Christ’s words to the two disciples who were on their way to Emmaus, among other things, He tells them two words which may sound strong and hard: “how foolish and dull you are”. The two people walking together have sad faces and their lives are shrouded in a thick fog and their conversation has an almost depressing tone of despair. They had placed their trust in the messiah, the messiah, the redeemer of humanity. However, they thought they had made a mistake since the civil and religious authorities had condemned and executed him on the cross in an infamous way.
At times we are like the disciples of Emmaus, absorbed in our worries with the drama of the coronavirus, with the danger of being unable to experience inner vitality, the closeness of Christ. But, I repeat, Christ walks with us on this way of the cross of the pandemic and besides being in disguise, we practically don’t see it unless we go inside. He joins us in our sadness and despair, listens to our story of the loss of loved ones, of our deep pain of loss of direction and inner darkness.
Yes, he is with us in these painful moments, where a large part of humanity, not to mention the sick people in hospitals who need help, but above all they also need our prayers. He tells us that his love is more powerful than our despair. God starts from pain and suffering and starts from the darkness of death to bring it to the light of the resurrection. It is true that it is not easy to detect, because it requires silence within us.
Christ is taking steps to take away this pandemic that leaves hearts that are truly broken and in some cases hearts that are cold so that they burn, but so that they burn with the light of the Holy Spirit. But this story of the two disciples of Emmaus is the Gospel story that reveals a spiritual pattern for discovering the true presence of Christ in our lives.
As told in Father Henri Nouwen’s book. In his book on discernment, where he treats this subject with great clarity and depth. We detect this presence in persevering prayer, in the Eucharist and in the reflection on Christ’s words in this passage from the disciples of Emmaus. These words of Christ: “Did not the Messiah have to suffer this in order to enter into his glory?” Understanding these words of Christ changes our perception of pain and suffering.
