Acts 3:11-26 Ps 8:2ab and 5, 6-7, 8-9 Lk 24:35-48

Weekly Guide for Daily Prayer The Daily Reflections

Could you believe it? Picture it: You’re one of Jesus’ disciples back around the 1st century. A while back Jesus passed through your town a bit outside of Jerusalem and you went out to hear him speak. What he said seemed to make sense, you liked it, and you decided to make a few changes in your own life accordingly. Since Jesus left your town you’d been keeping up with where he’d gone and what he was saying via word-of-mouth from travelers passing through to Emmaus. A few days ago, though, you heard that this guy you’d been following was suddenly accused of blasphemy and crucified. Whoops! Must have been following the wrong guy…

But now, your neighbors are all excited. They come and tell you that this dead man Jesus is no longer dead, but had walked all seven miles with them from Jerusalem and had come in to eat dinner with them at the end of their journey. Then, after answering so many of their questions, he mysteriously vanished! Before they can finish telling their crazy tale, though, Jesus himself unexpectedly speaks up from within your group and wishes you peace. Say whaaat?! Clearly, about a million questions would run through your mind and you might pinch yourself to be sure you’re not dreaming.

The thing is, what Jesus does here in this story is actually pretty typical of what he still does today in our own 21st century lives. Doesn’t Jesus show up all the time in our lives?  We just don’t always expect him to come or expect him to come when and how he does. Maybe prayer today was just awesome, maybe a conversation with a friend was just what you needed, maybe you were finally able to take a little time for yourself to just be. Jesus reveals himself to us daily in all of those places and more. And the beauty of his glorified coming, both in the 1st and 21st century, is that he always comes to give us a bit more clarity in wishing us peace, leaving us witnesses to his presence.

Keep your eyes open: Jesus is coming today.