During the time of Jesus there were many false prophets who presented themselves to the people. Much like today they spoke loudly and made claims that only the desperate would hold as truth.  Yet on the road to Emmaus Jesus spoke quietly to his disciples and they knew something was different about the stranger who walked with them,  They did not recognize him and only came to understand that the man who had made their “hearts burn within” was Jesus the risen Lord in the breaking of the bread. Why were Jesus’ words different than all the others?  Simply put Jesus not only talked the talk.  He walked the walk.  He had forgiven those who murdered him even as he was being murdered.  He saw good in others when no one else could.  He laughed and saw value in all people as he treated them as equals. The words Jesus spoke of justice, peace and compassion were not just those of that were written in the Old Testament they were the real lived experience of Jesus.  The litmus test of one’s spirituality is whether one simply reads the scriptures or proclaims God’s word with their actions..  It is the difference between reading a novel that is interesting and announcing the saving presence of our God by living hope filled lives. In his apostolic letter”Stay with us Lord” John Paul II encourages the followers of Jesus to proclaim the scriptures with “care, preparation, devout attention and meditative silence’.  While his words are directed primarily at those who lector in our parishes every Catholic can benefit from this same practice. John Paul makes the observation that the two disciples journeying to Emmaus on the evening of the day of the resurrection were weighed down with sadness.  It was Jesus who brought a ray of light to the disciples and gave them hope.  Those who officially proclaim the Word at liturgies as well as all followers of Jesus must first experience hope of Christ breaking forth in their lives and then share that light through proclamation.  Without our own experience of the hope of the risen Christ, reading the scripture is merely reading a story that was a piece of history not something that sets our hearts on fire and inspires others.   When we experience the presence of Jesus in our lives we can then proclaim it with the same authority that Jesus did. It was that authority that made him different than the scribes and Pharisees whose hypocrisy was evident.  In this year of the Eucharist it can be difficult to reverence Christ’s presence in the Eucharist unless we can reverence it in one another and in God’s word, the Scriptures. How can we make a reverential bow to Jesus’ Body and Blood when we fail to recognize God’s presence in one another and in his word?   The disciples recognized the risen Lord in the breaking of the bread.   Yet that moment may never have happened if the disciples were not drawn to Jesus by the authenticity of his witness to the word of God.