April 18, 2021 – Third Sunday of Easter – The Breaking of the Bread

Scripture Luke 24:35-48

A Bronze Plaque in Louisville Kentucky

• Commemorates a mystical experience on March 18, 1958
• Fr. Thomas Merton In the center of the shopping district I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all those people, that they were mine and I was theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers…There is no way of telling that they are all walking around shining like the very sun.

God is Found Everywhere

• In the ordinary details – everyday beauties
• The daycare center, soup kitchen or street corner is as holy as a monastic cell

The New Church – A Description

The Acts of the Apostles – Back then, they devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the breaking of the bread and prayers.

Still True Today for Jesus’ Friends and Followers

• Prayer suggests we have been given breath by our Creator
• There is a God that is not you or me
• When we worship, we admit there is a God at the center of our lives

Worship Is

• Paying attention is paying attention to the closeness of the Lord
• Giving the Lord all the praise, the thanksgiving, the honor, the time
• Ultimately nothing about us-everything about the Lord

A Commencement Address – David Foster Wallace – Kenyon College, Ohio

There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And the compelling reason for maybe choosing some sort of god or spiritual-type thing is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive. If you worship money and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never feel you have enough. It’s the truth. Worship your body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly. And when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally grieve you.

Choosing to Worship the Lord – Is an Admission

• That there are no barriers between the sacred and the secular
• That our lives are charged with the grandeur of God
• That we are paying attention

The Mystical Moment of Cleopas, His Wife and the Risen Lord

• Two hurting disciples – felt heard by Jesus
• Felt their hearts were burning and Jesus shared with them
• Begged Jesus to stay as they arrived in Emmaus
• Sat around a table sharing a simple meal
• When we do this, worship happens

Luke and the Acts of the Apostles

• Breaking of the bread always refers to the Eucharist-to Holy Communion
• For early Christians Eucharist was vital – their lifeline
• The Eucharist is how they intimately shared their life with the Risen Lord

The Eucharist – Bread and Wine – The Miracle

• Is the Resen Lord present to us
• Is what appears as bread but is transformed into the Body of Christ
• Is bread whose outward appearance has not changed
• Is bread whose interior substance has changed
• The same holds true for the wine
• Is real food and real drink
• Is Jesus dwelling in you and me

Back to Worship

• Worship is as Integral to our lives as breathing
• We are at our best when we pay attention to the Lord every day
• Worship is about giving thanks and praise in every moment and in breaking bread with our fellow believers
• We become Jesus for each other
• Just like the many grains of wheat make one loaf, many though we are, we make the one Body of Christ

One More Quote – Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity

God is always with you; be always with God, through all your actions, in your sufferings, when you body is exhausted. Remain in God’s sight, see God present.

Questions for Reflection

• What impacted you from today’s Readings and/or homily?
• How would you describe your worship practices? Have you ever had an unexpected
  mystical moment?
  How do you understand the Eucharist in your life? How would you describe it to
  someone else?
  Do you understand the Eucharist as more personal or communal?

Live Connected

When you worship this week, pay attention to the experience of God’s presence. Write
down adjectives describing your experience. Share it with another person.