Opened Eyes
Photo of The Pilgrims of Emmaus on the Road, by James Tissot, circa 1890.
How do we clearly see the resurrected Jesus? In what ways does Jesus make himself known to us?
God has given us his word and sacrament in order to see Jesus clearly.
In Luke’s Gospel account, Jesus appeared to two men on the road to Emmaus post-resurrection and they did not recognize him, they did not see him clearly. Luke tells us Jesus, “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 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. 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 from their sight.” (Luke 24:27-31, ESV).
Jesus made himself known to his disciples in two ways, by opening up the Jewish Scriptures, the Torah and the Prophets, the Books of Moses and the Prophets, and through the breaking of bread.
We can also see Jesus clearly post-resurrection through the liturgy of the word and the sacrament.
The entire Bible is about Jesus. As Sally Lloyd Jones said it, “Every story whispers Jesus’ name.” We can know Jesus and see Jesus in his word—“in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”
We can also see Jesus at communion as we remember his death, burial, and resurrection at the table as we break bread together at the eucharist.
Like the two men on the road to Emmaus, may we see Jesus as he opens His Word to us, and may we see Jesus at the breaking of the bread in the eucharist.
A Collect for the Third Sunday of Easter: “Almighty God, you gave your only Son to be for us both a sacrifice for sin and an example of godly living: Give us grace thankfully to receive his inestimable benefits, and daily to follow the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.” (Book of Common Prayer, 2019).
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Photo of The Pilgrims of Emmaus on the Road, by James Tissot, circa 1890.
