Someone once asked me this question: “What is your favorite Gospel reading?” I remember being taken aback by that. It’s not something I had ever considered before. My mind immediately sifted through all of the stories about Christ, his birth, his mission, his passion. I ticked through the parables. I thought about the healings and miracles. But I ended up choosing today’s reading: the story that happens when two people walking on a road meet up with a man who they later discovered was the Messiah. 

I wonder whether this is my favorite because the flow of the story is the flow of our Mass, where we listen to stories from scripture, try to understand their meaning and implications, and then experience the Eucharist?

Maybe.

Or is it because it’s an affirmation of the Eucharist and Christ’s presence through the breaking of bread?

Maybe.

Or is it because of the accompaniment theme?

Yes, I think that’s probably it. Accompaniment.

Over the past week, I have been thinking about the fact that our lives are like one long walk along a path… that we experience hills and valleys, good days and bad, and that people walk alongside of us. Some of them for a very long time. Some for just a brief period. Often, we must walk alone.

But Christ tells us he is there with us. Next to us. Right there… next to us.

Two things struck me as I considered this…

First, Christ walks with us even before we recognize him. The two people on the road with him had no idea who it was.

Accompaniment often begins in hiddenness.

I used to think that the task of faith was to find Jesus in that hiddenness. But more recently, I have come to believe that the true task of faith is to accept that he is there. To trust in that. Even when it doesn’t seem to be the case. Even when it is particularly hard. Even when our own hike is filled with valleys and bad days. 

The second aspect of this story I’ve been thinking about is that Jesus accompanies by listening first. He starts with this question: “What are you discussing as you walk along?” He then listens to their grief, confusion, and dashed hopes. So many times in the Gospel, Jesus asks questions such as:

“What are you looking for?”

“Why are you afraid?”

“Who do you say that I am?”

“Do you want to be well?”

“What do you want me to do for you?”

And

“Whom are you seeking?”

Jesus asks.

He doesn’t jump to explanations, to teaching, to commanding. Instead…

Jesus asks.

He is the companion on the road who allows us to choose. He poses the question and we are given a choice, freedom, and the ability to decide whether to answer. This is how he calls out to us. Right there, next to us on the road.

Jesus asks.

And so, what’s your answer?