Revisiting the Emmaus incident
"And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, 'Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?'" (Luke 24:30-32) The narrative of the disciples on the road to Emmaus presents one of the most profound theological reflections on the Eucharistic presence of Christ and the revelatory power of sacred Scripture. This passage from the Gospel of Luke encapsulates the transformative moment when the risen Christ, initially unrecognized by the disciples, becomes visible to them precisely in the act of breaking bread. The act itself—taking, blessing, breaking, and giving—intentionally echoes Christ’s actions at the Last Supper, underscoring the deep Eucharistic symbolism. The Eucharist, therefore, emerges not merely as a sacred rit...