April 19, 2026 Homily: Fr. Vigoa — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:037 miles
2. 0:06That's the distance from Jerusalem to
3. 0:09Emmaus.
4. 0:10About a 2-hour walk.
5. 0:14And in those 7 miles, two disciples did
6. 0:16something very dangerous.
7. 0:19They walked away.
8. 0:22Not loudly, not angrily,
9. 0:25not in rebellion, just quietly
10. 0:29drifting.
11. 0:31Creating distance between themselves and
12. 0:33the place where everything was supposed
13. 0:35to make sense.
14. 0:38That's where today's gospel begins.
15. 0:42Two disciples leaving Jerusalem.
16. 0:44Leaving the church.
17. 0:47Leaving everything they once believed.
18. 0:49Not because they had lost faith
19. 0:51entirely,
20. 0:53but because God had not met their
21. 0:55expectations.
22. 0:58They say to themselves, "We were
23. 1:00hoping."
24. 1:03That may be one of the most honest lines
25. 1:05in all of scripture.
26. 1:08Because we've all said that.
27. 1:11I was hoping this marriage would last.
28. 1:15I was hoping the diagnosis would be
29. 1:18different.
30. 1:19I was hoping my financial situation
31. 1:22would be better.
32. 1:24I was hoping my son or daughter would
33. 1:26come back to the church.
34. 1:28I was hoping God would come through for
35. 1:30me on this or that.
36. 1:34And when he doesn't,
37. 1:36when the outcome doesn't match the
38. 1:38prayer,
39. 1:39we don't reject him right out.
40. 1:42We don't slam the door. We don't make a
41. 1:45dramatic break.
42. 1:47We just stop walking towards him.
43. 1:51And begin slowly, almost subtly,
44. 1:55to walk the other way.
45. 1:58And here's what makes the gospel so
46. 2:00unsettling.
47. 2:03They're talking about Jesus
48. 2:05without recognizing Jesus.
49. 2:08They know the story. They know the
50. 2:11facts. They were with him.
51. 2:13They can explain what happened.
52. 2:16They are, in a sense, theologically
53. 2:18informed.
54. 2:21But they do not know him.
55. 2:24And that's exactly where many people
56. 2:26find themselves today.
57. 2:28You know the prayers. You come to mass.
58. 2:31You can recite the Creed.
59. 2:34But if you're honest, something feels
60. 2:36distant.
61. 2:38Something that once burned and was
62. 2:40growing inside has gone quiet.
63. 2:45But you're here.
64. 2:48But sometimes not fully here.
65. 2:51And then something happens.
66. 2:54Jesus shows up.
67. 2:56Not in glory, not with power, not with
68. 2:59angels and trumpets and signs. He simply
69. 3:02begins to walk with them.
70. 3:06And they do not recognize him.
71. 3:09Why? Because disappointment will blind
72. 3:12you.
73. 3:13Grief blinds you.
74. 3:16Sin blinds you.
75. 3:18Not by removing God from your life, but
76. 3:21by taking away your ability to see that
77. 3:23he is already there.
78. 3:27He was walking beside them the entire
79. 3:29time and they had no idea.
80. 3:33How often has that been true for us?
81. 3:37And then he does what he always does.
82. 3:41He opens the scriptures.
83. 3:44He walks them through the story.
84. 3:47Not to give them new information, but to
85. 3:49show them that what they had missed
86. 3:54was everything they thought was a
87. 3:56failure is in fact part of God's plan.
88. 4:02The cross was not the end. It was the
89. 4:03door.
90. 4:06And then something begins to happen
91. 4:08within them.
92. 4:10A stirring.
93. 4:12A warmth, a fire where they thought
94. 4:14there was only ashes.
95. 4:18And later they will say,
96. 4:20"Were our hearts not burning within us?"
97. 4:25That's what truth does.
98. 4:28Not entertainment, not cleverness, not
99. 4:30performance. Truth does not entertain
100. 4:33you.
101. 4:34Truth sets you on fire.
102. 4:38But then comes the turning point.
103. 4:41They reach the village. It's getting
104. 4:43dark, and Jesus makes as if he's going
105. 4:46to continue on the journey.
106. 4:49He does not force himself. He does not
107. 4:52impose.
108. 4:54Why? Because love never forces.
109. 4:58And everything depends on what they do
110. 4:59next.
