3rd Sunday of Easter – God Walks With Us

“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.’ 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?’” (Luke 24:15-19, 25-32).
 
The story of Emmaus is one with which we can all identify. The disciples were walking along, fearful and anxious. They had thought Jesus was going to be the Messiah, but their picture of a messiah didn’t correspond to the reality of Jesus’ life. He was crucified and now was missing from the tomb. Some of their women even said he was alive. What kind of messiah was this? And so they hurried along, surprised by a stranger who apparently had not heard the news.
 
In this story, the disciples’ expectations about how God was supposed to work blinded them from seeing that God was walking with them. Even when Jesus broke open the Scripture, explaining how his death and resurrection had been foretold by the prophets, they still did not understand. It was only when Jesus took the bread and broke it that they recognized him, and could reflect back and say “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way?”
 
Like the disciples, we sometimes seem to be wearing blinders that keep us from seeing that God is walking with us. We have preconceptions about how God should work in our lives, or about the people through whom God does or does not work. We too receive the gifts of the Word, of the breaking of the bread, of the gathered community through which we can see and recognize God. The story of Emmaus is a call to attentiveness, a call to open our eyes to God, who ceaselessly accompanies us; to look beyond the prejudice, apathy, and indifference that blind us. It is a call to be always aware of God, who causes our hearts to burn within us, right here and right now.
 
- What are some of the barriers that keep you from recognizing God, who is always with you?
 
Adapted from Word on the Go, a downloadable resource from RENEW International.