As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. 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, and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem, and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread. Luke 24:28-35

I remember it clearly although it happened decades ago. I was going on fifteen and just returned to school after a month of vacation. In Singapore, we have a month of vacation in June. It is not really summer holidays because it is summer throughout the year in our tropical island. Something happened to me during my vacation. At that time, I wasn’t an Anglican yet. My good friend had recently became one and he invited me to witness a baptismal service. The local Anglican Church had a practice of baptizing adults in the sea, after all we lived on a island. It was an overnight affair. The church rented a small cottage and had a mini retreat prior to the sacramental event. It was during this evening of prayer and contemplation where I felt for the first time of my life the reality of God in a deep and personal manner. I remember going home from the event feeling that something new had happened in my soul. I had spent my whole life involved in the church. I had attended countless catechism lessons. I watched countless Jesus’ movies and felt emotional whenever our Lord was crucified. I recited the Creeds from memory. I went to confessions regularly. However, I never felt like what I left that day at the baptismal retreat despite having all these religious baggage. I did not know what to make of the whole experience. It was something new. Vacation eventually got done and I went back to school a little different. I did not try to be different. I was trying to figure out what was happening to me. My friends noticed the difference. They let a few days pass and thought maybe it was just a phase. Days turned into weeks and they noticed that this new thing was perhaps something permanent.

One day in the school canteen, a close friend of mine who is a Muslim decided to get right to the matter. He asked what was happening to me. I was honest with him. I told him that I wasn’t quite sure myself. I shared my experience. I told him in simple words that a God who was once remote and distant now seems to be a someone close and real. He opened up and shared about his own spiritual experiences. At that moment, all barriers were torn down between us. We were two teenage boys transported from our temporal reality and brought to encounter something eternal. As we talked, we felt a fire burning in our hearts. Neither of us were trying to convert each other. We just shared about this fire in our souls. Not too long ago, I briefly reconnected with this friend. Both of us live in different continents now. We, like most people, have aged considerably and yet, we remember that moment as if it was yesterday. It is something that will live eternally in our hearts. A fire was ignited in our souls which only God had the match to light. Neither of us did anything for it to happen. It just happened through the grace of the Living God.

The two men on the way to Emmaus were apparently disciples of Jesus. There is nothing explicit in the story itself. We are never told if they had previously followed Jesus or not. We are just told that they were extremely perturbed and saddened by the events that happened. When Jesus asked them about the events, the evangelist records that they were saddened by the remark. It is understandable. When we are sad, we want to the whole world to cry with us. These two men were deeply concerned with everything which had happened to Jesus. However, they failed to recognize Him. The evangelist states that their eyes were kept from recognizing him. Some would say it was God who closed their eyes. This would be rather strange seeing that the God Incarnate was there right next them. Why would He keep them from recognizing Him while at the same time revealing Himself to them? Perhaps it was their personal worries and concerns. Perhaps it is another case of the Martha-Mary incident where one was so busy with the event that she forgot the guest of honor. However, in the case of these two men, there is a major difference. They had just witnessed an event which devastated them to the core. Martha was merely distracted with things that needed to be done. However, these two sensed that the world had lost something special and important. Their distraction flowed out of something deep within their souls. Their world had just slipped into a endless abyss of desperation and hopeless as only Light of Hope was murdered. This feeling is something most of us can appreciate in our present times. We are living in times where it seems like we are slipping into chaos on a daily basis. It seems like the world is bent on destroying all things good and sacred. Sometimes all these thoughts and worries, as legitimate as they may seem, might blind us from seeing the Risen Christ walking just next to us.

Some may claim that we are living in an unique period of history. They usually claim this in the negative sense. We can be never sure if this period is worse than any period before us. We tend to look back into past with a romanticized perspective. We don’t know what it was like back then but we do know what it is like to be living in this present moment with its fragility and vulnerability. We are seeing people deliberately embracing a path of self-destruction. We find ourselves walking alone on our personal road to Emmaus. Like the two men, it is easy for us to be so disturbed that our souls are laden with sorrow and pain. All these things can keep us from seeing that something good and wonderful is happening. I don’t mean this in a way like those who promote adopting a positive outlook on life. I find those people unhelpful. I am talking about understanding the meaning of Easter. The Resurrection story is one of Hope. It tells us that nothing truly good can be destroyed by the ignorance and wickedness which assails us. However, it is possible for us to be overwhelmed by these negative things and miss seeing the power of the Resurrection being manifested in our midst.

Maria spent a long time with us yesterday. She talked for the most part and we listened. We didn’t mind. It was nice to see her being enthusiastic about life. Maria is one of the young women who had been homeless since she was 8. Her mother has serious mental problems. For a long time, we thought Maria also suffered the same illness. We still think she does. Anyone who had seen Maria in the past would have said that there was no hope for this young girl. She was either extremely reserved or hostile. In fact, in the past, she would only talk to us to try to finagle some money from us. She would even be mad and aggressive with us when we refused to give her any. Needless to say, she was a disagreeable person.We were convinced that she was incapable of making any lasting relationship. Maria has changed today. The woman who spoke to us yesterday was someone full of Life. She is very articulate. She has fire in her soul. I am not saying that her situation has changed. She is technically homeless but lives in a shelter. She has been clean from drugs for months. She told us that she did it for herself. She recognizes that everything she learned about Life and most importantly, Love, was in the streets. She had never lived in a home before. Her mother never showed her love. She discovered what it was to love in the streets. In her words, she said that she learned how to eat and drink in the streets. In other words, her mother never provided the basic needs for her life. However, she also learned some self-destructive habits in the streets. Now, she has to learn to discern between the two. When she spoke, we felt a joy of hope. We felt that despite the darkness and hopelessness which surrounds us, God is able to bring genuine Hope into the lives of these young people. Maria is not holding on to false promises. She does not have impossible dreams. She just has one conviction; Love will help her find her way. For many years, her eyes were kept from seeing this undying Love present in the streets. Something or someone opened her eyes. She is able to see clearly. It doesn’t mean that in the future she won’t fall and slip into desperation. She is human. However, the Resurrected Christ will be present. Maria may need help to be reminded in the future and she can take refuge in the warmth of the fire of those who can see the Resurrected Christ alive in their midst.

There is a lesson I learned listening to Maria yesterday. The world might be constantly slipping into chaos. However, nothing can hinder the Risen Christ from walking next to us and making our hearts burn with zest for Life. There is nothing we can do to ignite this fire. There was nothing we did that made Maria realize that she is loved despite being abandoned at such a young age. We could have told this when she was younger. In all likelihood, she would have responded in a hostile manner. Only Jesus kindles this flame. All we can do is to testify with our lives that this fire is real and is burning in our hearts. Those who need its warmth will come close to us. Wherever the Risen Christ is present, hearts will burn with hope and love.

Therefore, we need not be burdened with the darkness that seems to envelope us. The Risen Christ has conquered death. Maria just reminded me of that yesterday. There is hope even when things appear hopeless and lost. He has conquered all hopeless and chaos. We know this because He is Risen.