Here’s a thoughtful reflection on Luke 24:13-34, the encounter with Jesus on the Emmaus Road. It was written by Annemarie Klassen.
Make New Life Possible with Giving
"Were not our hearts burning within us
while he was talking to us on the road,
while he was opening the scriptures to us?" Luke 24:32
They walked with heavy sadness,
those two disciples on a long, lonely journey.
A stranger joined them. It was Jesus.
But they could only see a stranger,
a friend to share the long walk ahead.
He spoke with them,
comforted their sadness and offered new thoughts.
When he gave thanks for the bread,
broke it and gave it to them,
they saw and they knew it was Jesus.
People are sometimes
afraid to see the hope and new life their faith shows them.
They think they must consider only what is real.
But what is real? Hunger is real,
so are the faces of children with no hope.
Greed is real and so is violence and war.
People of faith can see that.
Why can't they see the presence of the Lord,
who speaks to their hearts about other things that are just as real?
Love is real.
The eyes of faith see new possibilities
where none were found before.
Even death does not hold back the spirit of God.
So let's look again.
Let's see the living Christ
sharing the journey, inspiring new hope.
Among the poor and homeless,
in the prisons and hospitals,
in the lands of famine and war,
new hopes are waiting to be seen.
The journey starts with ordinary steps
as we walk our daily paths,
looking around as Jesus did with the love of God in our view.
"Were not our hearts burning within us
while he was talking to us on the road,
while he was opening the scriptures to us?"
— written by Annemarie Klassen, and posted on the website of the Presbyterian Church in Canada.
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