I used to think that once Jesus escaped the tomb, he hung out with his friends for 40 days straight, and then went into the sky. But even though some have tried, it’s actually impossible to wrestle all the stories from the gospels, Acts 1, and Paul’s letter into a cohesive narrative with a clear timeline. So in fact, it seems that Jesus doesn’t continually stay with anyone, but appears on singular occasions to different sets of people, in visions that are described with different combinations of similar elements. 

Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is the first attempt to tell what happened: Jesus appeared first to Peter, then to the Twelve, then to 500 people, then to James. That’s not what we get in the gospels! Mark is of no help, as it has no post-resurrection appearances whatsoever. In some of other gospel accounts, the timing of “day 3” seems to be important, as that’s when the women see Jesus on the way from the grave (Mt), Mary talks to “the gardener” at the grave (Jn), the disciples minus Thomas see him in the locked room (Jn), and Cleopas, maybe with his wife, see him as they head to Emmaus (Lk). Another shared element is the greeting. Mary Magdalene heard her name, the group minus Thomas and then with Thomas a week later – “peace be with you” (Jn). This phrase also appears, confusingly, in today’s reading that has the two go back from Emmaus to their friends in Jerusalem (Lk). Lastly, there is the breaking of bread – at Emmaus (Lk) and on the beach (Jn). Plus don’t forget the grilled fish! Jesus cooked (and I assume, ate) it on the beach over the fire that I tried to capture in the image above. There’s even a fish shape hidden in the sky, which I didn’t create intentionally – can you see it? And of course, Jesus just had to have a piece of broiled fish for dinner in Jerusalem in the story from Luke we read today. 

I imagine that at Emmaus, they probably had broiled fish, too. And, at all the weddings, funerals and religious feasts Jesus attended prior, and the little boy had in his lunch that Jesus multiplied for the multitudes. Is that all they ate back in those days – fishes and loaves? Apparently, not. Looks like there was also lettuce, cucumbers, garlic, leeks, and olives; nuts, and herbs; apricots, melons, and figs; cheese and yogurt; goat and lamb on big feasts, and pigeons more regularly – unless you were quite poor, and all you ate came from gleaning the leftover grain in the fields. Yet, gleaned or grown; pure wheat/barley or mixed with legumes; as the only course or a side dish – bread was what the poor and wealthy all had in common. Jesus’ ancestors ate it as “manna in the wilderness”, and he broke it for the people “on the plains,” and for his disciples at the last supper, at Emmaus, and on the beach. We may call Jesus “the lamb of God”, but he called himself “the bread of life”: the last resort of the poor, yet at the same time, a staple that nobody eschews. 

So it was not something special or fancy that caused Jesus’ followers to have such vivid experiences of him as they gathered in the aftermath of his death. It was the familiar and simple meals, where the only “magic ingredient” was their memories. It must have been with mixed feelings that they recalled the times they ate the bread and drank the wine when Jesus was alive, and the sound of his voice speaking their names or greetings, and the stories of what he did and taught, and especially the snippets of conversations from their last dinner. That was some pretty heavy content for someone who liked feasting so much: betrayals and parting, spilled blood and broken body… What transpired after, fully confirmed Jesus’ predictions and made them doubt whether peace and love, laughing and looking each other in the eyes could ever be possible again – and, without him? Yet, it was the bringing of all these thoughts and memories to mind, collectively and over a shared meal, that resulted in their sense of being with Jesus again and confirmed that the ordinary life after the death of a loved one is not only possible, but symbolic of all life after death, in eternity. 

We experience something similar when we gather over meals and talk about the loved ones whom we lost. How is it possible to ever laugh and eat again, we wonder, especially on the first major holiday after their passing that is always so hard; but, like at their funerals, by sharing our memories, we become reconnected with their presence now, and reassured of the hope to meet them in eternity. Sharing the family legends even keeps our ancestors, whom we’d never met, alive in our minds. That’s why Jesus asked his friends to go on sharing the bread in memory of him (1 Cor. 11:24, and all synoptic gospels) – and we do today, in the Eucharist. 

In fact, conceptualizing the awareness of a presence – of God or loved ones – through the sense of taste seems to be even more ancient and archetypal than the gospels. For example, is there a food that seems to bring back someone’s presence wherever you eat it? Likewise, the miracle of the manna points to spiritual nourishment we receive each day anew and purely as a gift. And Ps 34 has the line “taste and see that the Lord is good”, which we say at the moment of breaking the bread. 

But, notice that we never taste communion bread alone, and before we do, we always take the time to recall the instances of God’s grace we see both in the scriptures and in our lives. And for God’s goodness to emerge, something needs to break. Maybe, it’s the bread, maybe Jesus’ body, but most likely – our ego. Indeed, there would be no more bread if we always ate the harvest in full, without sacrificing some of the seeds seemingly to die inside the earth. As we go forth, may we consider our own sacrifices – of praise and thanksgiving; time spent worshiping, reflecting and connecting; acts of kindness that do not benefit us – as the seeds of the future harvest that we will one day taste in ways that we cannot yet imagine. And when we notice that other people sacrifice something for us, may we give thanks for being able to see God’s presence alive in them. 

Reflection Questions

1. Why are there so many meals described in the Bible, so many important messages delivered and events taking place while sharing food? What is the significance of food and hospitality in your own life? Is there a spiritual dimension to it? Do you experience food as fuel, entertainment, art form, or preoccupation?

2. Why is Jesus’ post-resurrection body described as still bearing the wounds and in need of nourishment? What does it say about the nature of healing, and the worth of the human body? How could this help inform a constructive approach to accepting the capabilities, health, or appearance of our own bodies?