We Had Hoped
17 And he said to them, "What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?" They stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, "Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?" 19 He asked them, "What things?" They replied, "The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. 22 Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, 23 and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive."
(Luke 24:17-23)
Disappointment is a powerful emotion - powerful enough to blind us to the blessings and miracles right in front of us. On the day of Jesus' resurrection, two of his followers were leaving Jerusalem and walking seven miles to the village Emmaus. As they walked and discussed the crucifixion and the apparent disappearance of Jesus' body from the tomb, Jesus himself appeared and began walking with them. The thought of Jesus' resurrection was so inconceivable that, even as Jesus began to explain the events they had witnessed and to truly open the scriptures to them, they still did not recognize him. Only when Jesus did the most Jesus-thing he could do did they finally realize whom they'd been with - he took bread, blessed it, broke it, and shared it. Jesus had repeated these steps many times during his life - with his disciples, with those considered sinners, and with crowds of thousands. As soon as these two followers realized that Jesus had been with them, they couldn't help but rush the seven miles back to Jerusalem to share the news.
What disappointments keep us from realizing that Jesus is with us? What would be the most Jesus-thing that would open our eyes to his presence? We have our own expectations of what a messiah should be or do. We even have a slogan - what would Jesus do - where we try to envision how Jesus would handle a particular situation. But we also have the encounters of those who were with Jesus to tell us what Jesus actually did. Jesus healed physically and relationally, Jesus taught the scriptures with authority, Jesus offered grace even to those who would kill him, and in all things Jesus pointed to his Father. When what we had hoped for seems irreconcilable with what we see, and we are unsure of God's presence, we can look for and strive to embody these (and other) Jesus-things to
remind us that we have never been left alone.
28 As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. 29 But they urged him strongly, saying, "Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over." So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?" 33 That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. 34 They were saying, "The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!" 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread. (Luke 24:28-35)
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