Reflection on the Third Sunday of Easter

Several weeks ago, I was struck by the introductory prayer to an LCWR Zoom presentation. It was a prayer by Jan Richardson that says, “There is something on the horizon the likes of which we have never seen before. What is possible is not to see it, to miss it, to turn just as it brushes past you … So stay. Sit. Linger. Tarry. Ponder. Wait. Behold. Wonder. There will be time enough … for running, for rushing, for worrying, for pushing. For now, something is on the horizon.”

When I read today’s Gospel, I was struck by the phrase “Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.” Their eyes were prevented from recognizing him, but it does not say who or what prevented their eyes from recognizing them. Was it God’s doing? Or was it what often happens to human beings? I know that if I am grieving the loss of someone I love, I may not notice other things happening around me. My full attention is not on anything as part of myself lingers in grief. I also know that when I am busy, preoccupied with something or tired, I may not see what is right in front of me. 

The two apostles were very busy conversing and debating with each other on the road to Emmaus, probably trying to sort out the events that had occurred since Jesus was crucified. Their friend Jesus was dead, and even though his body had been reported missing from the grave and angels had announced that he was alive, I doubt that they had concluded that he had been resurrected from the dead at that point. That would be something “the likes of which they had never seen before.” Their understanding of the Resurrection was still on the horizon.

These two apostles were aware that this person walking with them had offered some amazing explanation of scripture and so they invited him to stay with them and spend more time with them. I think this is a perfect example of what Jan Richardson was referring to when she says, “What is possible is not to see it, to miss it, to turn just as it brushes past you … So stay. Sit. Linger. Ponder.  Behold. Wonder.” That seems to be exactly what is taking place when they stop for the night and break bread together. 

How good it was that they asked him to stay. They shared a profound experience of presence, turned around the next day to return to Jerusalem and report what had happened. And I imagine in their telling of the experience, there was no doubt that they had been in the presence of Jesus.

So how do we make sure that we create our own openness that comes from lingering, pondering, waiting and wondering? How do we make sure that our eyes, our heart are not prevented from recognizing the presence of God right here with us each day, perhaps in new and different ways? 

In the second reading, Peter reminds us to “conduct yourselves with reverence during the time of your sojourning, realizing that you were ransomed from your futile conduct.” Every day we are sojourning through this life, and we have been ransomed from futile conduct, such as anxiety, fear, self-centeredness and impatience. But, even though we have been ransomed, we are still required to choose to live in God’s presence, to live in faith and hope, and to create the needed openness in our lives. No easy task for some of us!

Can we say, as David said, “I saw the Lord ever before me, with God at my right hand I shall not be disturbed. Therefore my heart has been glad and my tongue has exulted; my flesh, too, will dwell in hope, because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld, nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.”

Can we maintain gladness of heart in spite of the condition of our world today? Can every word we speak be one that brings God’s presence to ourselves and others? Can we, as I Am the Way says, “try to live so that everything about us, our words and works and manner of living, promotes understanding and peace among ourselves and others?” That is our call and our gift to the world if we can live in hope and in faith and always be able to see with our hearts and our eyes what God has set before us. It is a reminder to never harden our hearts or live in a way that prevents us from seeing.

I get great consolation from this quote I read once: “The one who sees cannot turn away. Nor can the one who sees be responsible for all she sees. See with your heart open and listen for what God asks of you.”