I cannot imagine not being able to recognize someone who I love.
Yet, as we read the accounts of people who encountered the risen Jesus, it seems as though they were completely unaware as to who was standing before them.
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
Of course, each of these people, seemingly blinded to the obvious, were also in the depths of despair, sadness, confusion and grief … for the one they so loved had died in such an unfair and violent manner and with him, died their hopes of a Saviour for their people, for themselves, for redemption.
They were mourning and hopeless.
In a sense, their eyes were not yet opened to the fact that, because of the death and resurrection of Jesus :
“you do not grieve like the rest of mankind,
who have no hope”
(1 Thessalonians 4:13)
Because they had not yet seen the resurrected Christ … it was in the seeing … with their eyes and their hearts, that their hope was made real.
I love the story of the two walking along the road to Emmaus with Jesus. It says that the trip from Jerusalem to Emmaus is about seven miles. At some point along the way Jesus himself joins them in their walk. Jesus listens as they tell of the events of the past three days, with great sorrow and hopelessness. Jesus then challenges them, calling them foolish, saying,
“Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” (Luke 24:26).
Then, when they reached the village of Emmaus, they invited Jesus to spend the evening with them.
At the evening meal (how Jesus loved when people gathered around the bread and wine), a miracle occurred :
“When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.” (Luke 24:30-31).
These were not his disciples who had experienced the first communion with Jesus at the last supper. Yet, through the breaking of the bread (his body), their eyes were opened to the truth of who they were dining with … their Savior, the very bread of heaven.
Saint Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century wrote the words to the beautiful hymn, Panis Angelicus … the words, in Latin and English below:
Panis angelicus Fit panis hominum Dat panis coelicus Figuris terminum O res mirabilis Manducat dominum Pauper, pauper Servus et humilis
May the Bread of Angels Become bread for mankind; The Bread of Heaven puts All foreshadowings to an end; Oh, thing miraculous! The body of the Lord will nourish the poor, the poor, the servile, and the humble.
It is in the physical element of the bread, the symbol of the body of our Hope, our Redemption, that our eyes can be opened, so that we see with our hearts the truth of who he is … but we have to be willing to take that bread into us, our lives.
this is his body.
broken for you.
take.
eat.
itsawonderfilledlife 