Meals to recognition of the Lord
Breaking of the bread
There is the beautiful story of two disciples meeting the Risen Lord on the way to Emmaus. (Full passage is given below for reference). Many beautiful paintings have been made on this. A few comments on this incident are given below.
- The two disciples have heard from the women that Jesus is risen, but they couldn’t believe it. I consider it as extremely normal, as resurrection is too much to believe just on a few testimonies; atleast for us contemporary Christians, there are much more reasons to believe.
- Risen Lord is walking with the disciples in their own situation. Jesus is accompanying us in our own life situation.
- Risen Lord is using the scriptures to help them to understand God and God’s plan. Scriptures are preparing the hearts of disciples to experience the presence of the risen Lord.
- Jesus was doing all the work till now; now the disciples are inviting the stranger to stay with them. Through hospitality, some have welcomed angels (Cf. Heb: 13,2). Here they have welcomed the risen Lord.
- Then in the breaking of the bread, they recognised Jesus.
Why they recognised Jesus in the breaking of the bread? Probably the connection with the last supper. People surely will recognise Jesus even through the word of God. But a good question that can be asked here is, whether our meals become places of recognising Jesus? Or can it become? Probably when the meals truly become breaking of bread to be shared with others. Or how many missed opportunities to proclaim the risen Lord.
I know it’s easily said and left. Probably deeper reflection is needed; deeper consciousness of our own meals, leading to greater encounters with the risen Lord and fellow humans.
That very day, the first day of the week,
two of Jesus’ disciples 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 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,
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.
(Lk 24:13–31)
