Journeys on the Road

The two disciples recounted what had taken place on the way,
and how Jesus was made known to them
in the breaking of bread.

Thus we hear of how those two men, on the road, discovered the risen Lord was their traveling companion.

I suppose it is much the same for us. That is a direction that is obvious in the reading–how and what prompts our first encounter with Jesus. What triggered our realization that we were in the presence of the Holy? What meaning did that have for us as we realized that our experience, our very existence, is part of God’s world and life.

Yet, we can apply the lessons of Emmaus to a much more general arena. That is, if you are like me, about to make an epic journey half way across the country.

It is all too easy at this hectic and chaotic time in one’s life, to forget God.

“I’ll be back with you Lord, just give me a few weeks to get this packing done, this traveling done, this house found and bought, this moving in, this. . . . I’ll be back in the pew, back in my mediation, back in my rosary, my study. I will, I promise. I’m just too busy right now. You understand don’t you?”

And we trust that God does understand. Why?

Because he is right here, experiencing my panic, my excitement, my fears and anxiety as I careen every faster down this road to a new future. And I don’t realize that most of the time. I’m too busy you see.

I’m too busy with maps and with not forgetting this or that. I’m too busy with real estate agents and Internet pictures of houses that exist “down there” where I am heading. I’m too busy trying to make simple meals and eating out the freezer, and remembering to call and cancel all this stuff that has framed my life for so long.

But God doesn’t forget.

I can imagine the shaking of the head. “If only she’d let me help her a bit more. I hate to see her so filled with anxiety. I can ease that tension and bring peace. If only she’d remember me, for just a minute or two.”

If only I would.

But I am blessed with people who very long ago, experienced these things, and actually met our Lord in their journey. And they were so ever-changed by the experience, that they told it far and wide, literally to everyone they met. And somebody decided to gather all these stories and write a coherent statement of what Jesus had meant to him through the stories and through the people who told them.

And some how these stories in the form of a Gospel, were copied and copied and saved and passed down and I had my own encounter finally. Just enough of one for me to see out the book and read and study, and learn. And thus this passage came to be my reminder that I can find this peace just for the asking.

Bless us on our journey, on the Road. For He is with us.

Amen.

Related articles

• The Road to Emmaus, Journey to Enlightenment! (psalmsofpraisewomensministries.wordpress.com)
• The Pax Vosbiscum of Christ. (lifeondoverbeach.wordpress.com)
• The Presence We Need Most Is Always With Us (marypenich.wordpress.com)
• Emmaus: An Invitation to a Journey (living3368.wordpress.com)
• Make the Most of the Journey (peterbierer.wordpress.com)
• The Road to Emmaus (billpeddie.wordpress.com)