The story of the Lord's appearance to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus is probably one of the best developed and deeply insightful of the appearance stories in the Gospels.
The story follows the Lukan theme of blindness, followed by sight and recognition: first of all, the failure of the disciples to see who it is who walks with them, then a sudden moment of recognition of the Lord during the meal at the journey's end. It would appear as though a spiritual process was at work.
Luke's Emmaus story inspires us anew each time we read it. Having put aside the first questions of 'where was Emmaus,' (its exact historical location is not known), 'why were they going there,' and 'who was the second companion,' we can see the story for what it has become for the Christian traveller: a metaphor of the life journey, in fact a model of every sacred journey.
Our journeys are in one way very ordinary: the demands of everyday life may cause us not to remember one day as being much different from another. And yet, there is a sacredness to every moment, especially when we realise that we are not alone on the journey. It has been my experience that our life companions have been sent to us by a loving God, concerned that we do not travel alone; friends and neighbours and lovers, themselves on their own journeys. What arises in the course of the journey is the understanding of who we are for each other; each of us a transforming reality in the life of the other.
Several years ago, on Palm Sunday, I took part in a march to support refugees and asylum seekers. I found myself walking along with two young Vietnamese, who seemed to me like students, they were so young and fresh. After some distance, I decided to introduce myself. It was in the course of our subsequent conversation that I came to know that they were not students: one was a dentist and the other a gastro-enterologist at a well-known hospital. They had come to our country as refugees, they had worked hard to gain their professional qualifications and were now valuable contributors to the life of society. In addition they did social work and led youth groups. Perhaps you can see a parallel to the Emmaus story here? That we do not know who our neighbour is until we share something with them?
One of the mysterious elements of Luke's gospel is that as soon as the two disciples recognize Jesus as the risen Lord, he disappears from their sight. God's presence on our journey is always elusive and fleeting, flickering at the edge of our awareness, like the glimpse Moses had of YHWH in the desert (Ex 33: 23). Although he only glimpsed God passing by, Moses was accompanied all his life by God's presence, as indeed are we. In the incident of the burning bush, Moses' understanding is complete: he takes off his sandals, for he knows he is in the presence of the Lord.
For us, we learn to treasure our experiences of the numinous in retrospect, like the two disciples when they exclaimed, "Did not our hearts burn within us?" Usually, we come to know a person's true value and Christ-like qualities only after they have left us. Many who serve the poor, in shelters and in drop-in centres, do so in silence and humility. Only if we have eyes to see, can we know that it is Christ who lives again, resurrected, living and serving in them. Only when we have come to a point of understanding that to serve is to sanctify, can we have that 'burning bush' experience. No longer journeying with eyes closed, we are aware every moment of the day, that it is Christ who walks with us on the dusty road to a distant Emmaus.
IMAGE: 'Road to Emmaus' by Duccio di Buoninsegna