III. The Disciples on Emmaus Road: Eyes That Saw the Master
The disciples traveled that road with a heavy heart. All they knew that that their Master was dead. Not only was he dead, but that his body is apparently missing. They have seen the empty tomb. They have heard the women testify that Jesus was alive, and yet here they were, discussing the whole thing as if it was unbelievable. They were talking as if there was no Resurrection, as if all that happened were just a bunch of stories superstitious women cooked up. They were talking about what could have been, what should have been. They were sure Jesus was going to redeem Israel. They could almost taste the sweet victory and that Israel would become free once more from its oppressors. And yet, tragically, all is now lost. Lost now is the hope of glory. Lost now is the hope of political freedom. And they were almost sure Jesus was the one. Now he's dead, and on top of that, his body is now missing! Not surprisingly, their eyes were kept from recognizing from Jesus - probably because they were not ready to see the risen Lord, probably because they refused the possibility.
They were too immersed in their own opinions and their own ideas of what the Messiah could have done, what Jesus could have been. They were with the Messiah and yet they missed the obvious. They saw the empty tomb, and yet refused to consider the truth of the women's claims. They were with Jesus and yet missed out on the truly important. They did not recognize Him. Even when their hearts were burning within them as they heard the stranger walk with them and spoke with them, they ignored the obvious. "Foolish men and slow of heart to believe!" Jesus calls them.
There are times when truth confronts us so blatantly, so obviously that it could smack us in the face, and yet we refuse to believe it. Sometimes all it takes to know and be in the Lord's presence is a glance, a recognition of that burning within your heart, and yet we ignore it, and so we lose out on something valuable, something important. Our proud hearts and our "informed" minds refuse to take in anything as obvious, as plain as the eyes could see. We intellectualize, we dissect, we try to be objective with our faith - which is something that should be done, of course, but there will be times when we need to go past these and believe. We need to realize that there are elements in our faith that must be taken with firmness of conviction even when proofs and logic tell us otherwise. We sometimes need to take a leap of faith so to speak. Let us learn to cultivate informed, knowledgeable minds, for they are important, but let us also recognize, like the disciples have realized, "the Lord is with us!"
These voices of Easter - faces of faith - men and women whose lives are transformed because of that extraordinary Sunday. They are like mirrors that reflect our own struggles, our own doubts, our own mistakes. And yet we learn that the Resurrection of Jesus has brought about profound changes in their lives that they were never the same again. The resurrection of Jesus gave them a purpose to live, even it was a life ignored and obscure. The resurrection of Jesus underscored the fact that forgiveness and restoration is available. The resurrection of Jesus reminds us to be simple in our faith, to be vigilant of the Lord, - our hearts burn within us with the truth, He is with us. Let us learn from these men and women of the faith.
The disciples traveled that road with a heavy heart. All they knew that that their Master was dead. Not only was he dead, but that his body is apparently missing. They have seen the empty tomb. They have heard the women testify that Jesus was alive, and yet here they were, discussing the whole thing as if it was unbelievable. They were talking as if there was no Resurrection, as if all that happened were just a bunch of stories superstitious women cooked up. They were talking about what could have been, what should have been. They were sure Jesus was going to redeem Israel. They could almost taste the sweet victory and that Israel would become free once more from its oppressors. And yet, tragically, all is now lost. Lost now is the hope of glory. Lost now is the hope of political freedom. And they were almost sure Jesus was the one. Now he's dead, and on top of that, his body is now missing! Not surprisingly, their eyes were kept from recognizing from Jesus - probably because they were not ready to see the risen Lord, probably because they refused the possibility.
They were too immersed in their own opinions and their own ideas of what the Messiah could have done, what Jesus could have been. They were with the Messiah and yet they missed the obvious. They saw the empty tomb, and yet refused to consider the truth of the women's claims. They were with Jesus and yet missed out on the truly important. They did not recognize Him. Even when their hearts were burning within them as they heard the stranger walk with them and spoke with them, they ignored the obvious. "Foolish men and slow of heart to believe!" Jesus calls them.
There are times when truth confronts us so blatantly, so obviously that it could smack us in the face, and yet we refuse to believe it. Sometimes all it takes to know and be in the Lord's presence is a glance, a recognition of that burning within your heart, and yet we ignore it, and so we lose out on something valuable, something important. Our proud hearts and our "informed" minds refuse to take in anything as obvious, as plain as the eyes could see. We intellectualize, we dissect, we try to be objective with our faith - which is something that should be done, of course, but there will be times when we need to go past these and believe. We need to realize that there are elements in our faith that must be taken with firmness of conviction even when proofs and logic tell us otherwise. We sometimes need to take a leap of faith so to speak. Let us learn to cultivate informed, knowledgeable minds, for they are important, but let us also recognize, like the disciples have realized, "the Lord is with us!"
These voices of Easter - faces of faith - men and women whose lives are transformed because of that extraordinary Sunday. They are like mirrors that reflect our own struggles, our own doubts, our own mistakes. And yet we learn that the Resurrection of Jesus has brought about profound changes in their lives that they were never the same again. The resurrection of Jesus gave them a purpose to live, even it was a life ignored and obscure. The resurrection of Jesus underscored the fact that forgiveness and restoration is available. The resurrection of Jesus reminds us to be simple in our faith, to be vigilant of the Lord, - our hearts burn within us with the truth, He is with us. Let us learn from these men and women of the faith.
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