Tag: Emmaus

• Luke 24:35-48: Incredulous for Joy

  
  

  Luke 24:35-48: Incredulous for Joy

  Thursday, May 1, 2025

  

  In this second week of Eastertide, we continue to find nourishment in the Easter miracle of our resurrection as we re-visit the Gospel readings for the Easter Octave. Today we accompany the Emmaus disciples who return to Jerusalem to confirm the rumors that Jesus lives, to affirm the good news that Christ walks among them.  Like these faithful, we are terrified and startled by the darkness that stalks those who want to live in the light. Like these followers, we are amazed when we allow ourselves to take in the goodness of God. Like this remnant of the Spirit, we move out of our fear to amazement and incredulous joy when we open our hearts to Christ.

  Suddenly the Lord himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

  When we are honest, we admit that life’s struggles are impossible to surmount on our own. What do the immediate followers of Christ show us?

  They were terrified, thinking that they were seeing a ghost. But he said to them, “Why are you alarmed? Why are these doubts coming up in your minds?”

  When we are vulnerable, we feel more intensely the soothing presence of God. What does Christ himself say to us?

  They still could not believe, they were so full of joy and wonder; so he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of cooked fish, which he took and ate in their presence.”

  When we are doubtful, we have the opportunity to turn to the only authentic source of consolation and healing. What do those who followed Christ two millennia ago say to us?

  Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

  When we reflect with The Word, we tap the root of our faith and nurture our budding hope. What do those who believe in Christ tell us?

  You are witnesses of these things.

  When we listen to The Word, we allow Christ to carry us from startled fear to joyful, incredulous amazement; and we come to understand that we too, are witnesses of these wonderful things.

  When we reflect on the times in our lives when Christ has made the impossible possible, we too are seized with the Spirit’s incredulous joy.

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  Enter the words fear or hope into the blog search bar for more  reflections on moving from anxiety to joy.

  When we compare other translations of these verses, we arm ourselves to be witnesses of these things. 

  Image from: http://www.joyfulheart.com/holy-week/appearance_of_christ_in_the_upper_room.htm 

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  May 1, 2025

  all things are possible for God, Christ’s peace, Emmaus, from fear to joy

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• Luke 24:13-35: Drawing Near

  
  

  

  Luke 24:13-35: Drawing Near

  Wednesday, April 30, 2025

  In this second week of Eastertide, we continue to relive the Easter miracle of our resurrection as we re-visit the Gospel readings for the Easter Octave. Today we find a theme we often visit during our Noontimes, the road to Emmaus. Despite our having read and heard this story so often, we find a newness today.

  As they talked and discussed, Jesus himself drew near and walked along with them; they saw him, but somehow did not recognize him. (GNT)

  Perhaps we re-live this story so often because we walk with Jesus as these followers do. They – and we – move through life with eyes on a distant Emmaus some miles away. They – and we – stride quickly forward to escape a terrible Jerusalem that put an end to the beautiful dream. They – and we – rehash a story that is at once too terrible and too beautiful to recall. “Such promise,” we say to one another. “Such disaster,” we whisper to this stranger. “Such disappointment,” we hear ourselves sigh.

  We move forward with the stranger who draws near, and we have the odd sensation that we know him; yet we do not recognize the strong body coupled with the compassionate heart. His words comfort and challenge in the same moment. His eyes tease and console in the same gaze.  What is it, we ask ourselves, that draws us near?

  They were deep in conversation, going over all these things that had happened. In the middle of their talk and questions, Jesus came up and walked along with them. But they were not able to recognize who he was. (MSG)

  It is no wonder that this is a favorite story for in it we see Christ as we need him. Tending to our wounds while animating us to gather strength. Challenging our doubt while calming our anxiety. Drawing near to our hearts while healing our fear.

  In this Eastertide, as we move toward our own Emmaus, let us commit to looking for Christ in each person we meet every day. Let us promise to give over to Christ each worry that plagues us every night. Let us remember that Christ rises to heal us each morning and walks with us to heal us every afternoon. Let us welcome the stranger who draws near to affirm to one another that despite our harsh circumstances, we are not abandoned. Then let us draw near to the Spirit in one another, for it is in this act of openness that we find our healing, unending encounter with the living Christ.

  As they talked and discussed, Yeshua himself came up and walked along with them, but something kept them from recognizing him. (CJB)

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  When we explore varying translations of this story, we open our ears and eyes, and we draw ever nearer to Christ.

