The wonderful Emmaus story, which is the Gospel reading for the Third Sunday of Easter in Year A, reminds us of a few essential points of faith. Of course, hearing this read at Sunday Mass on the Third Sunday might throw our internal timeline off a bit, as this encounter, Luke makes clear, happen s on Easter Sunday itself. That is quite an important point, since Jesus breaks bread with them — meaning that the life of the Church in the light of the Resurrection has never gone a day without the gift of the Eucharist. Indeed, much ink has and should be spilled on the powerful realization of what it means that Jesus was made known to them in the breaking of the bread. But there is another aspect that sticks out, most especially in light of our cultural context and the need for evangelical renewal in our age. Luke tells us, “Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He interpreted to them what referred to Him in all the Scriptures.” And later, he goes on: “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?’” This points to two worthwhile reflections. First, the importance of knowing the story of Scripture. Second, the proclamation of the Living Word as the basis of evangelization. To the first point, it is a well-known trope — but likely not as true as people think — that Catholics do not “know the Scripture” as well as other Christians. There are, however, two different ways (at least) of “knowing” the Scripture. One is chapter-verse citation; the second is knowing the story. The Letter to the Hebrews provides, I propose, a good model for showing what is essential. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews often cites Scripture but sticks to the story over the exact citation (much like, “Somewhere it says …”). In Jesus’ own example on the road to Emmaus, we see the indispensable way in which we must know Scripture — namely, by the story. We need to know the narrative of God’s works in the world as well or better than we know our own family history, precisely because it is our real family history. Thus, in light of Easter, we do well to be renewed in our resolve to know Scripture better — but especially to know the narrative story. To the second point, the way in which the disciples’ hearts were burning as Jesus proclaimed Himself to them is a model of evangelization for us. Its starting point, of course, is knowing the story of the word, but there is also a certain sacramentality the word of God has when proclaimed (above all in the liturgy). As Pope Benedict XVI noted in Verbum Domini: “The sacramental character of revelation points in turn to the history of salvation, to the way that word of God enters time and space, and speaks to men and women, who are called to accept His gift in faith. The sacramentality of the word can thus be understood by analogy with the real presence of Christ under the appearances of the consecrated bread and wine. By approaching the altar and partaking in the Eucharistic banquet, we truly share in the body and blood of Christ. The proclamation of God’s word at the celebration entails an acknowledgment that Christ himself is present, that He speaks to us, and that He wishes to be heard. St. Jerome speaks of the way we ought to approach both the Eucharist and the word of God: ‘We are reading the sacred Scriptures. For me, the Gospel is the Body of Christ; for me, the holy Scriptures are His teaching. And when He says, “Whoever does not eat my flesh and drink my blood” (Jn 6:53), even though these words can also be understood of the [Eucharistic] Mystery, Christ’s body and blood are really the word of Scripture, God’s teaching. When we approach the [Eucharistic] Mystery, if a crumb falls to the ground, we are troubled. Yet when we are listening to the word of God, and God’s word and Christ’s flesh and blood are being poured into our ears yet we pay no heed, what great peril should we not feel?’ Christ, truly present under the species of bread and wine, is analogously present in the word proclaimed in the liturgy. A deeper understanding of the sacramentality of God’s word can thus lead us to a more unified understanding of the mystery of revelation, which takes place through ‘deeds and words intimately connected’; an appreciation of this can only benefit the spiritual life of the faithful and the Church’s pastoral activity” (No. 56). Thus, our task from the Gospel is twofold: to know intimately the word of God and to be transformed by it — learning our story, the story of salvation — and then proclaiming that story with the confidence of knowing that if we truly share the living word, Christ is present and active to move the hearts of those who hear it. We must ourselves be good hearers of the word first, however, so that we never proclaim ourselves but only the truly active and living Word Himself, Jesus Christ, risen from the dead. The post To Know Scripture Is to Know Christ appeared first on Today's Catholic. ...read more read less