Session 1: Imagining Emmaus

0:00

Serendipity

As we begin this journey with the disciples of Emmaus, remember: God is already looking at you with immense love. Take a moment to slow down… to become still… and to open your heart to the joy of the Gospel — a joy that, as Pope Francis once said, “fills the hearts and lives of those who encounter Jesus.”

1:06

Let’s step into the Gospel of St. Luke and join the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Take a moment to relax… and imagine the scene as if you were there. How wide is the road? Is it paved… or dusty? Are there trees along the way? Do you notice other people passing by — or is it just Jesus and the disciples? What is the light like? How bright is the afternoon sun?

The passage is a bit longer, so we’ll take it slowly — in a few short sections. After each one, there will be a brief pause to help you stay with it… and savour this encounter with Jesus more deeply.

2:08

Luke 24:13-35

That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” And he said to them, “What things?”

We are introduced to the people in this story: two disciples on the road to Emmaus. One is named Cleopas. The other remains unnamed — it could be a friend… even his wife. They walk together, caught in a heavy conversation. They seem sad.

In the brightness of the afternoon sun, Jesus comes close and joins them — but they don't recognize Him. Take a moment to imagine them. What do they look like?

3:56

Jesus said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”

And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

Notice the movement in these words. The disciples, frustrated, share their hope — that Jesus was the one… the Messiah. A hope that seemed to collapse with His death on the Cross. And it is right there — in the middle of their confusion and disappointment — that Jesus begins to speak. He opens the Scriptures… and something new starts to open in their hearts. Take a moment to wonder: what might the disciples be feeling as they realize that the Word of God is speaking directly to them — into their hopes, their desires, their struggles? If it’s hard to imagine, that’s okay. Just stay close to them… and gently try to enter into their hearts, without forcing anything.

6:43

So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.

Their conversation with Jesus was only the beginning of something more — a journey into deeper closeness. They invite Him in. They sit at a table. And then, something happens: Jesus takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it. In that moment… their eyes are opened. These gestures feel familiar — as if they had seen them before. From other hands… another presence… Or is it the same? Something shifts. Wonder returns. Their hearts wake up again to the work of God. Stay with that moment. What do you think they were feeling? And you — what would you have felt, sitting there with them?

8:42

They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

A poet once said that there are parts of the heart that do not exist… until the day they begin to burn within. Something like that happens to the disciples — but as a gift of the Holy Spirit. It is through that fire within that they recognize Jesus. And everything changes. They rise from the table — as if rising from sadness… even from death. And they return to Jerusalem. No hesitation. No fear of the night. Only urgency. Not an urgency that flows from pressure, but an urgency that is found in a heart filled with the joy of the Gospel. Stay with that image: What does that kind of joy feel like?

Imagine the disciples setting off toward Jerusalem — quick steps, hearts full of joy. They can’t keep it to themselves. They need to share what happened on the road… how they recognized Him in the breaking of the bread. Stay with that scene. What do you feel as you watch them? Take a moment … and speak to Jesus about it.

13:46

Lord Jesus,

You have given everything to me —

Your Word, Your Presence, Your Friendship.

Now I give myself back to You,

because I desire to be available

for Your mission of compassion.

Give me only Your love and Your grace.

That’s enough for me.

Amen.