  For more reflections, enter the word Emmaus into the blog search bar.

  Image from: https://fineartamerica.com/featured/the-road-to-emmaus-daniel-bonnell.html 

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  April 30, 2025

  Emmaus, fear and anxiety, healing

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• Luke 24:36-48: Fulfilled

  
  

  Luke 24:36-48: Fulfilled

  Friday, April 26, 2024

  

  In this Eastertide, we spend time with the Gospels of the Easter Octave, the eight days comprising the celebration of Easter. We hear Luke’s account of what takes place when the Emmaus disciples return to Jerusalem. Once again, when we reflect on a few details, the story becomes vital to our understanding the mystery and miracle of Easter.

  First, we choose a translation that speaks to us most clearly. Then we reflect. If we want to hear an audio version of today’s verses, visit the USCCB site. We may find other versions by using the scripture link and drop-down menus.

  In the MESSAGE translation, Cleopas and his companion went over everything that happened on the road and how they recognized him when he broke the bread.

  Can we imagine ourselves listening to our colleagues as they tell us that they have witnessed a miracle? Can we envision our conversation with family and friends as we hear about their incredible interaction with the risen Christ?

  While they were saying all this, Jesus appeared to them and said, “Peace be with you.” They thought they were seeing a ghost and were scared half to death.

  Can we predict our reaction to the appearance of Christ among us? What do we say when we share a meal with him? Is our overwhelming emotion fear? Do suspicion and doubt take over? Do anxiety and disbelief crowd our hearts? And then we hear Jesus’ words.

  “Don’t be upset, and don’t let all these doubting questions take over. Look at my hands; look at my feet—it’s really me. Touch me. Look me over from head to toe. A ghost doesn’t have muscle and bone like this.” 

  How do we reply?

  They still couldn’t believe what they were seeing. It was too much; it seemed too good to be true.

  We are startled to hear the Teacher ask: “Do you have any food here?” They gave him a piece of leftover fish they had cooked. He took it and ate it right before their eyes.

  

  If we persist in a thick-headed and slow-hearted reaction, we look for ways to unravel the fraud we suspect. If we are reluctant and discouraged, we listen and watch warily, looking for reasons to doubt. If we remain hopeful and determined, we open our minds and hearts as we prepare to love and be loved. We listen to Christ’s words. We accept the joyful newness that asks to change our thinking.

  Jesus says, “Everything I told you while I was with you comes to this: All the things written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets, and in the Psalms have to be fulfilled. You’re the first to hear and see it. You’re the witnesses”.

  We cannot do this, we are thinking. We do not have the courage or the tools. This newness is all too new, and too incredible for belief. Until Christ tells us . . . “What comes next is very important: I am sending what my Father promised to you, so stay here in the city until he arrives, until you’re equipped with power from on high”.

  Christ predicts the arrival and in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit. Christ offers a gift too amazing to believe. Christ proposes a life too wonderful, too mystifying, too marvelous to believe. And yet . . .

  Christ stands in the midst of us, sharing our meals, attending to our fears and doubts. Christ has fulfilled the promise of redemption made by the Living God for millennia. The choice is ours to make. Do we turn inward in our doubt? Or do we open in newness to accept the fulfillment of the promise we are offered?

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  For other posts on the story of Emmaus, enter the word into the blog search bar and explore.

  Images from http://www.joyfulheart.com/easter/tissot-passion.htm and http://rclnotes.blogspot.com/2012/04/easter-iii-2012.html

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  April 26, 2024

  Cleopas, doubt, Emmaus, fear, newness, promise

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• Luke 24:13-35: Muscle and Bone

  
  

  Luke 24:13-35: Muscle and Bone

  Thursday, April 25, 2024

  

  In this Eastertide, we spend time with the Gospels of the Easter Octave, the eight days comprising the celebration of Easter. We again hear Luke’s story of the road to Emmaus. Today we look again at a few details that bring this story into the present. First, we choose a translation that speaks to us most clearly. Then we reflect. If we want to hear an audio version of today’s verses, visit the USCCB site. We may find other versions by using the scripture link and drop-down menus.

  In the MESSAGE translation, the story of Cleopas and his companion, and their astounding encounter with the risen Christ, carries the subtitle A Ghost Doesn’t Have Muscle and Bone. We want to remember this today as we face a world that is eager to distract us for the message we need to hear.

