The Road to Emmaus . . .  this phrase immediately makes me think of Jesus walking with us on a daily basis.  Yet, we (I) do not have the eyes to see and the ears to hear. We are negligent in not seeing Jesus in our presence.  Rather we give up hope and stay disgruntled.  Not unlike Cleopas and the other companion, we have our own expectations of what should be – in their case that Jesus was the Messiah to free them and certainly if he was crucified, he could not be the son of God.  So, in these disciples’ eyes (closed as they are) Jesus was merely a prophet – no more, no less.  I can imagine walking next to them and hearing the banter – the disappointment, the feeling that they had been “had.”  All the hopes for the future taken away at the Cross. For them, they may as well just go home to Emmaus.  All this hype was for naught.  Without the abiding faith, their eyes were, indeed, closed.

Grumbling along the way, they encounter Jesus (unbeknownst to them).  When Jesus asks what they were talking about, they are astounded that there could be someone that didn’t know what had happened in the last few days.  As they recount the last few days, their disbelief and lack of faith is nearly palpable as they tell with skepticism about what the women found earlier that morning. They are limited in their comprehension of what took place.  Clearly, negating what the angels said to the faithful women just that morning, they are just trudging along dissatisfied with the outcome. Jesus chastises them as he states:

Oh, how foolish you are!
How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!
Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things
and enter into his glory?

We are back to the concept of faith – it appears that as soon as things didn’t go as expected, these travelers were willing to just negate everything else that happened.  Yet, Jesus, the consummate teacher, patiently relates to them all the teachings that have preceded his coming.  To their credit, they are willing to listen to this stranger and even want him to stay with them and talk more.  Their faith is beginning to strength and appropriately in the breaking of the bread are their eyes opened.
Sometimes I wonder what it takes to get my eyes open – this has been a hard semester for a variety of reasons and I have struggled with my own faith – not so much the basic belief in Jesus and his redemption for us – just how to deal with this world that seems to be falling down around me – things in my career path (approaching retirement with a definite date is scary) that consistently seem to be no win scenarios, challenges in relationships on various levels, and the global state of affairs.  I want to just be enveloped in the arms of Jesus and know that everything will be okay.  I can know that on a certain level, but I need eyes that see and ears that hear.

Remembering all that has taken place in the resurrection should provide that comfort – I just need to lean into it . . . .

Open the Eyes of my Heart Lord  (Michael W. Smith)