This week, our text is Luke 24:13–35. The disciples are on their way to Emmaus—on a physical journey, in process, not having arrived. They are emotionally on the way as well, downcast and troubled after watching Jesus crucified while hearing rumours of his resurrection. Have you ever been “on the way,” in process, not knowing what to believe, confused and disheartened by things you’ve been told?
In the midst of their dismay and confusion, the disciples were on the way with Jesus. Isn’t it comforting to know that we can be confused, unsure of what to believe, and still be on the way with Jesus, even if we don’t yet know he is there?
In this passage, Jesus reveals himself to the disciples slowly, in ordinary places, with ordinary things: on the road, amidst conversation, at the table, in the breaking of bread. In our confusion, Jesus is with us in the ordinary things of life, active in all things and found in all things.
William Barry, Jesuit priest and writer, describes God’s presence to us this way:
“God is always in a conscious relationship with each one of us as our creator, sustainer, dear father or dear mother, our brother, our savior, the spirit who dwells in our hearts. Ignatius presupposes that at every moment of our existence God is communicating to us who God is, trying to draw us into an awareness, a consciousness of the reality of who we are in God’s sight. Whether we are aware of it or not, at every moment of our existence, we are encountering God.”
In this passage, that deep knowing showed up in their bodies. Long before their eyes were opened, they felt their hearts burning. Their bodies recognized Jesus before their cognitive minds did. This elevates a way of knowing that is often invalidated or marginalized in churches. Conservative churches place ultimate authority on scripture as interpreted by their spiritual leaders, while desire, emotions, and intuition are often treated with suspicion.
Many of us have been on journeys of theological deconstruction, questioning the veracity of the cognitive beliefs we were taught growing up in churches. We’ve been on the road, confused and dismayed, unsure of what is true anymore. On this journey, it’s easy to become so focused on what we believe or don’t believe that we overlook other ways of knowing—the deep knowing that comes through our bodies, our hearts, and our desires.
Fixated on deconstructing beliefs, the relationship—the realness of the presence of the risen Christ—can also be called into question. The possibility of having a relationship with Jesus may be deconstructed as just another evangelical idea. And yet, what if, in the midst of all the confusion, the presence of the risen Christ is walking with us, and we are still on the way—right where we need to be?
In this story, their cognitive faculties led them to assume that Jesus was dead. Meanwhile, their desires steered them toward the risen Christ, and it was their bodies that gave them the earliest indication of his presence. Their burning hearts recognized the truth before their minds did.
Jesus is on the road with us as well. In the midst of our confusion, we can listen to our burning hearts, our spiritual desires, and those places where God might encounter us in ordinary life. Out of listening emerges a deep knowing.
“Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery it is. In the boredom and pain of it, no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it, because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace.” — Frederick Buechner
Blessings, Anne