111. 5:01They say to him,
112. 5:03"Stay with us."
113. 5:05Three words.
114. 5:07And that And that is the prayer that
115. 5:09changes everything. Stay with us.
116. 5:13Because God will walk with you. He will
117. 5:16pursue you. He will speak to you. But he
118. 5:19will never, ever force himself upon you.
119. 5:24He waits to be invited.
120. 5:27And then the moment he takes bread, he
121. 5:30blesses it, he breaks it,
122. 5:32he gives it, their eyes are opened.
123. 5:37Not on the road, not in the
124. 5:39conversation, not in the explanation,
125. 5:41but in the breaking of the bread, in the
126. 5:43Eucharist.
127. 5:46And this must be said clearly.
128. 5:49This is not a symbol.
129. 5:51This is not a reminder.
130. 5:54This is Jesus Christ alive, present, and
131. 5:57given to you.
132. 5:59The same Jesus who walked on that road
133. 6:01is here.
134. 6:04The same Jesus who rose from the dead is
135. 6:06here. The same Jesus that they
136. 6:09recognized
137. 6:11is here.
138. 6:13And yet how many people come to mass,
139. 6:15receive the Eucharist, and leave
140. 6:17unchanged?
141. 6:19No fire.
142. 6:21No urgency. No movement. Just routine.
143. 6:25Same old, same old.
144. 6:29If we're not recognizing him here,
145. 6:32it's not because he's not here. It's
146. 6:35because something in us remains closed.
147. 6:39Because look at what happens next.
148. 6:42The moment they recognize him, they get
149. 6:45up immediately.
150. 6:477 miles, over 2 hours, in the dark, on
151. 6:51the same road they had just walked in
152. 6:53the opposite direction.
153. 6:55They do not wait until morning.
154. 6:58They do not delay. They do not say,
155. 7:00"Okay, well, we'll deal with this in the
156. 7:02morning." No. What do they do? They get
157. 7:04up and go.
158. 7:07Because when you encounter the risen
159. 7:08Christ, you do not delay.
160. 7:11You move. You turn around. You go back.
161. 7:15So, here's the question, and it's for
162. 7:17you, not for the person sitting next to
163. 7:19you.
164. 7:20Where are you walking away?
165. 7:24What part of your life is quietly headed
166. 7:26towards Emmaus?
167. 7:29What disappointment has convinced you
168. 7:31that God didn't show up when maybe he's
169. 7:33been walking right there beside you all
170. 7:36along,
171. 7:37waiting for you to see him?
172. 7:41What have you stopped fighting for?
173. 7:44What have you quietly accepted?
174. 7:47What are you frustrated about?
175. 7:50What fire has gone out?
176. 7:54Because today he is doing the same thing
177. 7:56he did on that road.
178. 7:59He's walking with you. He's speaking to
179. 8:02you. He is about to break the bread
180. 8:04right here and now and reveal himself to
181. 8:07you.
182. 8:10But you have to say it.
183. 8:12You have to initiate it.
184. 8:14Stay with me, Jesus.
185. 8:17Stay with me in my marriage.
186. 8:20Stay with me in my grief.
187. 8:23Stay with me in my doubt. Stay with me
188. 8:26when the road is dark and I've been
189. 8:27walking in the wrong direction longer
190. 8:30than I want to admit.
191. 8:33So, don't leave here the same.
192. 8:36When you receive the Eucharist,
193. 8:38understand that something is happening
194. 8:40right here and right now.
195. 8:43The same Christ who walked that road is
196. 8:45here, not in memory,
197. 8:46not in a book,
198. 8:48physically here.
199. 8:51Recognize him.
200. 8:53Receive him.
201. 8:55And then do what they did.
202. 8:57Get up from the table. Walk back into
203. 9:00your life and live for the rest of this
204. 9:03week and for the rest of your life like
205. 9:05someone who has actually encountered the
206. 9:07risen Christ.
207. 9:09Because if he is risen,
208. 9:12and he is risen indeed,
209. 9:14everything changes.
210. 9:17And if nothing changes, then we haven't
211. 9:19really encountered him yet.
212. 9:22But today, my brothers and sisters,
213. 9:25right here, right now,
214. 9:28you will recognize him in the breaking
215. 9:31of the bread. Amen. Amen.