On the presence of God in our lives. Contemplation in Luke 24.

The two books of Luke – the Gospel and Acts – are very concrete stories about Jesus and the apostles. But they are hugely symbolic. Both speak of the great journey – of the gospel of the earthly Jesus, and of the journey of the good news about the exalted Jesus in the lives of the apostles. In this greater journey there is the smaller journey of these two disciples on their way to Emmaus. They travel somberly, without hope. Theirs is not a triumphant journey.

I can imagine how they must have felt as they walked the lonely road to Emmaus.

And yet, they were not alone. While they were on the road, Jesus followed them. This smaller journey of the two disciples which frames their story in Luke 24, reveals, for me, the deepest dimension of the narrative. On the one hand there is the serious discussion between the two: they even question each other on the events that took place among them (verse15). It is journey which does not take place in silence. It is not a journey of people who are on their way to a funeral – silent and speechless. Theirs is a journey full of questions, talking, speaking – expressing their deep, inner feeling. According to verse 15 they questioned each other.

Luke wants to portray them as two people who were yearning for answers, struggling to find closure. They were talking about their deepest desires.

And, then, Jesus joins them. Later on, they would recognize him (verse 31). But the answer came to them much earlier. The story begins on a high note right at its beginning in verse 15 with the appearance of Jesus among them. The dramatic reversal sets in the moment Jesus approached them and walked with them.

One of the most pregnant moment of the mystical experience is the mystical antiphrasis: we yearn for God, we earnestly seek answers by praying to God. Already in our yearning, God is present.

Luke says that Jesus came to them and walked right into their discussion: “what are you talking about?” He is there, the one about whose absence they were talking so somberly and intensely. He follows them and immediately becomes a presence as they express their deepest feelings.

We can talk much about the absence of God. We think our journey is lonely and that we have been abandoned. And all the tims, Jesus saw us leaving, he heard us crying and he followed us. He was there – we just did not recognize Him.....

How sad that we do not recognize how our deepest yearning for God is already an indication of God’s presence in our lives.