Emmaus and Renewed Mission
Our Movement of Growth Leadership Team has been meeting for almost two years. This team is composed of parishioners and staff and has identified six key topics for our Conversations in the Spirit to focus on. Over 500 people have participated in these conversations thus far. Each conversation begins with reading this weekend’s gospel passage, the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus on the very first Easter morning. See Luke 24:13-35 for details. I am asking ALL of you to please read and pray with this story in the next week, and then for the next major phase of the history of Holy Family Catholic Community. The story is that important. The more people in our community who are familiar with this story and the manner in which it has already guided us, the better it will be able to continue to guide us here at Holy Family – not as a plan but as a MOVEMENT that starts with each one of us. It starts and continues with YOU.
You will find so much in the story to reflect on, as we have in our planning and strategizing in this Movement of Growth initiative.
One of the many aspects of the story that I want to focus on is the relationship between the following:
Invitation Recognition Renewed Mission
At the beginning of the story, a part of the Gospel of Luke which is written entirely as a journey TOWARD Jerusalem, the two disciples are walking AWAY from Jerusalem. Their mission and purpose as followers of Jesus has died with Him. Their hopes are dashed and they are downcast.
Jesus joins them, but they do not recognize Him because of their grief and loss of hope. He engages them by explaining scriptures that tell his story. He then acts as if he is going farther without them, but they INVITE him by saying, “Stay with us!”
When Jesus stays, he does the simple, yet unbelievably important ritual of breaking bread. With that, they have RECOGNITION of who he is as the RISEN Christ. Immediately, they revisit how they felt as he explained the scriptures to them and how their hearts burned within them. The recognition in the breaking of the bread is immediately connected with the scripture stories. Word (scripture) and ritual (sharing bread and wine) combine for a deeper RECOGNITION of Jesus who has been raised from the dead. This is different than Jesus identifying himself with bread and wine at the Last Supper before he has suffered, died, and risen. This event is an encounter with the Risen Christ, just as ours is every time we celebrate the Eucharist.
Because of this significant encounter of word and elements, they immediately RETURN to Jerusalem with a RENEWED mission, enthusiasm, motivation, and realization of the RISEN Christ in their midst.
We can so easily apply this to carrying out our mission and purpose here at Holy Family. People’s encounter with the Risen Christ can begin with YOUR invitation to someone who is not familiar with, or has stepped away from Holy Family, the Church, or organized religion to STAY WITH US! RECOGNIZE the Risen Christ here and be more engaged in our mission.
It can work the same for us who are already engaged here. Please stay with us in your dedication and participation in our community. Recognize MORE of the RISEN CHRIST at work here and renew your commitment to our ambitious mission. Help make it even more ambitious.
Do Christians all over the world invite the Risen Christ to stay with them in their communities? Yes. Do Catholics all over the world recognize the Risen Christ in the scriptures and bread and wine each time they celebrate the Eucharist? Yes. Do they all share the exact mission of Holy Family? NO.
I urge you – each one of you – to define what is unique about us here at Holy Family. Define what engages you and feeds you about our community, and invite others to visit and to stay with us. Invite them to recognize the Risen Christ here and to join a Movement of Growth – join a renewed mission of Easter power, joy, and vibrance that will evolve from things we have heard in the Conversations in the Spirit thus far and will continue to hear as those conversations continue. Let us build on the energy of the Risen Christ, the long, vibrant history of our community, the more recent Adventures in Grace, our Jesuit spirituality, our commitment to Catholic Social Teaching, our Kindness initiative, and other aspects of the rich tradition and unique foundation of Holy Family Catholic Community.
Personally, I have such a strong investment in this initiative as I look at a transition into a new pastor and new leadership of this great community, as I consider moving on in July of 2027. In consultation with the Priest Placement Board and the Cardinal, we have begun surfacing candidates who will have a very good picture of who we are and what makes Holy Family unique within the standards of our Roman Catholic tradition.
Let us INVITE, RECOGNIZE, and RENEW together!!