The Road to Emmaus: Walking With Eyes Opened Mtr. Joyce Locht May 4, 2014 As a child, I heard the resurrection stories of the gospels and I found them strange. Jesus used some kind of magic to appear and disappear, but that wasn’t the strange thing. After raising his friend Lazarus from the dead, healing the sick and feeding five thousand with the contents of a picnic basket, the post resurrection Jesus magically appearing and disappearing didn’t seem impossible. But why, like in this gospel account, did his friends not recognize him and then suddenly recognize him? And why would Jesus not reveal his identity at the start? This remains puzzling to me, but I now have a little better understanding of my blindness to the presence of Jesus. Jesus is always present to us, but we are often blind to this. In our mind’s eye then, let us join Cleopas and his companion on the road to Emmaus, who teach us something about what we can do to limit our blindness. They tell us of three things important to recognizing the presence of Jesus: 1) remaining open to the whole story, 2) the Eucharist, 3) and the Scriptures. Cleopas and his friend are sad. Sad because the amazing Jesus, whom they had pinned so much hope on has died and they’re remembering only part of Jesus’ message. Partial appraisals or catching only half the story lead to blind spots – areas where we lack understanding or impartiality. As they walk away from Jerusalem feeling defeated, a stranger joins them. We know it’s Jesus, but they are blind to him. After walking along and ‘blindly’ telling Jesus the reason for their sadness, the stranger - Jesus chides them and proceeds to interpret Scriptures to them in a way that puts Jesus in the centre of the Scriptures and points to a bigger story. Still, no sight. The two are focused on Jesus as prophet – one who would redeem and save Israel from the oppressive rule of the Romans. Their hopes died with Jesus on the cruel cross. They clearly lost sight of some significant aspects of Jesus’ teachings. They near a village; Jesus walks ahead, as though to continue down the road. They are open and hospitable – inviting the stranger to join them for something to eat. This has always been a special moment for Jesus. He characterized himself as bread (John 6: 48) – so when people are hungry he is eager to be with them.
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