Popular theologian delves into the Scriptures, promises fulfilled by Christ during Lenten retreat in Shelby Township

SHELBY TOWNSHIP ─ Dr. Scott Hahn, acclaimed Catholic theologian, author and founder of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, visited St. Kieran Parish in Shelby Township for a Lenten retreat April 1, informing – and entertaining – the congregation about the theological implications of his favorite story in the Bible: Jesus accompanying the two travelers on the road to Emmaus.

The scene described in Luke 24:13-35 features two disciples of Jesus, Cleopas and an unnamed companion, who are journeying from Jerusalem to Emmaus when a stranger joins them.

“The two of them are going to this village named Emmaus,” Dr. Hahn said. “I’ve been to Emmaus, it’s about seven miles from Jerusalem, but it’s not a straight shot, not a level road. It’s a long and winding road that is rather hilly, so this journey would take hours. While talking amongst themselves, Jesus drew near and went with them.”

The story describes how the disciples of Christ did not recognize Jesus, and how they were downcast about his arrest, torture that had taken place on Good Friday. Dr. Hahn said that the fact that the two men did not recognize Christ reveals something astonishing.

“In Chapter 19 of Luke, we see that it was Mary, the wife of Cleopas, who was at the foot of the cross with Mary Magdalene and Mary the Blessed Virgin Mary, her sister,” Dr. Hahn said. “There is a relatedness here. And we get more information from apocryphal texts that Cleopas is the younger brother of Joseph.

“This is Uncle Cleopas!” Dr. Hahn explained. “What’s wrong with his eyesight [on the way to Emmaus]? Can’t he recognize his Messianic nephew?”

Dr. Hahn recounted that Jesus, appearing as this stranger, explained to Cleopas and his companion what occurred on Good Friday and why it had to happen.

“Let’s state the obvious here: What an amazing Bible study this must have been,” Dr. Hahn said. “I’m not sure why in God’s providence he had not allowed recording technology to be invented yet. But why didn’t these two men sit down and write down from memory and transcribe all he said?”

The Lenten retreat was sponsored by Dr. Hahn and his ministry, the St. Paul Center for Theology. During the conference, Dr. Hahn's books, including his latest – "Hope to Die: The Christian Meaning of Death and the Resurrection of the Body" – were available for sale.

Dr. Hahn argued that the most significant takeaway from the Road to Emmaus wasn’t that Christ journeyed incognito with the two disciples. But rather, it is significant that after these disciples invited Christ to stay and eat with them, they recognized Jesus the moment He gave thanks and broke the bread.

“Jesus does four things ─ took the bread, blessed it, broke and gave it to them ─ and in the next verse, verse 31, their eyes were suddenly opened,” Dr. Hahn said. “And what does Jesus do? [Does He] say, ‘it’s about time you recognize me?’ No, he disappears as soon as they recognized him. Why? Because when he took the bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to them, that four-fold action, that is the paradigm for what we call the Eucharist, the holy sacrifice of the Mass.”

Dr. Hahn said this passage in the Gospel sets the stage for the Mass, the Eucharist, and the Real Presence that was celebrated in the early Church and continues to this day.

Dr. Hahn said the pattern established on the Road to Emmaus: reciting Scripture and gathering together to break bread continues within the structure of the Mass.

It was a structure he recognized before his conversion to Catholicism in 1986 when he was studying for his Ph.D. in Systematic Theology at Marquette University in Milwaukee. He attended a Catholic Mass and compared it to writings from leaders of the early Christian church.

"They dropped to their knees and the priest said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God.' [And I'm] thinking, ‘so this is where they are getting this new Passover, this is the Book of Revelation.’” Dr. Hahn said. “John describes Jesus in many ways, but one term he uses the most is ‘Lamb of God.’ He uses it 28 times in 22 chapters. While all you Catholics were going up for communion, I’m in the back with the Book of Revelation, looking it all up. The songs, the prayers, and 'Sacrifice of the Lamb.' What was being done in a basement chapel was a perfect match of what the saints and martyrs were doing in heaven. [It was] God’s will being done in the Mass.”

It was this infusion of Scripture into the Mass that convinced Dr. Hahn to join the Catholic Church, and now it is what pushes him to encourage other Catholics to study Scripture so they can better understand all the prophecies and promises Christ fulfills by rising from the dead on Easter.

“The takeaway for us is: ‘Do we prioritize and value Sacred Scripture?' Probably not,” Dr. Hahn said. “I have a confession to make. I’m a professor of Scripture, I value the important reading of the Bible. But if I just rose from the dead, I probably wouldn’t have led a Bible study with my closest followers, as He did on the Road to Emmaus. But this is what Jesus sets for us on Easter, using the Scriptures to lead us to the Sacrament.”

Following his keynote, Dr. Hahn took questions from the congregation for 30 minutes, while members of the St. Paul Center staff collected contributions for theapostolate.

Fr. Joseph Mallia, pastor at St. Kieran, thanked Dr. Hahn for visiting the parish and said the parish looked forward to hosting more speakers to explain the pillars of the faith to a wider audience.

“It’s painfully clear that many of our Catholic faithful are not as knowledgeable as they should be about their faith, their Church, and or the Scriptures upon which our faith is based,” Fr. Mallia said. “Our failure to educate the faithful leads them to be easily misled by others who would seek to draw them away from the Catholic Church. Our hope, through the various speakers, events and concerts that we hope to host and sponsor, is to bring the beauty of faith to an ever more diverse group of people. Thank you for coming tonight, and I hope to see you at other events in the future.”