“Clark Kent’s Glasses” by Brian Flanagan

“Clark Kent’s Glasses” by Brian Flanagan

Third Sunday of Easter

This week’s Gospel is about Jesus appearing to two of his disciples on the road to Emmaus.  He walks up behind them and joins right in on the conversation, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.  How does that work?

Maybe Jesus, in his resurrected and glorified body, was wearing glasses (like Clark Kent would wear so people didn’t know he was Superman).  Maybe he spoke with an accent or wore his sundial on the opposite wrist.  Whatever the case (probably something more mystical than glasses…), these two men didn’t recognize him.

When they got to Emmaus, the two disciples invited their new companion to dinner.  He took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them; and with that, their eyes were opened!  Jesus was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

As Catholics, we have the amazing gift of the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.  That means that we really believe that what looks like bread and wine after the priest says the words of consecration during the Mass is really the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus.  It looks like bread, bread, bread, but it is in reality Christ, Christ, Christ.

Not surprisingly, many people find this hard to believe.  It’s not easy to recognize Jesus sometimes, just like the disciples on the road to Emmaus.  When it comes down to it though, the appearance of bread and wine are really just Clark Kent’s glasses on Jesus.

If you look hard enough with the eyes of faith, you’ll see Jesus there.  Just like if anyone in their right mind looked hard enough at Clark Kent, they’d realize a thing or two.  “Hey wait a second…has anyone ever told you that you look like Superman, except with glasses and with his hair parted the other way?  And how come I’ve never seen the two of you in the same place at the same time.”

Joking aside…actually that wasn’t a joke…Superman has the worst secret identity ever.  He could learn a thing or two from Spiderman.  But in all seriousness, believing that we receive Our Lord in Communion every time we go to Mass is Catholicism 101.  The Eucharist is the Source and the Summit of our faith.  It’s that which we journey from and that which we journey to.  So many people can’t get past the Clark Kent glasses, and they take this amazing Sacramental gift for granted!

Next time you go to Mass, pray for the eyes of faith to see truly what, or rather Who the Eucharist really is.  Not bread and wine, but God Himself.  A Christian from a non-Catholic denomination once said to a friend of mine, “I can’t believe you Catholics honestly believe in all this stuff.  You really think that this piece of bread is literally Jesus?”  My friend responded, “What…your God can’t do that?”

The Eucharist is the real deal.  Thousands of martyrs throughout the centuries have died for this belief and for the ability to go to Mass.  Maybe it will take a while to click for us, just like for the disciples on the road to Emmaus, but look for that moment of clarity every time you go to Mass, and one day it will come.  And once you realize that Clark Kent is Superman, you’ll wonder how you didn’t see it before.