Many a times we desire to be in the presence of the Lord from the extraordinary experiences of life without realizing that God is within us, and also in our neighbours. We struggle along the path thinking that the Lord has deserted us and therefore we lose hope, we become frustrated, we give up and choose our paths, perhaps even the path of a sinful life since our hope is shattered. It at this point when we ponder on the Gospel of today that we seldom realize that people usually and always walk with the Lord yet fail to recognize Him (Luke 24: 13- 35). The Road to Emmaus shed some light of reflection to mirror ourselves to-date.
1. The Gospel tells us that it was in the afternoon when these two men were traveling from Jerusalem to Emmaus which was on the western side of Jerusalem. Can we suppose that the rays of sunset blinded them to recognize Jesus as he suddenly walks with them? No. They utterly lost hope and they did not totally believe what He said, “They will put me to death but after three days I will rise from the dead.” Many a times our consideration of the resurrection is ‘blind’. We think that our tears, sorrows, tribulations and miseries are the end and climax of our destiny. Remember that always there will be the rising up after we hit hard over some hiccups. Pope Francis once said, let the eyes cleansed by tears see better the clear light. Never despair when you encounter problems, the world indeed is the valley of tears but after every ‘death’ there is still the hope of rising back.
2. Jesus walks with them and listens attentively to what they had to elaborate on how they lost hope. Actually, when we visit the psychologist for counseling, we assume we are going to get the problem solved by the psychologist. Rather, their duty is to listen with empathy to what bothers us and hence enlighten us only with advice. In the similar manner we are very lucky if there is someone next to us who listens when we talk, couldn’t that person be Godsent? I suppose we are not lost if along the thorny roads we are traveling there is always the ear to listen, the Lord is still with us no matter what.
3. They recognized him at the breaking of the bread. Let us recall that a day before his death Jesus instituted the Eucharistic meal by saying, “Do this in memory of me.” We also remember that it was through food that Adam and Eve threw humanity into sin (Genesis 2). It was necessary that Jesus restore our fallen nature by food. In Mathew 25: 31-46 there is the parable about those who will enter heaven. “When I was hungry you gave me to eat, now enter into the kingdom of my Father.” Do we still eat the Eucharist as the bread of eternal life, or we do it as the habit? Maybe that is where we fail to recognize Him. Do we share the meals with other people especially the vulnerable? Maybe that is where we fail to recognize Him. No matter how shattered our hopes in the journey of life are, it is always at the fellowship tables and the Eucharistic table that Jesus reveals and reassures his love for humanity.
4. He disappeared from their sight, and they went back joyfully to proclaim the wonders of God to the others.
We often think that when we have helped people, they are nothing and cannot do anything without us. But to give ourselves the dignity we must always know when to leave. People have to at one point long for your presence amongst them. To strengthen the ones we are helping we must once in a while let them do it their own way. Again, joy has to be shared. When we have recognized and found the Lord, we need to share such good news with others so that they get the opportunity to search and find Him to. That is evangelization.
In conclusion, let us be aware of how we talk about the other people in their presence or in their absence. These two disciples on the way to Emmaus were talking about Jesus yet walking with Him without realizing it.
Beware of talks of gossips, beware of your posts on social media and beware of the thoughts about yourself during the hard times. These kind of talks and thoughts can either bring blessings or condemnations upon the lives of other people whom we may need in the future.
May the risen Lord always make us realize him in every sphere of our life, feed us always with bread of heaven and bless us with strength to endure the problems we are facing each day. Amen.
Blessed Sunday to you all.