ENCOUNTER: DAY 15

SCRIPTURE READING - DAY 15


Luke 24:30-32

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
recognized 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?" (TNIV)


MEDITATION by Jude Tiersma Watson


We all know that place of pain and loss the two disciples felt as they walked that road—the feeling of returning home empty, hope deferred, dreams dashed, the fulfillment of all we believed in amounting to nothing. We walk along dejected and fail to recognize the presence of the One who walks alongside us. It is difficult to see beyond our feet when our eyes and heart are downcast. It is entirely possible to miss the encounter.

It is worth noting that the disciples chose to invite Jesus in after the encounter on the road, and by doing so, invited him more deeply into their lives. This more intimate setting over the meal becomes the place of recognition, the revelation of who Jesus is. The breaking of the bread can also be the place where we recognize Jesus. It was no accident that Jesus was revealed in the mystery of Communion.

I remember attending a Taizé service—a style of worship that emphasizes meditative prayer, silence, and light—here in our neighborhood in central
Los Angeles. There I felt burdened with loss and pain for a deeply struggling family that we were close to. My heart was heavy as I stood in the circle to
receive Communion. Then the pastor took the loaf of bread, prayed, and broke the bread. Immediately I felt the heaviness and pain flow from my heart as if Jesus was taking my pain into his broken body.

Just as with the two disciples in the story, sadness and despair were replaced with joy. The mystery of Jesus' broken body became real to me in a new way that day; it was something beyond words, but clearly a work of the Holy Spirit. The pain I felt in my story and in the story of my neighborhood, was taken up into the bigger story of Jesus' sacrifice for the sin of the world.

When I shared this experience with a friend, she responded by telling me about the worst relational pain she had known in her life. Nothing seemed to help. While pleading with God, she sensed him telling her to take Communion on a daily basis, and that he would use this to bring healing. She found the local Catholic Church, where Communion was served daily, and over the next weeks as she remembered Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, she felt his healing overcoming her pain.

We can expect that the Holy Spirit will work in our hearts in similar ways as Jesus did with the disciples that day. Just as Jesus became present to the disciples, we too can know that same encounter with our suffering but risen Lord.


REFLECTION


Recall a time that you failed to recognize the presence of Jesus in your life.


What are some of the things in your life that keep you from recognizing an encounter with Jesus?


Throughout this day, try to stay attentive to the ways Jesus may want to have an encounter with you.