Author: Vincent Jang, Rev., True Sunshine Episcopal Church, San Francisco
13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him.
31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:13-16, 31-32)
Imagine you are in 33 AD in Jerusalem. There is a lot going on in anticipation of the preparation for the Passover. It’s crowded and you are among thousands of people along with Roman soldiers. The situation is tense all around and there is not much you can do about it without getting yourself arrested. Jesus comes to Jerusalem. Little did they know how Jesus was going to save them from their sins? As the days grew towards the final gathering of his friends and disciples at the upper room, the prayers at the Garden, the arrest, condemnation and death of Jesus on the cross, were not their hearts burning from all that has happened?
Then as scriptures foretold by Jesus he will rise again and some of the women of the group has already discovered that when Jesus appears before then at the tomb. These women ran hastily to tell the disciples and yet when they came to the tomb and did not find Jesus there, they too found their hearts burning from excitement and fear all at the same time.
On the road to Emmaus where a stranger walked with these two disciples of Jesus and yet they were amazed that this stranger was not aware of what went on during these last few days. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” Your heart is beating faster in excitement on what has just happened.
Give thanks to God daily for the fact that Jesus has and will always be with you just as these men who were on their way the Emmaus.
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The ISAAC 2009 Lenten Devotional, edited by Rev. Dr. Johnson Chiu. This devotional was written by Asian American English ministry leaders and pastors in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. To purchase, click here: Road of Suffering, Road to Glory: A Lenten Adventure with the Savior
