What is stable in your life?
If there is one thing that humans all look for in life, it is stability – something we can hang our hat on or build our life upon: a good job, a steady relationship, a retirement fund, stable mental health, a perennially true church and religion. We all want things to be stable.
It’s when things are unstable that we become stressed and we enact plans to bring about a stable resolution.
For the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, their world had been turned upside-down when Jesus had been crucified. And so they flee the instability.
Jesus draws near to them in this moment. And the first thing He says to them is: “Tell me about it.” Tell me about what is uncomfortable and out of control in your life. Why are you running to Emmaus? Why are you seeking stability there and not in the city of the Lord, that is Jerusalem?
I love how honest the men are with Jesus. They say, in effect, “Haven’t you been watching the news? Sheesh, you must be really out of touch!”
What happens next is a pivotal moment in their lives. So pivotal that it turns them right around. Knowing that we humans seek stability, I venture to ask: what happened in this moment such that their entire perspective about Jerusalem was changed and they saw that returning to that city was a more stable move than running to Emmaus?
The Patristic Fathers, that is the earliest teachers and saints in our faith, note that these two disciples on their way to Emmaus went to the first holy Mass – the first after the Last Supper
The first thing the disciples do is bring their concerns to the Lord. We do this when we come to Mass and kneel when we arrive. Holy Mass doesn’t simply begin when the priest comes down the aisle. It begins when we start to open our hearts to Jesus and tell Him about what’s going on. This is an often overlooked but essential part of Mass. It is why I encourage musicians not to practice before Holy Mass – people need quiet in order for this essential moment of recollection.
The next thing that happens is that Jesus opens up the Scriptures to them. There is rebuke and challenge, yes, but He shows where He has been in their hearts. And as a result, the two disciples’ hearts were burning within them. This corresponds to the part of the Mass where the readings are proclaimed and the homily is given. And if a homily seems to be spoken just to you, be assured that is Jesus speaking to you. Don’t take that for granted.
In response, the disciples pray: “Stay with us, Lord.” This corresponds to the offertory. The offertory, where bread and wine are brought to the altar in the middle of Mass is not a commercial break. It is actually a moment when we ask Jesus to stay with us and receive us and all that we have.
Notice, however: it says that Jesus “vanished from their sight.” Did He leave? And thus not answer their prayers to stay?
No. He was right there on the altar, truly with them on the way.
From there, the disciples run back to Jerusalem and announce to all who will hear—even to announcing to the Apostles, the first Bishops!—that they had met Jesus on the way. This is the end of Holy Mass, where we are told to “Go.” Go and do what? Tell others whom it is you have met here.
This is all to say that the first Mas was the pivotal moment in the two disciples’ lives.
And far from being a boring moment, it was the pivotal moment that turned their hearts (as well as their feet) and oriented them into the adventure of facing the chaos, the heart-break, the instability, and the Cross back in Jerusalem. Far from being the “opiate of the Masses” as some cynical people have said, the Holy Mass is precisely the place where we encounter Reality so as to face Reality.
I’ve offered the Holy Mass at the catacombs. I’ve offered Holy Mass on the sides of mountains. I’ve offered Mass at the tomb of St. Peter. I’ve offered Mass at our local parish church. And at bedsides and at funerals ... And if I am honest and vulnerable with Jesus and tell Him what is really in my heart, no matter where I am, no matter how chaotic or unstable the world is around me, I meet Jesus, the rock, the foundation upon which I can build my life.
Far from having to adapt the Holy Mass to our likings and newest fashions, we simply have to open our hearts to Jesus here. The Holy Mass is the most stabilizing force in the world. And He will meet us, on whatever road in life we are on.
What is most stable in your life?
May you find it here in the Holy Mass.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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