Wednesday 16 April 2014

Easter Greetings - An Unnamed Disciple

May Resurrection joy be yours this Easter, fr. Donald

Supper at Emmaus
Caravaggio painted this second version of the Supper at Emmaus in 1606. It is more modest than his most famous painting of 1601.
By comparison, the gestures of figures are far more restrained, making presence more important than performance. This difference possibly reflects the circumstances of Caravaggio's life at that point, recognising the ongoing evolution of his art. In the intervening five years he had come to recognise the value of understatement.
The narrative is well known:
The two men at the sides of the table suddenly realize that the man they have spent most of the afternoon with is their deceased master. One of them raises his hands, the other clutches the table. The innkeeper and his wife remain calm, as they do not know what is happening.


   And it occurred that as He reclined at table with them, He took [a loaf of] bread and praised [God] and gave thanks and asked a blessing, and then broke it and was giving it to them when their eyes were [instantly] opened and they [clearly] recognized Him, and He vanished (departed invisibly). Luke 24:30. (1 Corinthians10:16)


 Easter Greetings

The cup of blessing [of wine at the Lord’s Supper] upon which we ask [God’s] blessing, does it not mean [that in drinking it] we participate in and share a fellowship (a communion) in the blood of Christ (the Messiah)? The bread which we break, does it not mean [that in eating it] we participate in and share a fellowship (a communion) in the body of Christ?        [Amplified Bible translations]


An Unnamed Disciple
           
After the days of the Passion of Our Lord, we have need to leave the turmoil in Jerusalem and take to the road to Emmaus, to become one with the two disciples, in order to reflect upon ‘the things that have occurred there in these days’1. On our journey we will meet the Risen Christ in a deeply personal way, for only He can guide us in our understanding of the meaning of His Passion and reveal Himself to us. At the inn of Emmaus, the stranger is revealed and recognized to be the Risen Lord as He breaks bread before Cleopas and his companion, an unnamed disciple.

Luke 24:15 And while they were conversing and discussing together, Jesus Himself caught up with them and was already accompanying them [AMP translation]

I love to remain hidden upon the hillside remembering that night
Watching silently as You made Your Way through the olive groves,
Sensing the foreboding of the disciples from whom You had withdrawn,
Their hearts sharing Your Mother’s fears as to where all this was leading

As the shadows lengthened and the darkness of that night descended
They lay exhausted, their sacred source of energy deserting them,
Unable to comprehend Your ‘baptism’2 of which You had forewarned,
Attending only to the whispering trees that told of all that was to befall

I witnessed Your final hours as the sword pierced through the soul of Mary3
The portents and earthquake telling of the death of her beloved son and Lord
The livid force of evil exacting its final cruel vengeance upon You,
Stunning me with terror as I turned unseen and fled along the open road…

Along the way I was startled by a stranger who brought my Lord to life for me
Discovering the meaning in the Scriptures of the suffering of the Messiah,
Revealing Yourself in a moment of recognition as You broke the bread
Manifesting Your Eucharist presence to one who remains an unnamed disciple

1 Lk 24:18        2 Lk 12:50          3 Lk 2:35

Luke 24:30 And it occurred that as He reclined at table with them, He took a loaf of bread and praised God and gave thanks and asked a blessing, and then broke it and was giving it to them when their eyes were instantly opened and they clearly recognized Him...[AMP]

2 Cor 4:6b…  the knowledge of the majesty and glory of God as it is manifest
                 in the Person and is revealed in the face of Jesus Christ the Messiah [AMP]

Key words:        of the Messiah: Your Way, withdrawn, ‘baptism’, revealing, manifesting
            of Mary: Mother’s fears, pierced through, death of her beloved son and Lord
            of the Disciples: foreboding, exhausted, …deserting, unable to comprehend
of the events: all this (preceding), all that (following)
            of the one unnamed: remain hidden, witnessed, unse

William - POEM, ‘my jotting’


No comments: