Hello dear
I paused to pray for you today. May you feel the warmth of Christ’s embrace throughout the day. Here’s today’s Holy Nougat
“Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared!” Luke 24:31 NLT
They had walked together for some time on that road to Emmaus; it was approximately 3 hours’ walk and Jesus joined them at some point. They were deeply impacted by their grief and fear, and although they were disciples; they could not recognize Jesus! He could have been any masked man in the Covid-19 context (we all blur into one).
It could be that their fear overwhelmed them and distorted their vision; but we recall that Mary also was challenged by the sight of the resurrected Jesus, and she mistook him for a gardener. Mary recognized Him by His voice; these disciples recognized Him in the act of breaking the bread!
I wish to suggest that recognizing Jesus is a personal event, and that it is somewhat dependent on OUR experience in our relationship with Him. Further, I wish to note that Jesus wants to be recognized by us. Not as a movie star or other celebrity. No. Jesus would like to be recognized as the one Who teaches and nourishes us – He is our Bread of Life.
If that is a legitimate argument, then we might wonder; ‘why would Jesus up and disappear the moment that the disciples recognized Him?’ I propose that part of His role in the moment described was to restore Hope. Like Mary, the two disciples were despondent; they couldn’t see the forest (of fulfilled prophecy) for the trees of Christ’s death, disappearance and (in their views) the disaster that fostered delusions among the women.
Using the scriptures, Jesus encouraged them. Using the Feast, Jesus restored all that remained hope-less in their world. Is that not our role today? To meet each person where they are and point them to the God of Hope? And through the Feast afford each one who partakes an opportunity to see Jesus for themselves? What an awesome witness to Him Who gives us Hope and keeps us in His mercy at all times!
In Christ’s love and grace . . .
