31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us[f] while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” 33 That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. 34 They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread. [Luke 24:31-35, NRSV]
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In the early church, when Saint Peter wrote to the Jewish converts who had dispersed to the Roman provinces in Asia Minor, he urged them to maintain the reverence in their hearts for Christ as Lord, and to “always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence” (1 Peter 3:15). In 1992, with the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), Pope John Paul II invoked Saint Peter’s message as he urged that the CCC be used “assiduously in fulfilling [the] mission of proclaiming the faith and calling people to the Gospel life,” as it “is offered to every individual who asks us to give an account of the hope that is in us and who wants to know what the Catholic Church believes.” Catechesis today calls for a balance between using the CCC assiduously and keeping in mind what Saint Augustine had written more than 1,500 years earlier. In order to impart necessary instructions to seekers of the faith, Augustine wrote, “it will not suffice to place a small manual in one’s hand; rather it will be necessary to enkindle a great zeal in one’s heart”.
This “zeal in the heart” links at once to the “hearts burning inside us” of Luke’s road to Emmaus story.
In today’s fast-paced world, catechesis is carried out against a variety of backdrops of experiences that are good, bad, or indifferent towards the Christian faith. Catechetical theorists and practitioners have responded to this variety of situations with offers of different models and approaches to doing catechesis. One particular model comes from the American Maronite priest, Fr Dominic F. Ashkar. His long experience in handing on the faith with various groups as Director of Religious Education in Washington, DC, has convinced him that catechesis is not just a matter of handing on a certain amount of information, but is a project that is closely tied to two realities.
- First, it is a life-long journey and not a fixed term teaching programme.
- Second, it has its roots firmly planted in a faith community, and is a journey made with that community. It is at its best a communal project, not a mere teacher-student undertaking. The proper stress in catechesis is “journeying with” and not “arriving at”.
Based on the Emmaus story from Luke’s Gospel, Ashkar’s vision of catechesis is laid out in his 1993 book Road to Emmaus – A New Model of Catechesis. His inspiration therefore comes from an ancient missionary task entrusted by Jesus and rooted in his own mission, and not just a modern day invention by the Church. Of this, he writes:
- The encounter on the road to Emmaus was not learning about Jesus Christ, nor was it abstract theology. Emmaus was not a course in religion as something to appreciate, or something to have or believe. Emmaus was an encounter. It began with Jesus’ approach to discouraged disciples, and it continued in several stages of his questioning, listening, and explanation – based on their needs [Ashkar, 28].
The catechist easily notices that Catholic liturgy follows Luke’s Emmaus narrative which divides the itinerary into two parts: [i] reading and explanation of Scriptures, followed by [ii] the breaking of the bread. Concerning the breaking open of Scriptures, the “beginning with Moses and all the prophets” (Luke 24:27) affirms that the correct approach to Bible study begins with the Old before coming to the New Testaments.
From the Emmaus story, Ashkar focuses on Jesus as the supreme Teacher and Catechist, and builds a model of ten catechetical principles for all catechists today. Save for some comments, the following, in order and content, is largely lifted from Liam Kelly, Catechesis Revisited: Handing on Faith Today (2000), chapter 6.
1. Jesus knew himself – what his identity was, who he was.
Jesus heard the Father’s voice of love at his baptism in River Jordan, calling him the “beloved” (Mark 1:11). Living that love-relationship has powered his entire life and ministry, so much so that to have seen him is to have seen the Father (John 14:9). Jesus of the Gospels does not teach abstract doctrines about God, but by his words and deeds reveals the very person of God the Father.
- (1a) The Catechist knows who he or she is. Catechists come to their apostolate fully aware of their own strengths and weaknesses, their capabilities and their limitations. But of greater importance is the fact that they are aware of their desire to share their own faith, their own experiences, and who they are. They are keen to tell the world the story of their relationship with God.
2. Jesus knew his mission, what he was about.
On his return from his Spirit-filled baptism and his Spirit-driven battle with temptations in the wilderness, Jesus at once began to preach the kingdom of God: “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel’” (Mark 1:14-15). From then on, to the end of the Gospel, all that Jesus preached and did was his work in advancement of the kingdom of God on earth as in heaven. Jesus was all about the kingdom of God. He loved to the end, always challenging people and calling for a response. He did not leave the option of remaining indifferent. Those who responded knew that they were called to a relationship with the Father and a specific way of life, so that they could in turn go out and spread the Good News to others, just as he had exhorted them to do in the great commission – “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).
