(Audio)
But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel;
Disappointments sometimes prevent us from recognizing Jesus. They even make it hard for us to listen to the testimony of others.
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.
Jesus catches our attention by the way he speaks and the things he does. But when suffering comes and it is not simply averted or prevented we begin to doubt. If Jesus has the power that it seems at first then why does he permit the challenges we encounter? Why does he delay the victory, the redemption of Israel, if this is truly in his power? Other of his followers suggest to us that apparent failures can be redeemed, that he himself was dead but now lives. Our limited understanding is reluctant at first to accept this testimony. Why would one with such power also allow himself to be so weak? Why delay the victory to the far side of suffering?
And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are!
How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!
Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things
and enter into his glory?”
Certainly Jesus has all along been preparing us for the cross, his and our own. He tells us that he who perseveres to the end will be saved. He tells us to take up our crosses and follow him. He tells us that the one and only way to save our lives is for us to lose them for his sake and the sake of the Kingdom. We are on board with these sorts of statements when Jesus himself seems powerful and in control. But when his glory is hidden from us we become fearful and begin to doubt.
Jesus opens our eyes to the true inner necessities and depths of his plan by opening the Scriptures to us.
Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets,
he interpreted to them what referred to him
in all the Scriptures.
The Scriptures reveal the necessity that the blood of the lamb be shed to finally and definitively cover the sins of the people.
you were ransomed from your futile conduct,
handed on by your ancestors,
not with perishable things like silver or gold
but with the precious blood of Christ
as of a spotless unblemished lamb.
There was indeed something so wrong in the human condition after the fall that it was not to be fixed simply by ignoring it. It was not to be healed by pretending it never happened. It was too serious for that. It was this fallen heart that called for the crucifixion. Rather than simply letting our hate fall upon ourselves, the ones who deserved it, all of it was taken on by one who could transform it. The consequences of the fall had to be fully borne by one who could endure them and yet emerge on the far side.
But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death,
because it was impossible for him to be held by it.
Jesus does not abandon us. Even if we give up on him and set off away from Jerusalem, away from the Apostles, and away from faith, he seeks us out. He does this even before we recognize him.
Jesus himself drew near and walked with them,
but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.
Our expectations on a natural and human level cause us to doubt, to turn away, and to leave. They prevent us from beholding the reality of Easter. But they are not the finally word. It does not, in the last measure, depend on us alone. Jesus draws near. As he opens the Scriptures and breaks the bread for us we learn to recognize him in a new way that makes sense of his own sacrifice and, in turn, of all the suffering we ourselves may experience.
And it happened that, while he was with them at table,
he took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and gave it to them.
With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him,
but he vanished from their sight.
We are able, by his gift of grace, to exchange our insistence that he be victorious in the way we wish for our acceptance of a victory that is actually more and not less than we could ask or imagine.,
You will show me the path to life,
abounding joy in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
We need Jesus to keep opening our eyes. Let us ask for him to abide with us and to open our eyes.
But they urged him, “Stay with us,
for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.”
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