Adpropinquans | Near

Jesus himself drew near and went with them - Luke 24: 15

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"That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him." Luke 24: 13-16

Two disciples going to Emmaus are immersed in sadness, completely devastated, according to them everything ended on Good Friday. Jesus, in whom they placed their hope, turned out to be a failure, was crucified, and died a cruel and embarrassing death. Their eyes and hearts are so filled with sadness and closed by it that they do not even recognize Jesus who joins them on the way.

How often in our own lives we do not notice Jesus who walks through life with us. We often focus only on our own affairs, on our own feelings. Especially in times of sadness, suffering or problems, we do not notice Christ who is with us and wants to be our support. Jesus wants to be with us in all moments of our lives, especially the difficult ones. Just as he taught the disciples going to Emmaus, helped them understand and believe, Jesus also wants to help us and be our support in difficulties and suffering. He wants to talk to us, strengthen us and our faith. However, we must first notice that He is with us, that He walks through life with us, and incline our hearts to listen to His words.

And the second point: the disciples had hope in Jesus, they expected something from him. True, we should put our hope in Jesus, but at the same time it cannot only be hope for what we wish for, for our own expectations. "But we had hoped that" say the disciples on the road to Emmaus. How often do we also have our own assumptions about God and His plans. We think we understand, or we just hope, that God's plan is the same as our own plan, our expectations. However, often this is not the case. God's plans are not adjusted to our plans, we must adjust our plans and expectations to what God desires, to His plan. 

Even if we feel disappointed in some way by what God has done in our lives, the path he has led us, we must trust Him, entrust ourselves completely to God and His plans and go through life with Him.

Reflection on Luke 24: 13-35 by Agata Wierzbowska

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