The passage from the Holy Gospel according to Luke 24:13–35:
At that time, two of Jesus’ disciples were walking that very day to a village called Emmaus, which was about sixty stadia from Jerusalem, and they were talking to one another about all that had happened. And it came to pass that, whilst they were talking and discussing these things amongst themselves, Jesus Himself drew near and began to walk with them. But their eyes were kept from recognising Him. And He said to them, ‘What are these words you are exchanging with one another as you walk along, and why are you sad?’ Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, replied, ‘Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?’ He said to them, ‘What things?’ And they replied: ‘The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet, mighty in deed and word before God and all the people; and how the chief priests and our rulers condemned Him to death and crucified Him. We, however, had hoped that He was the One who was to redeem Israel. But now, nevertheless, today is the third day since these things happened 1. Moreover, some of our women have alarmed us; they went to the tomb early this morning and, finding His body not there, came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who say that He is alive. And some of us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but we did not find Him.” And He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and enter into his glory?’ And, beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them the passages in all the Scriptures that referred to him. And they drew near to the village to which they were going. But He made as though He were going on. Yet they urged Him, saying, ‘Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is now drawing to a close.’ So He went in with them. And it came to pass that, whilst He was at table with them, He took the bread, gave thanks, broke it and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognised Him, but He vanished from their sight. And they said to one another, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us whilst He was speaking to us on the road and whilst He was explaining the Scriptures to us?’ And they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem, where they found the Eleven and those with them gathered together, saying that the Lord had truly risen and had appeared to Simon. And they began to recount what had happened on the road and how they had recognised Him when He broke the bread.
1. To you, who labour daily in the church services 2, I have few [words] to say; and perhaps these [few] will be of greater use to you, for often even food that is in short supply is eaten with greater relish. I have therefore decided to briefly explain the meaning of the Gospel reading, not word for word, so that you, my brothers and sisters 3, may not be burdened by an overly long explanatory sermon. Behold, you have heard, beloved brothers, that the Lord appeared to two disciples who were walking along the road, not as believers, but as those who were nevertheless speaking of Him; yet He did not reveal His form to them, lest they should recognise Him. Thus, the Lord did outwardly, for the eyes of the flesh, the very same thing that was happening to them inwardly, for the eyes of the heart. For within, in their hearts, they both loved Him and doubted Him at the same time, whilst outwardly the Lord was both present, near to them, and yet concealing Who He was. Therefore, because they spoke of Him, He revealed Himself to them in the flesh 4, but because they doubted Him, He concealed His form [which would have enabled them] to recognise Him. Moreover, He spoke to them, but rebuked them for their stubbornness; He revealed to them the mysteries of Holy Scripture which spoke of Himself; and yet, because in their hearts He was still a stranger to their faith5, ‘He pretended to move on’. For by ‘to make as if’ [Latin: fingere] we mean ‘to shape’ [Latin: componere]; that is why we also call those who shape [Latin: compositores] the clay ‘potters’ [Latin: figuli] 6. Thus, the One Truth did nothing in a double manner, but revealed Himself to them in the flesh, just as He was in their minds 7. And they had to prove whether, although they did not yet love Him as God, they could at least love Him as a stranger. But, since they could not be far from love whilst the Truth walked with them, they invited Him into their home as a stranger. And why do we say ‘they invited Him’, when it is written in the pericope that ‘they compelled Him’? From this example it is clear beyond doubt that strangers must not merely be invited to stay, but actually compelled to do so. [And the disciples] set the table, serve the food, and recognise the Lord—whom they had not recognised in the interpretation of Holy Scripture—as He breaks the bread.
2. Thus, whilst hearing God’s commandments did not enlighten them, [yet] by fulfilling them they were enlightened, for it is written: It is not those who hear the Law who are righteous in God’s sight, but those who do the Law will be declared righteous (Romans 2:13). Therefore, whoever wishes to understand what they have heard should hasten to put into practice what they have already been able to understand. Behold, the Lord was not recognised whilst He was speaking, but He deemed it fitting to be recognised whilst He was being fed. Therefore, beloved brothers, practise hospitality; love the works of love. For this is why it is said through Paul: ‘Let brotherly love remain among you, and do not forget hospitality’ 8. For by this some have, without realising it, entertained angels 9 (Hebrews XIII, 1[-2]). That is why Peter says: ‘Be hospitable to one another without grumbling’ (1 Peter IV, 9). That is why the Truth Himself says: ‘I was a stranger and you welcomed Me’ (Matthew 25:35). There is a very well-known story, handed down to us from the accounts of our forebears. A certain householder, together with his whole family, took great care to welcome strangers 10. And as he welcomed strangers to his table every day, one day a pilgrim arrived, amongst others. He was brought to the table. Meanwhile, the master of the house, with his usual humility, wishing to pour water for him to wash his hands, turned to fetch the jug; but suddenly he could no longer find the man to whom he had intended to pour water over his hands. And whilst he was wondering to himself at this turn of events, that very night the Lord spoke to him plainly: ‘On other days you received Me [at the table] in My members, but yesterday you received Me Myself.’ Behold, when He comes to judge, He will say: ‘Inasmuch as you did this to one of these least of My brethren, you did it to Me’ (Matthew 25:40). Behold, before the Judgement, when He is received through His members, He Himself seeks out those who will receive Him; and yet we shrink back from the grace of hospitality. Take heed, brethren, to how great a virtue hospitality is. Welcome Christ to your table, so that you too may be welcomed by Him at the eternal banquet. Offer shelter now to Christ the Stranger, lest, at the Judgement, He might not recognise you as His own, but rather as strangers, and welcome you into the Kingdom as His own11—with His help—He who lives and reigns as God for ever and ever. Amen.
