Rebirth
“A rebirth out of spiritual adversity causes us to become new creatures.” ~ James E. Faust
Today’s Gospel is one of my favorite resurrection accounts. It is the story about a couple of disciples hightailing it out of town after Jesus’ crucifixion and burial. They were filled with fear that they might be next and they wanted to get as far away from Jerusalem as possible.
On the road, they encountered Jesus, though they did not recognize Him. They were too wrapped up in their own fear and their own doubt. They had never understood what Jesus had said about resurrection. They were experiencing emotions so strong as to blind them to all that they had ever seen or heard.
Jesus asked them about what they were talking and the two were flabbergasted. How could this stranger not know what tragedy had taken place a few days before? How could news not have reached Him? They began to tell the story and the stranger listened intently.
After a while, the stranger began to interpret all the things they had been saying and putting them in context of all the scriptures that had spoken about the Messiah. They found themselves intensely curious as if a fire had been rekindled in them. The more the stranger spoke, the more they remembered Jesus’ words and deeds.
It was in the evening, when they were at dinner together, that Jesus broke bread and shared it with them. Their eyes were opened and He vanished from their sight. “How could they have been so blind?” they must have thought. But they knew the answer. Fear had clouded their vision and their hopes.
At that moment, they were faced with an important decision: continue to flee or turn around and tell the others that Jesus had appeared to them. To flee would have been the safer choice. To return would be the wiser. They chose the wiser and found out that they were not alone. Others had seen the risen Lord as well.
We are faced with a choice every day. Do we run and try to find safety in the world around us or do we stand and face the world, proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ. Accepting the gifts of the world will not get us closer to God. Let us, like the disciples in the Gospel, run to our family and friends and tell the Good News of the Risen Lord!
FAITH ACTION: Ask God to reveal Himself to you and to give you grace to share the joy of the resurrection with others.