- (2a) The catechist knows his or her mission. The mission and ministry of the catechist is handing on the faith, in a way which is specifically aimed at proclaiming the Good News. Catechists know that their mission is to bring people to a new way of life. They will ensure they teach systematically, their teaching well planed and thought out, and their approach well balanced in content and method.
3. Jesus approached the disciples in person.
In many of the Gospel stories, Jesus takes the initiative to approach people in need of help. In the Emmaus story, he seeks out the disciples and accompanies them on the journey – “he drew near and went with them” (Luke 24:15). Jesus wants to be with the disciples at this troubling time of theirs. He does not wait for them to come to him for help. He goes out of his way to seek them out, to meet with them, to accompany them at this momentous time of personal and communal problems, and to fellowship with them. His approach is personal and respectful, mindful to key in at the point of life journey they are at. As Ashkar puts it well: “From this simple, personal approach [Jesus] set the stage for a whole catechesis. It is an example for us, as we are always tempted to think of religion as doctrine or morality, whereas Christianity is someone” (Ashkar, 77).
- (3a) The catechist approaches the catechumens personally. This principle is critically important. Years after graduating, many students remember certain teachers not so much for their words, but first and foremost for their humane kindness and personal interests shown to the pupils. Catechists do best when they show love to their catechumens as fellow human individuals on a journey and they accompany them on that journey. The catechists will be open and loving towards the catechumens and not approach their work in a stiff and contrived manner. The two disciples on the road accepted the stranger who showed them respect and love.
4. Jesus walked along with them.
“Journey” is an important religious theme in Christianity as in other religions. On the road to Emmaus, Jesus was not a just a traveler or a passer-by; he was a fellow-traveller. He did not just walked by, with or without greeting; he drew near and walked with them (24:15). Jesus became their companion, a word that takes on a deep religious connotation. ‘Companion’ is made up of ‘com” meaning together, and ‘panis’, the Latin word for bread. Originally, the word was used to describe someone with whom you shared a meal. A companion is someone who shares bread.
- (4a) The catechist walks along with the catechumens. Catechists do not stay aloof from the catechumens like religious experts who have all the answers imparting knowledge to people who are faith-ignorant. Instead, catechists are at their best who sincerely accompany and walk alongside their fellow travelers. They treat each other as fellow-followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, accompanying each other on a common faith journey.
5. Jesus asked the disciples a question.
He said to them, “What is this conversation which you are holding with each other as you walk?” (Luke 24:17) Jesus asked, not because he did not know, but because he respected the point of the journey the two were at, and he wanted them to verbalise things for themselves. Above all, Jesus shows that he was a willing listener, giving people ample opportunity to speak what they hold as important in their individual hearts at this particular time of their lives. Jesus was not at this time interested to offer the disciples doctrinal truths.
- (5a) The catechist finds out where the catechumens are. Jesus does not show superiority to the disciples. The starting point is on the disciples side, not on Jesus. Catechists do well by taking the catechumens as they are and where they are without imposing “How I wish you were this or that…” They will first find out where the catechumens are coming from and where they are currently at, rather than insisting on telling them where they should be and so where they must be taken. The catechists will not artificially set the pace, but will keep pace alongside them. They will do their best to curb the temptation to rush ahead with ready-made answers. They will respect the catechumens as individuals who will grow at their own pace.
6. Jesus said to them, “O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoken!”
After listening, Jesus is now ready to pull the pieces together and show the disciples the larger and complete picture. He does not in any way sound like a stern teacher sternly correcting the students’ faults. He is more like a friend pointing out the direction Scriptures pointed to. After all, these disciples are just like the rest left behind in Jerusalem who knew no better about the reality of the Messiah and how the Messiah would have to suffer. They have yet to understand that the way of the Messiah, and thus of all his followers, is from pain to hope, from darkness to light, and from death to new life. They need to learn that glory came through suffering, and that triumph comes through failure.
- (6a) The catechist explains from the perspective of the catechumens. Jesus took their seemingly incomprehensible pieces in a jigsaw and offered them a complete picture where the pieces fit meaningfully and perfectly. Likewise, the catechists will be mindful of the incomplete pieces from the catechumens’ limited perspective that come from their experience and understanding and try to fit those into the whole picture.
