The Healing Meal by Jesus: Analysis of Luke 24:30-35 from the Lens of Trauma
Keywords:
healing, Hospitality, luke 24:30-35, meal, the middle, traumaAbstract
The Emmaus journey narrative (Luke 24:13–35) is often interpreted as a post-resurrection story affirming faith and providing a liturgical framework. However, traditional readings tend to overlook the traumatic dimension experienced by the disciples after Jesus’ crucifixion. This study examines Luke 24:30–35 through the lens of trauma theology, focusing on the meal by Jesu0073 at Emmaus as an act of divine restoration. Drawing on Shelly Rambo’s concepts of the middle and witnessing, this study interprets the meal as Jesus’ act of hospitality that heals the disciples from their liminal state between suffering and resurrection. The narrative analysis reveals that the breaking of bread serves as the structural and theological center of the text, marking the disciples’ transformation from despair to renewed recognition of Christ. The Emmaus meal thus functions not merely as a liturgical event but as a restorative encounter, in which Jesus reawakens memory, restores identity, and reintegrates the wounded into their calling as witnesses. This study highlights the Emmaus narrative as a paradigm for pastoral and liturgical theology, showing that faith recovery after trauma occurs through the living presence of Christ manifested in shared meal and healing community.
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