ACT WITH INTENT

“When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognised him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

"They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem.” — Luke 24:30-33

Supper at Emmaus is a typical painting by Caravaggio, the sublime interrupts the daily routine.

The incognito, beardless Jesus suggests that moments of encounter with Him can happen at any moment, in any space and with any person.

The immediate divinity and the humanity of Jesus are depicted. Between sitting down and getting up from the table, the two disciples had experienced a realisation that this man they had journeyed with was actually Jesus, the risen Christ.

They sat down with the human Jesus and got up to the divine Jesus.

It is not every day that our ‘hearts burn within us’ during a chat while we are on a journey.

Yet it was not until the breaking of bread that the realisation of the man being Jesus himself, was triggered. However, without the journey and the time spent listening to the unrecognised Jesus, this realisation would not have happened.

The reaction of the two apostles, however, was to act immediately with intent - ‘they got up and returned at once to Jerusalem.’

The Faith in Action imperative of our school & office communities is highlighted during the season of Lent as we support CARITAS and their Project Compassion. The selfless giving and tireless advocacy for our domestic and international communities is always intentional and impactful.

As we view and listen to the Project Compassion resources and experience local and school based stories of need and despair our ‘hearts burn’ too. The stories are relentless and harrowing. They range from the current Project Compassion theme ‘For Future Generations’ targeting Africa, India, Australia and the Pacific Islands, to the tragic scenes from the Ukraine and to the drowned cities of our Northern Rivers.

As Emmauns, our intentional action as we respond to these situations is always triggered by the presence of Christ at the epicentre, in particular at the breaking of bread during the Eucharist. Christ is a child in a developing country, a pensioner in the basement of a Kyiv building or a mud army member cleaning out a flooded home. Christ is a lonely student in a crowded playground, a tired teacher at the end of a long term.

As the apostles hurried back to Jerusalem, let us hurry back to serve the poor, the vulnerable and the marginalised where Jesus prefers to reside. Let us go forth and find Jesus who longs to share the Good News that we belong to each other and are loved as unique gifts to this world, made in God’s image as co creators of God’s kingdom.

Challenge – As we enter Holy Week and journey towards the Resurrection next week:

• Slow Down
• Listen Deeply
• Discern Often
• Expect to Transform
• Gather and Break Bread in Joy
• Act with Intent for Justice and Peace