When Jesus meets us

As they came near the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going further; but they held him back, saying, ‘Stay with us; the day is almost over and it is getting dark. So he went in to stay with them. He sat down to eat with them, took the bread, and said the blessing; then he broke the bread and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognised him, but he disappeared from their sight. They said to each other, ‘Wasn’t it like a fire burning in us when he talked to us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?’ (verses 28-32)

Read Luke 24:13-35

Those two disciples on the road to Emmaus would never forget the day they felt so miserable that they failed to recognise Jesus walking alongside them. Nor would they ever forget the fire of faith that started to glow within their hearts as Jesus explained from the Scriptures that all the things predicted by the prophets about the Messiah had been fulfilled in his death and resurrection. Everything that had happened began to make sense the day they met Jesus.

We meet Jesus today when we read the Holy Scriptures, most obviously of course in the New Testament, because it contains his words and teachings, but also in the Old Testament when we read it in the light of the New Testament.

We can all wake up to sad and miserable days when our faith is sorely tested. That’s just the time when we need to meet and recognise Jesus – and this will happen, with the help of the Holy Spirit, when we read the Scriptures and wait to hear what Jesus has to say to us. Can you think of a time when, like it was for those two disciples, it was like a fire burning within you when Jesus talked to your through the Scriptures?

Thank you, Jesus, for the faith you have created in me. Please keep it alive and glowing through the words you continue to speak to me. Amen.

by Pastor Kevin Schmidt, in ‘Assurance for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2004)

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