They were totally distraught about Jesus’ death, and even though there was now news that His tomb is empty and that Christ is alive, they were still down-hearted and confused.
Jesus appeared to them on the way. They did not recognize Him. They spoke with Him and told Him their news. They said that their Lord and leader had been crucified, and there were rumours going around that He was alive again.
Jesus did not tell them who He was but explained to them the prophets’ predictions about Him. He walked with them all the way to Emmaus, but still they did not recognize Him. It wasn’t until He broke and blessed the bread that they recognized Him.
Why? I ask myself.
Why did they not recognize Him when they first saw Him, or when He took the time to explain to them the writings of the prophets?
Could it be that their minds were more pre-occupied with their problems and their dilemma rather than listening to Him?
You can just imagine how their mind worked and how concerned they were about their predicament.
Their leader is dead. What are they to do now? Is it all over? Every thing He said and taught comes to nothing? And what of the future? What are His followers to do now?
But aren’t we just the same.
How often do events touch our lives and turn it upside down. Events perhaps of our making, or events that we did not contribute to but they affect us all the same.
And we panic. What are we to do now? What will happen next?
We fear the future, we fear matters getting out of our control and we turn our attention to our problems and our dilemma. Just like those two on the way to Emmaus.
Yet, all the time we are panicking Jesus is there. Walking beside us. Quite literally. Waiting for us to recognize Him, hold His hand in the full knowledge and trust that He will see us through our darkest hour.
It is our doubts, our fears and our worries which prevent us from seeing Him.
...few if any would recognize Jesus today.
ReplyDeleteHow true, Tom. My first book, VISIONS, is about that exactly.
DeleteGod bless.
Amen, Victor! We limit ourselves too often to the exclusion of seeing the Lord walking beside us.
ReplyDeleteBlessings!
We limit ourselves by our fears and confusions.
DeleteGod bless, Martha.
Amen! This reminds me of the old verse, "There are none so blind as those who will not see."
ReplyDeleteSeveral of my church friends -- men and women alike -- have participated in weekend retreat(s) 'Walk to Emmaus' but I don't know that I'm there/ready to participate just yet. Have you done so ... or, is that a thing in the UK?
Yes, sadly people will believe what they want to believe.
DeleteI have attended a number of weekend retreats organised by our church. Mostly held off the premises in monasteries or convents some miles away that you have to travel to. The intention is that you are away from your home environment. Some have been for everyone; others for married couples only, or people engaged to be married, or certain age groups like 18 to 25 only.
They've been well organised and I like the idea that you spend Friday and Saturday nights there. This allows for more time for discussions as a group, with other attendees, or one-to-one with the priest or monk leading the sessions. Usually we have more than one speaker on different topics. I would recommend you attend such retreats if available.
Father Francis Maple has run many such retreats in reverse. He calls them Missions. Instead of you going to him, he visits a church anywhere in the UK for a week. Whilst there he runs a series of talks and discussions in the church over the week; ending with celebrating Mass each evening. You can either attend one day or all days as he changes the topic each day. Usually at the end of the week he holds a concert where he sings and collects money for charity.
All in all, I would recommend you attend a retreat. I'll be praying for you.
God bless, Mevely.
I think, to some extent, they were withheld from recognizing him so they wouldn't be so overwhelmed by His presence as to not be able to concentrate and really hear what he had to say to them.
ReplyDeleteYes, we do get preoccupied with how "we" are going to solve "our" problem, and don't hear or see what He's trying to tell us about the solution the whole time. Maybe sometimes we're too busy putting Him on a pedestal to believe He's also down in the mess beside us and stop to listen.
You make good points here, Mimi. Thank you.
DeleteGod bless always.