Luke 24:28-35
28 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29 but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” 33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.
Watching TV, I see more and more commercials with cookouts, family gatherings, family game nights, friends laughing, or people helping each other out. Perhaps I'm just tuned into the right channels, but I think this says something about the way in which we want to perceive ourselves. We want to be in the company of others, of friends, of neighbors, and of family.
Consider the men on the road to Emmaus. They were in a miserable place. Hopes were dashed. Fears were realized. They contemplated the worst. Yet there was hope.
The family gatherings, the fellowship of friends, the hope of a new day that these commercials portray entice us to a way of life. They remind us that it is good to be together. The men on the road to Emmaus did not know who walked with them, until they were quiet and let the other person, walking alongside them as a stranger teach them. Their eyes were fully revealed in the breaking of the bread, much like Jesus did on the night in which he gave himself up for us.
Perhaps I should turn off the TV for a little while. Maybe I should take a Sabbath from the computer. Maybe we should seek out the company of others. Today, we rejoice for the memories of friends, family, and pray for those who are searching for that sense of belonging.
Prayer: God of all, help us to take the time to fellowship with friends and family, strangers and neighbors that we might walk with those searching along their own Emmaus road. Amen.
G. Thomas Martin
