Wednesday Within the Octave of Easter
The disciples on the road to Emmaus are exhausted by disappointment. Their faces are “downcast,” their hope worn thin. “We were hoping that he would be the one,” they confess—a sentence that carries the weight of every unmet expectation, every prayer that seemed unanswered, every dream that felt like it slipped through their fingers.
And it is precisely into this disillusionment that “Jesus himself drew near and walked with them.”
He does not wait for them to find Him.
He finds them.
As He speaks, something begins to stir—quietly, almost imperceptibly. Their hearts, dulled by grief, begin to burn again. So they beg Him, “Stay with us.” And He does. Sitting at table, Jesus takes bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them. In that familiar gesture, “their eyes were opened and they recognized him.”
Then He vanishes from their sight.
But should we imagine that He left them?
Or did He remain with them in a deeper, more substantial way?
The early Church understood this well. The same risen Christ who walked the Emmaus road now abides with His disciples interiorly—most especially in the breaking of the bread. His presence becomes not merely beside them, but within them.
We see this truth again in the crippled man at the temple gate. Peter and John say, “Look at us.” And through them, Jesus draws near. The man rises, walks, and leaps for joy. How could such power flow through them unless Christ were still with them—alive, active, dwelling within?
Easter renewal is not only about recognizing Jesus.
It is about discovering that He remains with us—substantially, interiorly, transforming us from within.
Scripture: “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way?” (Luke 24:32)
Question: Where might Jesus be drawing near to you today—quietly, steadily—opening your eyes to His presence?
Smitten With Goodness 