Day 32
Wednesday in the fifth week of Lent
Luke 24:30
When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.
A great deal of what Jesus does in the Gospels involves opening eyes. The richness of this image should not escape us. Eyes need healing, but so do hearts and minds, and they are linked.
We do not see the grace of God in the creation around us as we should. We do not see our calling to care for the earth and its creatures. We do not see ouselves in the face of our neighbors. We do not see Christ in the face of the poor, the hungry, the homeless, the forgotten. We do not see our capacity for violence in the broken body of Jesus, or any of the other broken bodies around us. We do not see and so we do not act. We see instead our wants, our needs, our “rights”.
We do not see the log in our own eye as we point out the splinter in the eye of others. We do not see something as simple as a mask as an act of love for others. We do not see the prejudices of our own hearts – or, at least, do not see them well.
We don’t see the harm that hateful speech creates. We do not see the way privilege works or poverty corrodes. We do not even really see Jesus on the cross. Yes, there are lots of pictures, but do we see the pain? Do we see the sacrifice? Do we see the sorrow for humanity? Do we see the love lived fully there?
We do not see as we should see. Every work of God is about opening our eyes to see more clearly.
When Jesus walks with the pilgrims returning to Emmaus, Jesus must open their eyes about the scriptures and about what happened in Jerusalem those fateful days. And after, at the table, it is in the breaking of the bread that they truly see.
They see the wounded hands. They see the thorn encircled brow. They see the mercy fathomless. They see the heart of God overflowing. They see in the broken bread the broken body. They see in the wine Christ poured out for us. And, above all, they see that Jesus lives. In us. With us. For us.
Living Bread, Welcome Arms,
companion on the way and our eternal home,
gather all the earth to recognize you in the breaking of the bread.
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Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Biarritz-%C3%89glise_Sainte_Eug%C3%A9nie-La_C%C3%A8ne_d%27Emma%C3%BCs-20120413.jpg; Daniel VILLAFRUELA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons [cropped]
Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
© David K Bonde, 2021, All rights reserved