👉🏽👉🏽👉🏽The #Emmaus #Wanderers:
A #Journey with #God
(Luke 24:13–45)
Beloved in Christ,
Let us now sit at the feet of the Emmaus travelers, two humble disciples who walked a sorrowful road and were transformed by the presence of the Risen Lord. Their journey is not merely a walk from one village to another it is a mirror held up to the Christian life, an icon of divine companionship, rebuke, revelation, and return. This lesson, flowing from the sacred font of Orthodox tradition as preserved through the John the Repentant teaching, is offered not with novelty but with fidelity to the Gospel and the Fathers.
I. The Day of Resurrection and the Path of Despair
The third Sunday of Easter commemorates a sacred mystery: the journey of two disciples from Jerusalem to a village named Emmaus, some seven miles (about 11.1 km) away, or sixty stadia according to Roman measure. One of these men is named Cleopas; the other, as held by our fathers, is either the evangelist Luke himself or possibly Nicodemus, the secret follower of Christ. But what matters most is not their names it is their hearts.
On this very day, the Lord had triumphed over death, loosing the ancient bonds of Adam, silencing the mouth of Hades, and proclaiming peace to all creation. Yet these two disciples walked in sadness. Though they had heard the news of the Resurrection, they had not believed. Their hearts, burdened with despair, were blind to the hope walking beside them.
II. Christ Draws Near
As they discussed all that had occurred the Passion, the betrayal of the priests, the unjust death of their Lord Christ Himself drew near. Like a shepherd seeking His wandering sheep, He joined them unrecognized, not because He desired to hide, but because they were not yet ready to see. Despair had clouded their eyes; unbelief had dulled their understanding. For truly, as Scripture declares, "Despair is great folly, and the fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (cf. Ps. 13:1).
Saint James testifies, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8). And so it was: because they remembered their God, He came to walk with them, teaching them as a blind man is led by the hand.
III. Rebuke and Revelation
The Lord, hiding His identity, drew from their own mouths a confession of faith. They testified to Him, even though they did not yet know it was Him. “Are you the only one in Jerusalem who does not know what has happened?” they asked. And they spoke of Jesus of Nazareth a man mighty in word and deed, righteous and kind, who healed the sick, raised the dead, read the secrets of the heart, and confounded the proud Pharisees. They testified boldly and without fear, not knowing whether this stranger was friend or foe. How unlike us, who are often afraid to confess our faith at the dinner table, in the market, or among friends! Let us learn from them: “He who confesses Me before men,” says the Lord, “I will confess before My Father in Heaven.”
Yet even as they spoke of His greatness, their sorrow remained. They said, “We had hoped He was the one to redeem Israel. And today is the third day…” Even the witness of the women, the vision of angels, and the empty tomb did not stir them to belief. So the Lord rebuked them not in anger, but in truth. “O foolish ones, slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!”
And then, like a master teacher, He opened the Scriptures, from Moses to the Prophets, from the Law to the Psalms, unveiling the mystery of the suffering Messiah:
“He was led like a lamb to the slaughter…” (Isaiah 53:7)
“The Lord will arise, and His enemies shall be scattered…” (Ps. 67:1; 77:65)
“I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.” (Ps. 3:5)
“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:19)
How patiently and wisely did the Lord reframe their minds and warm their hearts! Let us also allow Him to reframe ours, through the reading of the Scriptures and the teachings of the Church.
Continues 👇🏽