“Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

— Luke 24:32

At a concert, the usher at the door looked so familiar to me. But I could not recall where or when I might have met him before. After a brief conversation with him, we recalled that years ago he had been our son’s grade-8 teacher. We enjoyed sharing a few memories of that time in our lives.

I think the situation was slightly different as the two followers of Jesus walked along toward their home in Emmaus. They didn’t recognize that they were talking with Jesus, even though they had seen him recently. Did he not look the same? Jesus asked questions and taught them about the Scriptures, but it wasn’t till they sat and shared bread together that their eyes were opened to see him. What a wonderful feeling that must have been!

Then, after Jesus “disappeared from their sight,” they joyfully made the long trip back to Jerusalem to share their story. They could not wait to share their experience. Their love for Jesus and the others was enough to propel them back to Jerusalem to share.

With a text message from my cell phone, we eagerly shared with our son that we had talked with his grade-8 teacher at the concert that night. And it was fun to share that with him.

Are we eager in a way like that to share with others about our times with Jesus?

Lord, thank you for moments when you meet with us in a fresh new way. Open our eyes and hearts to your work in our everyday lives, realizing you are closer than we might think. Amen.