  They were deep in conversation, going over all these things that had happened.

  We can imagine ourselves moving through our day, walking side-by-side with friends and family, hashing out surprising events that have stunned our community. Too often we are so fully involved in our own story, we do not notice the stories of others.

  They were not able to recognize who [Jesus] was.

  We can see ourselves as lovers of Christ and believers in his promise; yet we are not always able to see the truth that stands before us.

  Then he said to them, “So thick-headed! So slow-hearted! Why can’t you simply believe all that the prophets said? Don’t you see that these things had to happen, that the Messiah had to suffer and only then enter into his glory?” 

  We are thick-headed and slow-hearted, reluctant and discouraged; yet we remain hopeful and determined, prepared to be loved.

  He acted as if he were going on but they pressed him: “Stay and have supper with us. It’s nearly evening; the day is done.” 

  

  We are ready for the newness despite the lateness of the hour. We invite the prophets among us to share their experience of God. We remain open to the Holy Spirit and the gift of new and intense joy.

  And here is what happened: He sat down at the table with them. Taking the bread, he blessed and broke and gave it to them. At that moment, open-eyed, wide-eyed, they recognized him.

  This is how we must go into the world each day, open-eyed and wide-eyed. We must be willing to be amazed. We must be open to the promise. We must be ready to meet the Christ when we are downcast and least expecting to believe that this fact is true . . . A Ghost Doesn’t Have Muscle and Bone.

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  For other posts on the story of Emmaus, enter the word into the blog search bar and explore.

  Images from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_to_Emmaus_appearance

   

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  April 25, 2024

  Cleopas, Emmaus, newness

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• Luke 24:36-49: Aftermath – Part II

  
  

  Luke 24:36-49: Aftermath – Part II

  Monday, June 12, 2023

  

  The eleven huddle in fear for their lives when the Emmaus disciples burst into the room telling of their resurrection experience with Jesus. We can imagine the juxtaposition of the Emmaus joy and the Calgary fear – these disciples are living two different aftermath experiences – and then Jesus appears to affirm the truth: that what they have hoped for has come to fulfillment. He is risen! Then the disciples hear the true call of the aftermath. This call is not that troubles will fall away from Christ’s workers, but rather that these workers will bring the same hope to others that Jesus has brought to them. The light has come to the world in fullness just as they had expected.

  And so it also with us. The aftermath that Jesus foretells is already surrounding us. Perhaps we just cannot see this duality yet that the light has come to the world in fullness just as we have expected.

  Several times a year we visit the ending of Luke’s Gospel during our Noontime reflections. Perhaps we need this aftermath reminder that often. Just a few weeks ago we spent some time thinking about the Emmaus people on the road with Christ. Today we see them harbinger the news to the eleven that the Christ has risen. The light has come to the world in fullness just as they had expected.

  We seem to always need reminding that the paradox of the Easter story is that we are free even though we do not always feel free; yet the very act of our doubt becomes an act of faith because the light has come to the world in fullness just as we have expected.

  We seem to always need reminding that the hope of Easter is fulfilled in us; we bring that message to one another on dark days because the light has come to the world in fullness just as we have expected.

  We seem to always need reminding that the love of Christ sustains us in all we do and think and say; we offer ourselves as victims each day in his love because the light has come to the world in fullness just as we have expected.

  We are Easter People, yearning for the goodness of life and perfection in God; and we live that goodness and perfection because the light has come to the world in fullness just as we have expected.

  Is this the aftermath we have expected from the Easter story? Yes it is, because the light has come to the world in fullness just as we have expected.

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  LA BIBLIA DE LA AMÉRICA. 8th. Madrid: La Casa de la Biblia, 1994. Print.

  Image from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Supper_at_Emmaus,_by_Rembrandt.jpg

  A favorite from April 28, 2009.

  For more reflections on this special encounter with Christ, enter the word Emmaus into the blog search bar.

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  June 12, 2023

  Easter People, Emmaus, fear, Jesus as light, joy

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• Luke: Joy and the Impossible

  
  

  

  Monday, December 27, 2021

  Joy and the Impossible

  Luke

   The New Testament brings us the good news of personal freedom and the reality of our individual relationship with God. Joy continues to surprise us as we rejoice in the coming of the Messiah.

