We all know this beautiful passage; it is a joy to read it again just three days after celebrating Easter. These two disciples were on a journey away from where all the terrible things happened to our Lord. They were probably still in shock, depressed and filled with sadness.
How beautiful it was for our Lord to appear to them and to walk with them along their journey.
I found it interesting that something about eyes, sight, or seeing is mentioned five different times in this passage. I wonder why the disciples could not see Christ since they have known him and followed him. Yet they were unable to “see.” Maybe their faith was affected by what had just happened in Jerusalem; it is certainly understandable.
I remember dropping my son off at college. After leaving him and beginning our journey home, I could not see very well; my eyes were full of tears caused by both sadness and joy. But faith in my son’s future helped me to see.
I think Luke may be helping to explain “faith” to us: we must believe when we sometimes cannot see or understand everything. The disciples could see, once our Lord revealed himself to them in the same way he reveals himself to all of us at every Mass, in the breaking of the bread and in giving of himself to us.
What road are you on after Easter? Is Christ with you and you do not even know it? Please have faith as our Lord gives us himself and is always with us.
—Bob Thomas is Executive Director and CEO of Rainbows for All God’s Children, Evanston IL