Sola, Sola, Sola....

“That very day, the first day of the week,
two of Jesus' disciples were going
to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus,
and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred.
And it happened that while they were conversing and debating,
Jesus himself drew near and walked with them,
but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.
He asked them,
"What are you discussing as you walk along?"
They stopped, looking downcast.
One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply,
"Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem
who does not know of the things
that have taken place there in these days?"
And he replied to them, "What sort of things?"
They said to him,
"The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene,
who was a prophet mighty in deed and word
before God and all the people,
how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over
to a sentence of death and crucified him.
But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel;
and besides all this,
it is now the third day since this took place.
Some women from our group, however, have astounded us:
they were at the tomb early in the morning
and did not find his body;
they came back and reported
that they had indeed seen a vision of angels
who announced that he was alive.
Then some of those with us went to the tomb
and found things just as the women had described,
but him they did not see."
And he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are!
How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!
Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things
and enter into his glory?"
Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets,
he interpreted to them what referred to him
in all the Scriptures.
As they approached the village to which they were going,
he gave the impression that he was going on farther.
But they urged him, "Stay with us,
for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over."
So he went in to stay with them.
And it happened that, while he was with them at table,
he took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and gave it to them.
With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him,
but he vanished from their sight.
Then they said to each other,
"Were not our hearts burning within us
while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?"
So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem
where they found gathered together
the eleven and those with them who were saying,
"The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!"
Then the two recounted
what had taken place on the way
and how he was made known to them in the breaking of bread.” – Luke 24:13-35

Most mainline non-Catholic Christian denominations profess and believe three to five of the solas.

Sola Scriptura – Scripture Alone

Sola Fide – Faith Alone

Sola Gratia – Grace Alone

Solus Christus – Christ Alone

Soli Deo Gloria – Glory to God Alone

They believe that with these things ‘alone’ is enough. Catholics believe in these as well, but we believe that God requires our participation in them. This is why he gave us a Church and the Sacraments; so we can participate in the salvation of, not only ourselves, but the entire world. What we need to remember is that we are bound by the Church and the Sacraments, God is not. He can choose to save anyone alone, and there are examples of him doing so, but that is not the ordinary way he designed it to happen.

The story about the Road to Emmaus gives us a very clear example on why scripture alone is not enough. Those who profess sola scriptura believe that the bible has more authority than the church, some going as far as to say that the bible has all authority and the church has no authority. Catholics believe that Jesus created the Church, not the bible. The Church created the bible through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit; therefore, it cannot have more authority than the Church. Scripture even states this in 1 Timothy 3:15.

On the road to Emmaus, two of Jesus’ disciples were leaving Jerusalem on Easter Sunday. These are disciples who heard the scriptures read to them all their lives in the temple and synagogues. These are disciples who were taught what these scriptures meant by learned rabbis throughout the years. These were disciples who were taught by Jesus himself for a couple of years. These were not disciples who knew nothing about scripture.

As they walked the road, Jesus came to walk with them, but they were kept from recognizing him. Starting with Moses, he interpreted all of the scriptures for them and how all the scriptures pointed to him. Their hearts burned within them as the scriptures took on new meaning. Hearing and reading the scriptures alone over the years was not enough. They had to be interpreted by someone with authority. In this case, that interpretation came straight from the mouth of the ultimate authority. And yet, even then, scripture alone was not enough.

The disciples did not recognize Jesus until the breaking of the bread. This was not just an ordinary meal. This was not symbolic of the Last Supper. This was Christ in the Eucharist. Jesus told them how all of the scriptures pointed to him and then fed them with his body and blood. After this he disappeared from their sight. So filled with joy, they ran back to the Disciples to tell them the good news.

Jesus did not give his authority to everyone to interpret the scriptures. He gave his authority to the Church he created. The Catholic Church has the sole authority and responsibility to interpret the scriptures for all believers. That means scripture alone is insufficient.

In the Catholic Mass we are read the scriptures. A priest or deacon, who has been given authority, preaches about what these scriptures mean to our lives today. After the Liturgy of the Word, we move into the Liturgy of the Eucharist, where Jesus will feed us with his body and blood.

We also walk the road to Emmaus when we attend Mass. Jesus walks with us. He interprets his word for us. He feeds us with his body and blood. Do we react in the same way as the two disciples did? Do we run out at the end of Mass filled with joy to share the miracle we just got to be part of?

That’s how we should be responding anyway.