"Were not our hearts burning within us
while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?"
This Sunday’s Gospel begins with two disciples on their way back to Emmaus. They are sad and confused. Sad because their hope died on a cross, and was buried in a tomb. Confused because they have heard reports that the tomb was found empty by the women who went there, telling them that Jesus was alive.
Jesus himself joined them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. First, he listened to them. He asked them a simple, open-ended question, and then he listened to their answer. “What are you discussing as you walk along?” Jesus knew what they were discussing. But he still wanted to listen to them. Jesus wants to know what was happening with all of us, and in our own words.
This story of shattered hopes and loss of dreams is familiar to us. Jesus’ gentle accompaniment and listening presence enables two downcast disciples to express their story. Only then does he offer them a more life-giving interpretation of recent events.
God is always present in our lives. Sometimes he may seem hidden, sometimes he may seem hard to find, but he's always there. And in this Gospel of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, we have an epic example of God’s unfailing presence in our lives.
