They Did Not Recognize Him

The Gospel reading  for today is one of my favorite passages.  Luke recounts that after Jesus’ death, two of his disciples are walking to Emmaus.  Although the Gospel doesn’t talk about the state they are in, we can imagine that they are sad, dejected, confused, scared.  As they later tell the man who comes along beside them, they had been hoping Jesus would be one to redeem Israel, but he was handed over and crucified.  They’ve heard some tale about some women finding an empty tomb and a message from an angelic vision, but it is not clear they believe a word of it.

They converse with a man, not recognizing him and he explains the Scriptures to them.  When they get where they are going, they invite him to stay and eat with them, still not recognizing him.  But then, he takes the bread, says the blessing, breaks the bread and gives it to them.  “With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him.”  You can almost feel their joy and consolation when they recognize him.  And they excitedly run off (the Gospel says they “set off”, but you know they went running) to find their friends, recounting “what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.” 

One of the questions I come back to when I contemplate this passage is: why didn’t the disciples recognize Jesus?  Luke says that when Jesus walked up to them “their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.”  What prevented them?  As I watch the scene unfold in my imagination, I imagine that they were so focused on their own grief and confusion that they don’t really see the man they are speaking to.

And then I realize the more useful question for contemplation is: what prevents us from seeing Jesus when he appears to us?  What blinds us to His presence?  What are we so focused on that we do not recognize Jesus, even when He is standing right there in front of us?  Something worth spending a few minutes considering.