Dear Parishioners,
The Right Place at the Right Time
In this week’s gospel, we witness Jesus walking with two of His disciples who were leaving Jerusalem and heading toward Emmaus. But it was no ordinary walk! Jesus re-purposed their journey.
After witnessing the suffering and death of Jesus, no doubt many of the disciples felt disillusioned and confused. Their Lord and Master was brutally put to death. Although the plan of these two disciples may have been to run away from the horror they just witnessed, Jesus had other plans for their lives. Jesus intercepted them, and as a result, their lives were set on a new course.
Jesus’s encounter with the two disciples was not dramatic. In fact, He quietly intercepted their journey and just asks them what they are discussing. They were shocked this stranger seemed totally unaware of what just took place in Jerusalem. Jesus knew there was doubt in their minds, so He let them tell him their feelings – feelings of disappointment that the man they thought would be their savior was now gone.
When they finished, Jesus chastised them, but in a gentle way. He says they were foolish for not believing the empty tomb was the fulfillment of what the prophets and Jesus Himself had told them. Jesus’s words and knowledge of Scripture caused their hearts to “burn within them.” So much so, they wanted this stranger to stay with them and have dinner. When Jesus broke the bread, it was an epiphany! They knew they were speaking with the Lord!
After that, nothing more needed to be said. Jesus vanished, but this encounter made the disciples turn and go back to Jerusalem – this time fired up with a mission. They clearly were in the right place at the right time.
That was some walk! Jesus had it planned all along. He held back at first, then He revealed the truth that they were seeking. Jesus is always in the right place at the right time, and He always seems to know just what we need.
Sincerely in Christ,
Father Lito