Emmaus: Towards a Real Presence (Part II)
In an episode of the popular series about a British soccer team, “Ted Lasso,” Coach Lasso is challenged to a game of darts in an English pub by the insidious former team owner. The viewers, of course, root for Coach Lasso to beat him, but at first we are uncertain about the outcome. Playing with his right hand, he barely hangs on and faces a tough final round where he must hit the bullseye three times in a row in order to win. He reveals, then, that he’s actually left-handed and picks up his game while telling a story about growing up. He quickly hits the bullseye three times in a row, humbling his opponent and upholding the dignity of a friend. Ultimately, Coach Lasso hit the mark.
Contemplative, theologian, and author, Fr. Thomas Keating, O.C.S.O. (d. 2018) described sin as “missing the mark,” like an arrow aimed at a bullseye. And sometimes, despite ourselves, we “miss the mark” multiple times a day. For example, we can be overconfident, misguided, too quick to judge or ignorant of a person’s needs. And at times, we forget who we are as God’s people. Benedictine monk and professor, Fr. Adrian Burke, preached, “too many people these days are walking around claiming to belong to Christ but not really awake to the truth of who they are in Christ” (homily, 11/19/20). It reminds me of the words of St. Augustine of Hippo (d. 430 A.D.): “Believe what you see, see what you believe and become what you are: the Body of Christ.” As we share in the Eucharist, St. Augustine implores us to embody Christ, for that is who we are at our core.
The Gospel story that took place along the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35), which I wrote about in my previous blog “Emmaus: Towards a Real Presence (Part I)”, points to a spiritual journey that expands our notion of how to share with others this truth about ourselves in Christ. Along this road, Christ appears over and over again. Often, Christ comes to us in the poor, the vulnerable and the suffering people in our world. While we prefer to live in a space of contentment and joy, Christ calls us to look around and notice those who need to hear the Good News and find hope. Christ calls us, as disciples, to reach out to those on the periphery, the margins, the sidelines. Living out what Pope Francis calls a Eucharistic Church (see my blog “Emmaus… [ Pt. I]) means that our celebration and participation in the sacrament of Eucharist, receiving the Body and Blood of Christ, can heal and make us whole when we extend our hands to those of our brothers and sisters who are bereft and alone.
Thomas Merton, O.C.S.O. (d. 1968), Trappist monk, writer and theologian, wrote about an experience of enlightenment that radically changed him and opened his heart to the people surrounding him. In Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, he says:
In Louisville, at the corner of Fourth and Walnut, in the center of the shopping district, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all these people, that they were mine and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers. It was like waking from a dream of separateness, of spurious self-isolation in a special world…
This sense of liberation from an illusory difference was such a relief and such a joy to me that I almost laughed out loud….I have the immense joy of being [hu]man, a member of a race in which God Himself became incarnate. As if the sorrows and stupidities of the human condition could overwhelm me, now that I realize what we all are. And if only everybody could realize this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun.
Then it was as if I suddenly saw the secret beauty of their hearts, the depths of their hearts where neither sin nor desire nor self-knowledge can reach, the core of their reality, the person that each one is in God’s eyes. If only they could see themselves as they really are. If only we could see each other that way all the time, there would be no more war, no more hatred, no more cruelty, no more greed.”
I am challenged to recognize Christ in each person I encounter. The “culture of encounter” which Pope Francis teaches reminds us to awaken to Christ in our midst. Merton knew that this was key to overcoming disunity and violence in our world.
As I continue to reflect on a Eucharistic Church, I do so in the midst of daily news reports describing violence targeting various groups of people gathered at churches, schools, malls, even street corners throughout our country. I believe we have “missed the mark,” as a church, in teaching and living the truth of ourselves in light of the gift of life and the reality of who we are in Christ. So many of our brothers and sisters, who are utterly empty of hope and belonging, are turning to violent means of ending their own lives and sometimes taking the lives of others. Yes, we say we are children of God. We say we have dignity because of this truth. Yet, so many of us walk on the road to Emmaus with our heads down, lost in our own worlds, not recognizing our fellow humans with Christ within and in our midst.
