Now on the day of the Resurrection two of his disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. He asked them, "What are you discussing as you walk along?" ... "The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and words before God and all the people, how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place. Some women from our group, however, have astounded us; they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive. Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see."

We know little about the two disciples who were traveling to Emmaus on the day of Jesus' Resurrection, except that they were searching for answers. As we read Luke’s account of what happened, we read about their questions, questions that dealt with Jesus who had been crucified. But their questions went much deeper than that. Since they were followers of Jesus, they were wondering whether they had been wrong all along, and now, what direction they should go with their lives. After they met this stranger whom they finally understood, they were willing to take the time to study their own situations, to learn some things, and once they had learned them, after Jesus' appearance, to turn around and go back to their original belief.

The person in Jason Mraz's song "I'm Yours" is recovering from a misunderstanding and telling his friend that he is expanding his idea of life, saying that now he has learned some things, and he will give of himself to her. It is a love song, but it can be studied from the point of view of learning how to make the decision to love. There had been a falling out, the person in the song "melted," he sings, but he takes the time to study the situation, to "learn some" and "open up the mind," and once he had done that, he did not hesitate any more, and he finally said, "I'm yours" to his friend.

There is a lesson for life here. There will be times when we feel as though we are falling "right through the cracks," and we wonder whether there will be any love in our lives at all, romantic or otherwise. We have to take the time, some time of retreat or meditation, to discover the important things. We discover primarily that we have to look into our hearts in order to find that the "sky is ours," that is, that we have bright futures, and we will find the love we're looking for, whether a particular romantic love as in the song, or a deeper love as the disciples found on the road to Emmaus.                 

THOUGHT
 
PRAYER

Good and gracious God, your disciples discovered love from your Son only after they took the time to study and understand. Help us to discover the love we need in our lives, whether with a love partner that we choose, or with all the people of our world. Be with us, we pray. 

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America