When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight.
Luke 24:30&31
Dear members and friends,
One inspiring story of the resurrected Jesus is found in the Gospel of Luke where Jesus appeared to two disciples who were on their way to Emmaus. In the story, it is unclear who the two disciples were. And, to our amazement, they did not recognize that it was Jesus resurrected while walking and conversing with him. Yet, they enjoyed the conversation with the strange man whom they met on the road to Emmaus. When they arrived at a village, they invited the strange man to stay with them. “When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them.” Then, their eyes were opened, and they recognized that it was Jesus! However, as soon as they recognized that it was Jesus, he vanished out of their sight.
What comes to my mind while reading this particular story this week are two things: 1. The presence and guidance of God is much more experiential to humans than we might normally assume; 2. The recognition of Divine presence as such might only be actualized after our voluntary invitation of the Divine into our life. Jesus suddenly joined the two disciples while they were on the road, which symbolizes a spiritual journey or life itself. Jesus might have continued on his way if they did not invite him to stay with them for the night. This indicates the unchanging message from the Bible; God needs our invitation to be experientially present in our lives and have an intimate relationship with us. In other words, the one who is keeping distance is not God, but us. For many reasons, we often desire to keep God outside of our life or at a certain distance. The problem with this attitude is that true happiness and inner joy also stay away from us, because they come to us accompanied by God, who is the source of happiness and joy.
My brothers and sisters in God, have no fear of inviting God into your heart and life. God is and has nothing but pure love towards you.
Blessings, Rev. Junchol Lee