7. Jesus made as if to go further.
This is the decisive turning point of the entire Emmaus story. Jesus has broken open the revelation about the Messiah in the Scriptures for the disciples, explaining where all the different pieces of the jigsaw fit together to point to Jesus as the Suffering Messiah. Even though this clearly called for a response from the disciples, Jesus did not thereupon impose on them to do so. He left it to them to do so at their own time, their own pace. But the next step was up to them; the ball was in their court as it were. Faith in the resurrection cannot be forced on any one. However difficult it may be, the disciples need to move from non-faith to faith in the resurrection in order to “see” the Crucified and Risen Lord. Jesus would not impose. So, even though the day was well spent, he still made it as if he was going yonder (Luke 24:28). Ashkar puts it brilliantly:
- What a compelling model for the catechists! Like Jesus, we teachers also address not just a category of people called ‘students’ but free persons with their own identity, their own home in heaven. We cannot make decision for them once we have given them the basic information and explanation to meet their needs. We cannot choose for them, even if their choices may turn out to be unfortunate ones. To create pressure or take advantage of our authority would be to go against the whole purpose of education, which is to lead, not force, out of darkness of ignorance, frailty, and fear. To restrain ourselves can sometimes be very difficult for us. Out of concern, we want to ensure the better choice. But he who called himself the Way does not. He invites and waits for response.
- (7a) The catechist invites the catechumens to make a response. As catechists, we may very well know that the jigsaw is beautiful when complete. But we are not to impose that judgment on others. They must “see” with their own inner eyes, ad come to faith. Especially with RCIA nowadays, where the parish priest and the bishop are keen on fresh numbers for reception of the sacraments, all the more must the catechists resist the temptation to short-cut. True catechesis offers and invites; it does not impose.
8. Once at the table, he took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them, whereupon their eyes were opened and they recognized him.
By the generosity, hospitality and consideration for a stranger in need, they break bread together. The familiar four-fold meal pattern in word and gesture performed by Jesus completed the beauty of the jigsaw for the disciples. Their eyes were opened and they understood that the Scriptures pointed to Jesus who broke bread with them. The encounter, the journey with Jesus led to the Eucharist where Jesus revealed himself to them.
- (8a) The catechist leads the catechumens to liturgy. For the Church which the Risen Christ left behind, companionship on the road and sharing bread becomes communion. For the catechists, whose generous and hospitable spirit invite response from the catechumens, their work naturally leads to the generosity of the Eucharist. Their work in relation to the Eucharist will necessarily be two-fold. First, the catechetical journey leads people to take their place at the table of the Lord with the community that is journeying with them. Second, they witness and in turn will witness to a Eucharistic life which perhaps is best described by Saint Augustine’s to communicants who come up on the communion queue to receive Communion, “Receive what you are, and become what you receive.” We are the body of Christ, and we ought to behave like it.
9. They spoke with each other.
Jesus, whose presence with the disciples changed after his resurrection, vanished from sight as soon as the disciples could “see” his presence. Amazed, they looked back on their journey with equal amazement for their hearts were burning within them while Jesus explained the Scriptures to them (Luke 24:32). Suddenly, the pieces all fitted perfectly: “Now the disciples understood what they had gone through, the meaning of their groping, their searching. The Lord was there all along, but they had not known it. Their faith became solid because of the friendly exchange between themselves and Jesus at each stage of the journey” (Ashkar, 105).
- (9a) The catechumens discuss the message among themselves. As the focus again returns to the two disciples, here the catechists allow the catechumens to share their stories, their understanding of what has happened to them. The sharing in a communal setting is the key in a communal journey of faith. A helpful guiding question would be: “How can we use the information and experience of the journey?”
10. They got up immediately and returned to Jerusalem.
In Scriptures and throughout the history of the Church, Christians have understood that theophanies (God’s visible manifestations to human kind) do not happen in vain. Witnesses have an obligation to share what they have seen and the messages they have received. The two disciples, after having seen the Risen Lord at the breaking of bread, now experienced an internal compulsion to share the Good News. They are transformed and cannot wait to share their experience. Matthew lays it out explicitly at the end of his Gospel that, having accompanied Jesus throughout his public ministry, the disciples are commissioned by the Risen Lord to go out and proclaim the Good News and continue Jesus’ work.
- (10a) The catechumens go out to share the message. Our faith must not stay within ourselves or amongst a small close group of friends. Fullness of revelation ought to be shared with the larger community. “Fulfilled faith puts people on the road because of their urge to share the Good News that they cannot keep to themselves” (Ashkar, 113). The catechists promote the understanding that catechesis helps students to become teachers.
Copyright © Dr. Jeffrey & Angie Goh, August 2021. All rights reserved.
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