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Greetings, SBT Readers:
This week I got rather carried away with my thoughts about the unnamed disciple on the road to Emmaus. I will therefore keep my introductory comments brief, and simply wish you a Happy Earth Day! Oh, another thought is surfacing -- just as women have been "written out" of scripture, so the Earth has been neglected, treated as disposable. And just as women across the globe have suffered every form of discrimination, injustice and abuse, so Mother Earth has also been raped and exploited. But here I will end before another commentary surfaces...
Eastertide Blessings!
Elizabeth
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION
Link to the Sunday Readings
As they approached the village to which they were going,
Jesus gave the impression that he was continuing on,
but they urged him, "Stay with us,
for it is nearly evening, and 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. Then their eyes
were opened, and they recognized him,
but he disappeared from their sight.
Then they said to one another,
"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...
Lk 24:13-35
Mary, Wife of Cleophas-- Unnamed Disciple?
While Mary Magdalene traditionally has the distinction of being the first disciple to proclaim the Resurrection (Jn 20:18), we know little about the other women in Jesus' company. Perhaps this was an oversight on the part of the evangelists, or perhaps they still clung to patriarchal views, despite having witnessed Jesus' friendships with women and his willingness to break societal taboos on their behalf -- engaging the Samaritan woman in conversation (Jn 4-42), for example, or saving the woman caught in adultery from certain death (Jn 8:1-11). Sadly, women's stories have often been omitted from both the Hebrew scriptures and the Christian texts, and too often, women remain nameless, no matter their significance. One mysteriously "invisible" woman is Mary, the wife of Clophas, who is mentioned explicitly only once in the gospels: "Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clophas, and Mary of Magdala" (Jn 19:25). Scholars point out that it is ambiguous whether there were three or four women present: either Jesus' mother and her sister (Mary the wife of Clophas) and Mary of Magdala (3 women); or Jesus' mother and her sister and Mary the wife of Clophas and Mary of Magdala (4 women). She may have been "the other Mary" to whom Matthew refers in Mt 27:61 and Mt 28:1 and who jointly announced the Resurrection to the disciples with Mary Magdalene. She might also have been "Mary the mother of the younger James and of Joses" (Mk 15:40) and "Mary the mother of James (Lk 24:10). If Mary the wife of Cleophas were one and the same as all these other Marys, then she accompanied Jesus to the Cross, followed him to the tomb, prepared spices and perfumed oils for his burial, discovered the empty tomb, conversed with angels, encountered the risen Christ, and then proclaimed his Resurrection...
There is no consensus on the identity of the unnamed disciple on the road to Emmaus, but it is quite possible that it was Mary, the wife of Cleophas. After all, Cleophas and his companion not only traveled together but also lived together, as evidenced by their invitation to Jesus to accept their hospitality. Luke simply tells us that there were "two" downcast travelers who were "debating" and conversing. We don't know where Cleophas was during Jesus' Passion, but, like the apostles, he may well have disbelieved the women's story, considering it nonsense. Perhaps he insisted that he and his wife should return to their town, even though Mary tried to convince him that Jesus had told the women they should find him in Galilee. No doubt it was Cleophas and not his wife who wanted to put as many miles between them and Jerusalem as possible. All this, of course, is conjecture, but Mary, the wife of Cleophas, clearly played an important role in Jesus' ministry and whether or not she was the unnamed disciple on the road to Emmaus, like Mary Magdalene, she ministered to him to the very end.
Closed Eyes and Burning Hearts
As was the case with the other disciples to whom Jesus appeared after his Resurrection, neither of the disciples on the road to Emmaus recognized him. Perhaps they were too engaged in "debating" (squabbling?), or maybe they were too grief-stricken and confused to see clearly. Either way, their eyes were veiled, and it was only when they reflected later that they became aware of how their hearts burned while walking with Jesus and listening to him open the scriptures (Lk 24:32). Ultimately, it was a liturgical act in the heart of their home that revealed Jesus' identity to the two disciples. In the breaking of bread, Jesus broke open their hearts, their minds, their resistance to hope, their unwillingness to believe. Then he disappeared...
There is so much we could say about this heartwarming narrative. In the first place, we see Jesus as Trickster, casually engaging the pair in conversation by asking them for their version of all that has happened; then, there comes a shift as he interprets all that Moses and the prophets have foretold about him. There is something playful and lighthearted about this post-Resurrection appearance narrative, and we can imagine Jesus being amused that his own disciples cannot see him for who he is. At the same time, of course, his disguise prevents the disciples from experiencing shock or imagining they are seeing a ghost. Then he reveals himself in the most intimate way possible -- by reclining with them at table, taking bread, saying the customary blessing, breaking the bread, and giving it to them: "Baruch ata Adonai Eloheinu melech ha'olam hamotzi lechem min ha'aretz. Blessed are you, Lord our God, ruler of the universe who brings forth bread from the earth." How many times have Cleophas and the unnamed disciple heard Jesus proclaim this prayer? How many times have they been moved by the reverence, joy, gratitude, and praise emanating from these familiar words? Even if they were not present at the Last Supper when Jesus instituted the Eucharist, they were no doubt familiar with his teachings on the Bread of Life and his identification with this bread. It is only when they finally hear the Good News that Jesus vanishes from their midst...
Contemporary Disciples
Like Cleophas and his companion, our eyes are often veiled from seeing the Risen Christ. Like them, we are too preoccupied with our own thoughts, emotions, and assumptions; easily distracted, we often find prayer difficult as countless images flit before us, creating "monkey-mind" as we try so hard to focus. This is why we need a supportive community to help us sustain our faith; this is why God's Word and the Lord's Table are such important anchors as we weather the storms of life. Even when we cannot "see" beyond our own limiting circumstances, our hearts learn to burn again in the breaking open of Word and bread.
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QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
* Does it make any difference to you that Cleophas' unnamed companion may have been his wife, and, if so, why?
* When does your heart burn, and how can you keep this flame alive?
* What is the role of community, God's Word, and the Lord's Table in your life?
* If you presently feel unsupported on your faith journey, what resources are available to you?
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