  Luke’s Infancy Narrative (Luke 1-2) is likely well-known to us. It is also likely that the story of the disciples who meet Christ on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-25) is also a familiar one. When we read these two stories side by side we understand that Christ’s joy defeats all sadness, bridges all gaps, heals all wounds, brings light to all darkness, and is always present in our lives. When we find ourselves in circumstances that offer every reason to doubt the power of God’s joy, we might turn to these verses to remind ourselves that with God all things are possible, with God there is always hope in the midst of despair, with God there is always a reason to celebrate.

  

  If this week’s Noontimes call you to search for more ways to encounter Joy or urges you to investigate the New Testament, click on the word Joy in the categories cloud in the blog’s right-hand sidebar and choose a reflection, or enter those words in the blog search bar.

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  Image from: http://truthbook.com/religious-art-gallery/jesus-pictures 

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  December 27, 2021

  Emmaus, healing, hope, joy, restoration, The Infancy and Childhood Narrative

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• Mark 13:24-27: The Coming

  
  

  Thursday, May 13, 2021

  Mark 13:24-27

  

  The Coming

  Today we look at more verses that cause fundamentalists to calculate the exact date of the ending of life as we know it for all. Today we have an opportunity to grow in our knowledge of God. Today scripture is opened for us just as Jesus opened scripture for the disciples who journey to Emmaus. As we continue in our Easter pilgrimage, let us pause for a moment to consider Mark’s record of Jesus’ words.

  Jesus says: If you know me then you will know my Father. Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me? (John 14:7, 9)

  God says: If you know me than you know that I do not wreak havoc upon the earth. If you know me you understand that I am both patient and persistent.  If you know me you know that I am with you always and that I am willing to wait an eternity for you to turn to me, but turn you must. Do not be afraid to come to me. Be open to my invitation to be one in me. Do not fret about the details of your life but be open to my plan for you. It is a plan of wonder not of woe; it is a plan of love and this love has already come upon you. Do you wait and watch for a distant coming? I am already among you. You only need open your eyes and ears and hearts, and you will know.

  When we find that we begin to fuss over the detail of who numbers in the elect and who will be left behind we can be certain that we have focused our energies incorrectly. When we make room for others at the table, when we forgive those who harm us, when we ask intercession for our enemies, then we know that we understand that the coming is already upon us.

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  Image from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walk_to_Emmaus

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  May 13, 2021

  Emmaus, God’s love, God’s patience, God’s plan, John 14:7-9

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• Luke 24:33-49: Easter Gratitude

  
  

  

  Tuesday, April 27, 2021

  Luke 24:33-49

  If we want to acknowledge the gift of God’s presence in our lives, let us first give thanks.

  If we want to fully participate in the resurrection journey, let us first give thanks.

  If we want the full impact of our own Emmaus experience, let us first give thanks.

  If we want to share in God’s Easter hope, let us first give thanks.

  If we want to share in God’s Easter joy, let us first give thanks.

  And as we give thanks . . . let each of us become witnesses to the story we know to be true.  The story of God’s great love for all of creation, the story of  God’s plan for the salvation of the world.

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  Image from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Le_repas_d%27Emma%C3%BCs_by_Matthias_Stom.jpg

  Enter the words You Are Witnesses into the blog search bar for an Easter prayer and reflection.

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  April 27, 2021

  Easter, Emmaus, God’s plan, salvation, thanksgiving, witnessing

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• Luke 24:13-22: Today and Every Day

  
  

  

  Monday, April 26, 2021

  Luke 24:13-22 

  Today and every day, God is so infinitely good, giving us multiple opportunities to see the full measure of the promise held out to us. Jesus is the patient brother who journeys with us even when we cannot see him. The Spirit never abandons her hope for us who live in a world that rejects her consolation and compassion. The goodness of God’s plan brings us many Emmaus experiences in our resurrection journey. Let us ready our ears and open our eyes. Let us admit to our own slowness of heart in accepting what stands before us. Let us put down roots in the word that has been planted within. Let us be glad in the miracle of Easter, and share the good news that Christ is risen in each of us today and every day.

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  Enter the words Slowness of Heart into the blog search bar to learn more about the Emmaus experience.

  Image from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bloemaert_Emmaus.jpg

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  April 26, 2021

  Easter, Emmaus, slowness of heart

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