The mass shooting at Michigan State University (February 2023), leaving three students dead, made us aware of young adults who had experienced first-hand a mass shooting for the second time in their lives. This is quickly becoming the new norm, with over 200 mass shootings in the United States so far in 2023. Feeling helpless, I wonder how to respond with love for my neighbors. I am deeply discouraged by the shocking rate of mass shootings and other acts of violence in our nation where children become victims and marginalized people are targeted to die. As I’ve worked on this blog over the last four weeks, the number of mass shootings in our country has grown from 160 to over 200. These overwhelming statistics stop me in my tracks. How can we respond as a Eucharistic Church in the face of this violence? In memory of Christ who sets us free, let us explore the meaning of the Eucharist and our walk with Christ as we look to him for the way through what feels like madness.
Freedom
In light of our nation’s ongoing tribulations with violence, the idea of freedom plays an overarching role. Freedom from restrictions, such as gun control, reflects a libertarian, but not a Catholic view. The right to bear arms, freedom from gun control, has taken precedence over most things, including a need for a safe haven in schools, churches, and other gathering spaces. In contrast, freedom for something in a Christian sense can mean freedom to become my true self and build the kingdom of God. In reference to gun control, having the freedom for enacting gun safety laws that protect lives reflects a Christian and humane response.
In an article written by political historian Heather Cox Richardson (5/6/23), she writes, “The unfettered right to own and carry weapons has come to symbolize the…ideology of individual liberty.” Because of this mindset, many people think only of themselves, and not other people. Thus, the grim reality is that life itself is not valued. Following the Uvalde, Texas mass shooting that killed 17 children and 2 adults in May of 2022, Cardinal Blaise J. Cupich of Chicago tweeted these challenging words: “the right to life trumps the right to have weapons” and “the Second Amendment did not come down from Sinai.” On the same day, he also added this thought, “As I reflect on this latest American massacre, I keep returning to the questions: Who are we as a nation if we do not act to protect our children? What do we love more: our instruments of death or our future?”
Shockingly, not even the deaths of children motivate our lawmakers to construct significant laws that can help prevent these incidents. Instead, the rallying cry seems to be: protect our freedoms at all costs. Whatever you do, you must not regulate our guns. It’s the person, not the gun. As a society, though, we must have certain laws that protect our freedom to live and prosper. Who made guns our gods? I am filled with anger and frustration as our national leaders and local authorities cannot get a handle on how to curb this trend. I am even more frustrated that we as a people cannot take a stand against the violence that is becoming a cultural norm.
Following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in December 2012, Fr. James Martin, S.J. wrote, “our deeply felt revulsion over these crimes, our sadness over the violent death of young children, and our sympathy for family and friends of the victims, is more than an invitation to prayer. Deep emotions are one way that God encourages us to act. Simply praying, ‘God, never let this happen again’ is insufficient for the person who believes that God gave us the intelligence to bring about lasting change.”
Fr. Martin, who considers gun control a pro-life issue, shared the following: “E.J. Dionne, well-known columnist for the Washington Post, suggested how we might approach a solution to gun control as a nation: ‘We should begin with: bans on high-capacity magazines and assault weapons; requiring background checks for all gun purchases; stricter laws to make sure that gun owners follow safety procedures; new steps to make it easier to trace guns used in crimes; and vastly ramped-up data collection and research on what works to prevent gun violence, both of which are regularly blocked by the gun lobby.’” (“Gun Control is a Pro Life Issue,” America: The Jesuit Review magazine, 12/17/12)
Thankfully, Bishops in Texas and Tennessee have taken a stand, imploring public officials and the general public to pass gun safety laws. In an article following the Covenant School shooting of March 27, 2023 that killed 3 children and 3 adults, legislators were urged by three Tennessee bishops, along with other faith leaders, to pass bare-minimum gun safety measures. I cannot understand the stonewalling of fundamental, basic legislation that can help restrict even the AR-15 rifle that is commonly used in such massacres. I am distraught at this reality. I also believe that if more church leaders would speak out, then more people would speak out and initiate much needed reform. But regardless of what our faith leaders say or do, everybody still needs to call for gun reform.
Witness, Community & Belonging
Where is our witness, as a Eucharistic Church, to the teachings of Christ? Freedom, true freedom in Jesus Christ does not promote gun ownership nor protect our rights and property. True freedom is for living the truth of the Gospel. The freedom of our Eucharistic meal points us toward authenticity and the ability to discern and live out God’s will for our lives. Thomas Merton describes this freedom well, as he reflects on the “liberation from an illusory difference” between people and celebrates every person as reflected in God’s eyes. Our nation’s skewed sense of freedom has tarnished the truth of Jesus’ message. The first Eucharist during the Last Supper taught the unquestionable truth of servant leadership. We are to wash the feet of one another, as servants, in order to build the kingdom of God. Jesus didn’t say “Make sure you protect your property and what’s yours by any means necessary. And, by the way, if you’re threatened or afraid then violence is justified.” In fact, Jesus, when he appeared to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus following his resurrection, opened their minds and hearts to life and to the mercy of God. Though having experienced the most violent of deaths, Jesus continued to teach nonviolence and love.
Out of tenderness and mercy that flowed from the Father to the Son by the grace of the Holy Spirit, Jesus died and was raised from the dead. Let our “Alleluia” echo in the hearts of all the faithful as we foster a community where people can feel a deep sense of connectedness and belonging. Let’s work to eradicate isolation and despair. As we do this, we can spread the love and mercy of Jesus across the pews and then beyond our church walls. Despite the horrendous reality of Jesus’ crucifixion, we can teach the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist as we reach beyond our comfort zones to grasp the hands of those desperate for connection.
Community fosters belonging. Maybe our efforts, however small, can help one person to choose life over death. Open wide the doors, extend a hand and welcome the lost, the despairing, and the ones who feel alone.
In an effort to foster community and belonging, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy provides four simple, effectual steps to help us all connect with ourselves and others. They echo Pope Francis’ idea of ‘encounter.’
Spend 15 minutes each day with someone you care about outside of your home. In this way, you can increase a sense of connectedness and belonging.
Give your full attention and presence to a person you are speaking with. Set aside your phone, disconnect from social media for the time you are with that person.
Regularly participate in some type of service for others.
Practice solitude and nurture silence every day, even if just for 5-10 minutes. It will look different for every person, but will give us the space for gratitude. Here are some examples of what Murthy suggests for practicing solitude: Disengage from social media, sit in the quiet, enjoy nature, gaze on God’s creation, journal, call to mind what you are grateful for, pray, or meditate.
A partaking of the Eucharist truly is medicine for the sick, strength for the weary, comfort for the afflicted. It is not nor has it ever been a prize for the perfect. Jesus did not require his followers to be perfect, but loyal and willing to learn from him. Even Peter, the same Peter who Christ commissioned to be the rock of the Church, denied knowing Jesus for fear of what the Jewish authorities would do to him.
Something happened to Peter and to all of the disciples. They moved from acting out of fear to becoming witnesses. And then they became more than witnesses, as they preached the Good News to the ends of the earth. Just as the disciples realized it was the risen Jesus in their midst on the road to Emmaus, they were transformed.
So, come to the Eucharist. Come and receive the body and blood of Christ. Come and be healed. Come and adore our Savior. Also come and be welcomed by our brothers and sisters in the faith. And, as you are welcomed by others, extend your own hand of welcome. Let us dream of it so that one day our Church will become it.
I wonder if we could imagine walking in the communion line as our own road to Emmaus where we are met by the Savior who walks with us, accompanying us and revealing the mystery of this gift of Eucharist with every step. For as imperfect and shameful as I am, as often as I “miss the mark,” I believe that I am healed and held by Jesus as I approach the altar. I believe that my desire to receive the body and blood of Christ is more than a prize for being good that week. It is in the breaking of the bread and the sharing of that bread, Jesus’ body, that we participate in the Paschal Mystery of Jesus. So, while I am not, nor ever will be, a perfect Christian, I desire to slowly and assuredly become what I receive. I have hope that everyone participating in the Eucharistic meal believes, to some degree, that Jesus will heal, transform, and forgive the many sins we commit each and every day. If I can believe that for myself, I can believe it for the person in front and behind me.
“Believe what you see, see what you believe and become what you are: the Body of Christ.”
Help us, Lord, to see those hidden in our peripheries and to reach out to encounter them. Help our local, state, and national leaders to address and pass needed gun reform laws. Help us all to foster a sense of connectedness and belonging. Help us to “hit the mark.” Amen.
Call to Action: In the comments below, share what this blog calls to your mind and heart.
Song for Contemplation: “You’ll Never Walk Alone” by Marcus Mumford. This version was played during a “Ted Lasso” episode. May we reach out to others so they never feel they are alone. And may we remember that we, too, are never alone.
