Often we are so distracted that we are not paying attention well to the person standing before us. Often we are so preoccupied that we miss what we are being told. We have eyes to see. Do we see who is in front of us? We have ears to hear. Do we hear what the person in front of us is trying to tell us?
In today's Gospel reading, we hear of such difficulties in perceiving and in being open to what God is trying to tell us. There we hear that
That very day, the first day of the week,
two of Jesus' disciples were going
to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus,
and they were conversing
about all the things that had occurred.
And it happened that while they were conversing and debating,
Jesus himself drew near and walked with them,
but their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him.
He asked them,
"What are you discussing as you walk along?"
They stopped, looking downcast.
One of them, named Cleopas, said to Him in reply,
"Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem
who does not know of the things
that have taken place there in these days?"
And He replied to them, "What sort of things?"
They said to him,
"The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene,
who was a prophet mighty in deed and word
before God and all the people,
how our chief priests and rulers both handed Him over
to a sentence of death and crucified Him.
But we were hoping that He would be the one to redeem Israel;
and besides all this,
it is now the third day since this took place.
Some women from our group, however, have astounded us:
they were at the tomb early in the morning
and did not find His body;
they came back and reported
that they had indeed seen a vision of angels
who announced that He was alive.
Then some of those with us went to the tomb
and found things just as the women had described,
but Him they did not see."
And he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are!
How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!
Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things
and enter into His glory?"
Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets,
He interpreted to them what referred to Him
in all the Scriptures.
As they approached the village to which they were going,
He gave the impression that He was going on farther.
But they urged Him, "Stay with us,
for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over."
So He went in to stay with them.
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.
Then they said to each other,
"Were not our hearts burning within us
while He spoke to us on the way
and opened the Scriptures to us?"
So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem
where they found gathered together
the eleven and those with them who were saying,
"The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!"
Then the two recounted
what had taken place on the way
and how He was made known to them
in the breaking of bread.*
As two of Jesus' disciples were on their way from Jerusalem to Emmaus, Jesus appeared to them. They did not recognize Him. They were so caught up in their grief that they did not see the very man for whom they were grieving. What and who we want may be before our very eyes, and we do not recognize what and who we long for.
We may be wallowing in despair. If someone shows up with the answer we require, will we recognize him as the helper we need? Will we listen to the person who comes to assist us?
Earlier this month a man who recently has been homeless, who I've met on multiple occasions, and who I'll call "Ed" here, showed up on our front porch here at the Catholic Worker House. I saw him speaking with another man, who, I learned later, was going through a rough period. Without being asked, suddenly Ed started counseling this troubled man. Ed began saying, "My counselor told me, 'Ed, you deal with depression by getting things done, day after day. After a few weeks, it becomes a habit.'" Ed was sharing that by forming a habit of productivity, we can administer to ourselves an effective antidote to depression.
Ed was relating the helpful advice he had received to the man standing before him. Ed had recently been homeless, before he started staying in a shelter for homeless persons, and so some persons might not see him as someone worthy of giving advice. If the recipient of Ed's guidance was proud, he wouldn't be able to benefit from Ed's assistance. Conversely, when we are humble, we can learn from others.
When we open our eyes, we can recognize the person standing in front of us as someone who is there to help us. When we use our ears to listen, we can hear how someone else is trying to help us. When we use our eyes and our ears, we can recognize Jesus coming to us through our neighbor. When we open our hearts to Jesus, we can receive from Him. When we open our hearts to God, we can receive the love He wants to give us. When we open our hearts to our neighbor, we open our hearts to God.
* Luke 24:13-35
In today's Gospel reading, we hear of such difficulties in perceiving and in being open to what God is trying to tell us. There we hear that
That very day, the first day of the week,
two of Jesus' disciples were going
to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus,
and they were conversing
about all the things that had occurred.
And it happened that while they were conversing and debating,
Jesus himself drew near and walked with them,
but their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him.
He asked them,
"What are you discussing as you walk along?"
They stopped, looking downcast.
One of them, named Cleopas, said to Him in reply,
"Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem
who does not know of the things
that have taken place there in these days?"
And He replied to them, "What sort of things?"
They said to him,
"The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene,
who was a prophet mighty in deed and word
before God and all the people,
how our chief priests and rulers both handed Him over
to a sentence of death and crucified Him.
But we were hoping that He would be the one to redeem Israel;
and besides all this,
it is now the third day since this took place.
Some women from our group, however, have astounded us:
they were at the tomb early in the morning
and did not find His body;
they came back and reported
that they had indeed seen a vision of angels
who announced that He was alive.
Then some of those with us went to the tomb
and found things just as the women had described,
but Him they did not see."
And he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are!
How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!
Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things
and enter into His glory?"
Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets,
He interpreted to them what referred to Him
in all the Scriptures.
As they approached the village to which they were going,
He gave the impression that He was going on farther.
But they urged Him, "Stay with us,
for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over."
So He went in to stay with them.
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.
Then they said to each other,
"Were not our hearts burning within us
while He spoke to us on the way
and opened the Scriptures to us?"
So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem
where they found gathered together
the eleven and those with them who were saying,
"The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!"
Then the two recounted
what had taken place on the way
and how He was made known to them
in the breaking of bread.*
As two of Jesus' disciples were on their way from Jerusalem to Emmaus, Jesus appeared to them. They did not recognize Him. They were so caught up in their grief that they did not see the very man for whom they were grieving. What and who we want may be before our very eyes, and we do not recognize what and who we long for.
We may be wallowing in despair. If someone shows up with the answer we require, will we recognize him as the helper we need? Will we listen to the person who comes to assist us?
Earlier this month a man who recently has been homeless, who I've met on multiple occasions, and who I'll call "Ed" here, showed up on our front porch here at the Catholic Worker House. I saw him speaking with another man, who, I learned later, was going through a rough period. Without being asked, suddenly Ed started counseling this troubled man. Ed began saying, "My counselor told me, 'Ed, you deal with depression by getting things done, day after day. After a few weeks, it becomes a habit.'" Ed was sharing that by forming a habit of productivity, we can administer to ourselves an effective antidote to depression.
Ed was relating the helpful advice he had received to the man standing before him. Ed had recently been homeless, before he started staying in a shelter for homeless persons, and so some persons might not see him as someone worthy of giving advice. If the recipient of Ed's guidance was proud, he wouldn't be able to benefit from Ed's assistance. Conversely, when we are humble, we can learn from others.
When we open our eyes, we can recognize the person standing in front of us as someone who is there to help us. When we use our ears to listen, we can hear how someone else is trying to help us. When we use our eyes and our ears, we can recognize Jesus coming to us through our neighbor. When we open our hearts to Jesus, we can receive from Him. When we open our hearts to God, we can receive the love He wants to give us. When we open our hearts to our neighbor, we open our hearts to God.
* Luke 24:13-35
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