by Br. Antony Maldonado, O.S.B.

      So the disciples of Emmaus did not recognize Jesus as he walked and talked by their side!  I wonder, what did Jesus find in them?  A lack of faith?  Hardly, since the recent events monopolized their discussion.  Did he find them pessimistic?  Maybe a little, but apparently they had accepted the testimony of the women who affirmed he was alive.  What he found in them was, for sure, confusion.  They were hopeful but didn’t know what to make of apparently contradictory incidents.

   That is a situation anyone of us can find himself/herself in.  Reality may present things that are very hard to reconcile with our beliefs or expectations.  And when we turn to Scripture, sometimes it is difficult to harmonize different passages.  For example, the prophets lived in a world far removed from our own in terms of age and culture.  In many instances their language is symbolic.  We could probably consult Biblical commentaries to clarify some points.  But the main obstacle is that even today we are very reluctant to accept the place of suffering in the events of human life.  Salvation history has plenty of it.  Most prophets were misunderstood and unappreciated, many also encountered abuse, physical violence, even death.

     The forces of evil, so active in the world since the fall of man, are not going to sit idle while many try to bring about the Kingdom of God, where love and harmony will reign.  So strong opposition is to be expected always.  Because of God’s goodness and might, the final triumph of good is promised, but not without hurdles along the way.
 
     Then, once we have succeeded in making sense of the situation, thanks to God’s grace (through a revelation in prayer, the illuminating talk of a friend, the reading of some pertinent material), the important thing is to do like the disciples of Emmaus, who set out in the evening to return to Jerusalem and immediately share all they had seen, learned and understood.  It was their way of helping others who were in the same state of confusion, so they could overcome their perplexity and believe.  Surely their testimony made a big difference.

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