_{Holy Spirit Catholic Church}

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_{Third Sunday of Easter
April 6, 2008}

          An artist designed a tabernacle door for a church.  He divided it into four panels.  Then he decorated each panel with a set of symbols that stood for a gospel story that was related to the Eucharist.  The artist decorated the first panel with six water jars.  He decorated the second panel with five loaves and two fish.  The third panel he decorated with thirteen people sitting around a table.  And finally, he decorated the fourth panel with three people seated at a table.

          The six jars, in the first panel, symbolized the miracle at Cana, where Jesus changed six jars of water into wine. The artist interpreted this miracle as a preview of the Eucharist, when Jesus would change, not water into wine, but wine into his own blood.

          The loaves and the fish, in the second panel, symbolized the miracle at Capernaum, where Jesus multiplied these two foods to feed a hungry crowd.  After this miracle, Jesus said to the crowd:  "Whoever comes to me will never hunger...I am the living bread that came down from heaven...and the bread that I will give is my flesh...Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day."  The artist interpreted the miracle of Capernaum as a promise of the Eucharist.  

          The thirteen people around a table, in the third panel, symbolized Jesus and his disciples at the Last Supper.  The artist interpreted the Last Supper as the fulfillment of the promise Jesus made after he multiplied the loaves and the fish.

          Finally, the three people seated at a table symbolized the Emmaus supper on Easter Sunday night, where the risen Jesus broke bread and revealed himself to two disciples.  The artist interpreted the Emmaus supper as being the first celebration of the Eucharist, which Jesus instituted at the Last Supper.

          And so the artist's door is an excellent summary of the Eucharist, or Lord's Supper.  It traces the Eucharist from Cana, where it was previewed, to Capernaum, where it was promised, to Jerusalem, where it was instituted, to Emmaus, where it was first celebrated. 

          Let's look more closely at the Emmaus supper, which is described in today’s gospel.  At first glance, it doesn't seem to bear any close resemblance to the Eucharist, or Lord’s Supper.  A closer study of it, however, reveals just the opposite.  It bears a striking resemblance to the Lord’s Supper as we now celebrate it in each Mass.

          Our celebration of the Lord's Supper divides into four parts or rites:  1.) The Gathering Rite, 2.) The Liturgy of the Word, 3.) The Liturgy of the Eucharist, and 4.) The Dismissal Rite.  We find the same four rites present in the Emmaus supper.

          The Gathering Rite for the Emmaus supper took place on the road, when Jesus and the two disciples came together and greeted one another.  The Liturgy of the Word took place when Jesus explained the Scriptures to the two disciples.  The Liturgy of the Eucharist took place in the house of one of the disciples.  When Jesus "was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them."  Finally, the Dismissal Rite took place when Jesus "vanished from their sight," and the disciples went forth to bear witness to their encounter with Jesus in the breaking of the bread.

          Of particular note is the Liturgy of the Eucharist, where Jesus "took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them."  These three actions describe the three major actions of the Liturgy of the Eucharist as we know it today.  The taking of the bread describes the preparation of the gifts.  The blessing of the bread describes the Eucharistic Prayer over the gifts.  The breaking of the bread describes the Communion service.  And so our modern celebration of the Eucharist reflects, in a striking way, the first celebration of the Eucharist at Emmaus.

          A teacher once asked her students which part of the Eucharist or Mass was the most important part.  She was not prepared for the answer one of her students gave.  The young man said, "The Dismissal Rite is the most important part of the Mass."  "Why do you say that?" the teacher asked.

         The student replied:  "The purpose of the Eucharist is to nourish us with the Word of God and the Body and Blood of the Lord, so that we may go forth to bear witness to the Lord and to bring the Kingdom of God into existence."  The student continued:  "The Eucharist does not end with the Dismissal Rite.  In a sense, it begins with it.  We must go forth and proclaim to the world what the disciples of Emmaus did.  We must proclaim that Jesus is risen.  We must proclaim that Jesus lives on."

          The student was absolutely right.  This is the message that the world needs to hear, in fact, must hear!  If we don't deliver the message to the world, we have failed our mission as Jesus' followers.  In a very true sense, the Dismissal Rite is the most important part of the Mass.  It is this rite that missions us to go forth to tell the world the good news of Easter:  Christ has died!  Christ is risen!  Christ will come again!

          This is the Good News of Easter.  This is the good news Jesus entrusted to his disciples to preach to the world.  This is the mission each one of us shares in this church today!