Acts 2: 14a, 36–41; Psalm 116: 1–3, 10-17 ; I Peter 1:
17–23; Luke 24: 13–35
This is a homily by
Fr. Gene Tucker, provided to St. John’s Church, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania,
Sunday, April 30, 2017.
“THE
LORD’S GIFTS: IMMEDIATE AND CONTINUING”
(Homily text: Luke 24: 13 – 35)
(Introductory note: On this Sunday, a normal homily was
not delivered, since the congregation engaged in a
comment/discussion/question-and-answer session which is known as “Stump the
Priest”.)
This
morning, we are privileged to hear the account of the Lord’s post-resurrection
appearance to two disciples as they made their way from Jerusalem to the town
of Emmaus. This is material that Luke alone provides us.
The
account is –- most likely – very familiar to most of us.
It
seems as though there are two aspects of this appearance that arise from the
account: Both have to do with gifts that
the Lord gives, not only to Cleopas and his un-named companion as they made
their way along the road to Emmaus, but these two gifts are given to us, as
well.
The
first gift we should talk about is the gift
of being able to recognize the Lord. Notice that neither man is able to
recognize Jesus as He approaches them during their walk. Luke specifically
tells us that “their eyes were kept from recognizing him.” And yet, as the Lord
sits and breaks the bread at the table with them, Luke then tells us that
“their eyes were opened,” and they recognized the Lord.
We
can safely deduce from this aspect of the meeting between Jesus and the two men
the truth that, unless God grants the gift of being able to know Him, we human
beings are incapable of doing so. Theologians call this sort of God’s grace “prevenient
grace”. Prevenient grace, as the root word for “prevenient”, coming from the
Latin, suggests, is the sort of grace that “comes before”. And, while we’re at
it, we ought to define what grace is….grace is defined as “God’s unmerited and
unearned favor toward humankind”. So prevenient grace is that grace that God
gives before anyone is able to recognize and come to know God. This sort of
grace, this sort of a gift, is the sort that arises from God’s goodness. It
forms the starting point for our relationship with God, and it makes clear that
we are completely unable to initiate a relationship with God, absent God’s
“coming before” to enlighten us.
The
second gift that arises from the Emmaus account is the gift of the Eucharist.
The Eucharist is a gift that “keeps on giving”, and it signifies the Lord’s
continuing presence with us under the species of bread and wine. In the
Eucharist, we see the Lord. The Eucharist is God’s assurance that He will
continue to be with His people until the end of time.
Thanks
be to God!
AMEN.
