And how we, when gathered, recognize Him in the breaking of the bread, the Eucharist, every Sunday!
How great is the love of the Lord for us!