The Village of Emmaus
／Evelyn O. Shih
This event happened after our Lord's resurrection.
That same day, two disciple (not included in the Twelve)were going
to a village called Emmaus, located about seven miles from Jerusalem.
Along the way, they discussed the Lord's suffering and resurrection.
Their faces were downcast because they didn't believe that the Lord
was actually risen.
Unbeknownst to them, and in spite of the disciples's lack of faith
and lack of fame (one didn't even have a name in the Bible), the Lord
walked a long with them. Amazingly, they didn't recognize His face nor
His voice until He sat down with them at the table and took the bread,
giving thanks and breaking it to give to the disciples. Then their eyes
were opened and they recognized Him.
The two disciples must have been with Jesus for quite a long time
listening to His sermons as they walked. Why didn't they recognize Him?
Because they were full of sorrow and doubt. They tried so hard to figure
out the situation that they failed to be aware of the Lord's presence.
Doesn't this sound like all of us? When things happen, we question,
"Why?", and keep ourselves busy to solve the problem or we blame others,
even complaining to God, "Where are you when I need you most?". In fact,
God was right beside us and went through the whole thing with us without
our recognition.
Another interesting a spect of the story of the two disciples was
that their hearts were burning while Jesus talked with them on the road
and opened the Scripture to them. Yes, they were eager to learn the
Scripture, but not the Lord of the Scripture. Perhaps they thought they
were lucky to have such a good Rabbi with them. Some of us may be just
like them, loving to study Theology and all other religious theories,
but still not knowing the Lord Himself.
When the disciples urged Him to stay with them and honored Him as
the master of the house by allowing Him to take bread, give thanks,
break it and give it to them, their eyes were opened. They recognized
Jesus, however, not because of any special way that he performed this
before-meal ritual, for they were not among the Twelve who had many
chances to eat with Him. Furthermore, in the miracles of feeding the
five thousand and the four thousand, they were among the crowds who
could not clearly see His gestures.
They recognized Him because they received the Lord into their homes
and honored Him as their Master. When they lay down their troubles and
looked upon Jesus, they recognized this risen Lord and ran all the way
back to Jerusalem at once. These disciples were full of joy and couldn't
wait to proclaim the gospel.
Wishing that you'll have the same experience in this Easter
season......
