Living in Love with God

Three things strike me with today’s Gospel:

First, the two disciples do not recognize Jesus walking with them.  Before we are quick to criticize the disciples to being so blind, we need to ask ourselves: do we recognize Jesus walking with us?  I suspect that we, like those two disciples, can be so caught up in the moment, our stresses, concerns, emotions of the moment, that we become so focused on ourselves we fail to recognize Jesus in our midst and fail to hear His voice.

Second, we hear in Luke’s Gospel, “Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures.” (Lk 24:27). Do we involve Sacred Scripture in our own prayer? One of the gifts the Lord has given us is His Word. The Scriptures are useful for helping us in our prayer, to listening to His voice and opening our minds and hearts to His voice.  

Finally, “And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight.” (Lk 24:30-31). The Eucharist completes what was started in their reflection on the Word of God: it opens their eyes to the presence (and reality) of Jesus in their midst.

The lesson for us is clear: our prayer must include the Word of God, and participation in the Sacraments, particularly the Eucharist, to be able to recognize Jesus in our midst each day.