We all, each one of us, are walking on our individual journeys through life dealing with our questions either by ourselves or with others. Many times we ask, “Where is God in all of this?”
The disciples walking on the road to Emmaus were talking about all of the stupendous events that had occurred surrounding the crucifixion and death of Jesus. They were terribly upset because they had thought Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah that God had sent, and look what had happened! They were dazed and bewildered by it all; they were trying to make sense out of it, “Where was God in all of this,” they wondered?
The Gospel account then takes us to the one thing that opened their eyes, the event that allowed them to make all of the connections, the central piece in the puzzle. It was the breaking of the bread, when the “Stranger” who was among them took bread, said the blessing, broke it and gave it to them to eat. Suddenly, their eyes of recognition were opened. They no longer saw Him with just their eyes, but they recognized Him with their hearts. They saw Him with their newly awakened faith. They saw Him now in that event where He promised to be with them always.
Jesus comes to you and me in ways we least expect. We know of our own moments of surprise, our own moments of wonder, when suddenly we are aware of God’s presence to us, when out of the blue we hear what He’s saying to us. To deny that He is, in fact, present to us is to deny the testimony of countless numbers of people who, down through 2,000 years of Christian history, tell us of their similar “Walks to Emmaus,” telling us of their similar moments of coming to recognize Jesus and their encounters with Him.
May you soon have some time to walk your own road to Emmaus. For without His presence with us, we certainly will feel depressed and defeated. Without His presence, we will not be journeying to a destination, we will simply be wandering.
(REV WALDEMAR STAWIARSK)