* The edition used as the basis for this translation is Patrologia Latina 76, col. 1181–1183.
- 1
The subtitle, attested in the oldest manuscripts, was probably composed by the papal notary Aemilianus, who was responsible for transcribing from dictation and editing the homilies (cf. Gregorius Magnus, Homiliae in evangelia, ed. Raimond Étaix, in the series *Corpus Christianorum. Series Latina, vol. 141, Brepols, Turnhout, 1999, pp. VI–VII). Although the complete version (text and paratext) of the homilies underwent a final proofreading by Saint Gregory himself (as mentioned in the Letter to Secundinus, CCSL 141, p. 3), nevertheless, the dating ‘on the second day of Easter’ (in crastino Paschae), that is, Monday, 16 April 591, is considered erroneous by the modern editor (indeed, the date is missing – or has been removed – from eight manuscripts, listed in PL 76, 1182, n. f). R. Étaix places the homily one day later, that is, on the third day of Easter, and thus on Bright Tuesday, 17 April 591, considering that Homily XXI, Homily XXII and Homily XXIII were delivered consecutively during the first three days of Easter in the year 591, namely 15 April, 16 April and 17 April (CCSL 141, p. LXX).
- 2
The term solemnitas does not appear to refer strictly to the Holy Liturgy – for which Saint Gregory usually employs the compound phrase sacra missarum solemnia (Praef. 1; Hom. VIII, 1; Hom. XXXVII, 9) – but rather to the services pertaining to the Paschal liturgical cycle.
- 3
Literally: ‘your love’. Dilectio Vestra (or Dilectio Tua) became, in Late Latin, a form of politeness (and, by extension, a term of address in the affective register), just like Maiestas Vestra (Your Majesty), Benevolentia Vestra (Your Goodwill) or, in the Romanian context, Luminăția Ta, Dumneata (= Domnia Ta) etc. (O. Gordon).
- 4
Literally: ‘showed them [His] praesentia’, in which the term praesentia was already in widespread use, in Christian Latin, in the sense of the Greek παρουσία, referring equally to the Incarnation of the Saviour and to His Second Coming (Parousia), that is, a ‘presence’ in the flesh (O. Gordon).
- 5
Literally: ‘he was an outcast from their faith’, so “they had exiled him from their faith” (see, for example, A. Blaise, Dictionnaire latin-français des auteurs chrétiens, Turnhout, Brepols, 1954, s.v. peregrinus) (O. Gordon).
- 6
“It is worth noting the etymological pairs: fingere – figulos, componere – compositores”.
- 7
Time and again, we see the semantic connection which, in the spirit of the Philokalia, Saint Gregory the Great draws between ‘mind’ and ‘heart’ (O. Gordon).
- 8
The Greek term corresponding to the Latin ‘hospitalitas’, namely φιλοξενία, translates literally as ‘love of guests’ or ‘love of strangers’ (O. Gordon).
- 9
This is the authentic version of the verse from the Epistle to the Hebrews. However, the author quotes a corrupted version of Hebrews XIII, 2, namely ‘placuerunt’ instead of ‘latuerunt’, as attested in numerous manuscripts of the Vetus Latina (Vetus Latina, Die Reste der Altlateinischen Bibel, 25/II: Ad Titum, Philemonem, Hebraeos (Hebraeos 11:37–13:10), edited by Herman Josef Frede, Herder, Freiburg, 1991, p. 1625: ‘...per hanc enim placuerunt quidam angelis hospitio receptis’). Following this erroneous reading, the translation of the verse would be: ‘For by this some found favour, having welcomed angels into their homes’.
- 10
The same account is found in John the Deacon, Vita Gregorii, II, 22 (PL 75, 95), with the addition that the head of the household (pater familias) is Saint Gregory himself. A similar account is found in the same John the Deacon, Vita Gregorii, I, 10 (PL 75, 66) and in Vita S. Gregorii Magni per Simonem Metaphrasten (PL 75, 496–498): a shipwrecked man, who comes several times to ask Saint Gregory for help, is ultimately revealed to be an angel of the Lord.
- 11
This is the end of the homily in the Étaix-Blanc-Judic edition, cited above.