Open My Eyes To See You

Luke 24:15, 28-32 (NIV)
As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognising him.......As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognised him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

Have you ever had the experience of walking past someone or even interacting with someone for a few minutes who appears to know you, but for some reason, you cannot remember who they are? A bit later, you realise who it was you were passing or talking to, and you feel acutely embarrassed at not recognising them.

The disciples on the Emmaus Road could have felt the same but they had a very different response. At the beginning of the story, the disciples are sad, feeling lost and battered because they have lost someone who had taught them, someone who they had walked alongside and had adventures with. Along comes the resurrected Jesus, but the two disciples don't recognise him. However, they listened avidly to this stranger teaching them deep things concerning the Messiah, and then they warmly welcomed him into their home. We do not know for sure why their eyes were kept from recognising him, but as he broke bread with them, we read that their eyes were opened. 

One way I like to think about that moment of revelation is that, up until that point, the disciples were living in a black-and-white world. Suddenly, as Jesus is revealed to them, their lives become full of colour. Rather than being embarrassed at their failure to recognise him earlier, they are filled with immense multi-coloured joy! 

When we encounter Jesus, our lives go from living in black and white to full colour. Today, why don’t we ask Jesus to reveal himself again to us, to open our eyes. 

Prayer - Father, open our eyes to see you. Please reveal yourself in the small details of this day. May I see the colours of your glory.