Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Sacramental Hospitality

Now on that same day, two of Jesus' disciples were going to a village called Emmaus, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.  Luke 24:13-15



 
           "Emmaus"  Sr. Mary Stephens



We’ve read the “Footprints in the Sand” story and we’ve sung along to the song  "In the Garden” and we know “He walks with me and He talks with me,” but C’mon.          

There is a mysteriousness, an ephemeral impermanence to these encounters that can leave us feeling shaky – not quite sure of ourselves. And so we fall asleep with that nagging question, “Was that real, or did I just imagine it?”   

The disciples, still sad, glumly walking to Emmaus, were face to face with the Risen One, and didn’t recognize him.  And Jesus, it seems, was content to move on without ever revealing himself to them, until, the text tells us, “they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is nearly now over.’”

It was their hospitality, their urging, that drew the Risen One back into their midst and gave him opportunity to reveal himself. The question we must ask ourselves is whether there is enough room for him in our lives. Are we offering the Lord enough place in our hearts and lives that he will accept our invitation to come in? 

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