"... their eyes were opened..."

When he was at the table with them, Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognised him… Luke 24:30-31

Do you ever fail to see the obvious? Something is right in front of your nose, but somehow you don’t see it; or spoken right into your ear, but you don’t hear it.

I read a newspaper article once about somebody I slightly knew - but totally failed to see the connection. A day or two later a friend said to me “Did you see that thing about Paul in the paper the other day?” Only then did it dawn on me…

I decided (trying to reassure myself that I wasn’t completely stupid) that I had had no reason to expect Paul to be in the paper, so – well, that was it.

Go to the afternoon of the first Easter Sunday.

Two people are walking sadly from Jerusalem to Emmaus, roughly seven miles away. One of them is called Cleopas, probably the same person as the “Clopas” mentioned in John 19:25 as the husband of a woman called Mary; so very likely this story is about a married couple.

They are completely confused by the events of the last few hours. They are disciples of Jesus, and Mary was with a group of women at the foot of the cross. So she, if not both of them, saw him crucified. They have sat through that wretched, utterly miserable Saturday. And now they’re heading, presumably home, to Emmaus.

But before setting out they have been puzzled by rumours: Jesus, it is said, is alive again! What’s going on? No doubt they’re mulling it over as they walk.

And then they are joined by a stranger. It is Jesus – but they don’t recognise him. Perhaps it’s getting dark (no street lights, remember); perhaps his face is partly cloaked. Or perhaps their numbed minds just can’t process what’s in front of their eyes; they are in a state of what today is called “denial”.

Jesus explains what has gone on, drawing from the pages of the Old Testament, pages with which they should have been familiar; but still they don’t “get it”. They persuade this stranger to share a meal with them. And then… something happens. He, though the guest rather than the host, takes it on himself to “break the bread” – and suddenly they understand: “their eyes were opened and they recognised him”. What a moment!

It's like what had happened to Mary Magdalene that morning. She finds Jesus’ tomb open and empty. She assumes the body has been stolen. She becomes aware of a man standing near her. He asks why she is so upset. She thinks he must be the gardener, and asks him where the body is. He speaks just a single word: her name, “Mary”. And suddenly she too sees: “Teacher!” she cries out. Again, what a moment!

Let me say categorically: it is the greatest moment of your life when your eyes are opened and you see Jesus for who he truly is: the crucified and risen Son of God. Nothing can ever be the same again.

Has that yet happened to you?

That moment of revelation is both a gift and a command. A gift, because it is something that happens to us, perhaps right out of the blue, as with Cleopas and Mary, and with Mary Magdalene. But also a command, because we are told to believe, to have faith.

It's hard to marry those two things together; but experience suggests that that’s the way it is. We mustn’t use the fact that our eyes haven’t yet been opened as an excuse, a cop-out. God calls us to see – and if he calls us to see, then we needn’t doubt that he will make it happen, as long as our hearts are humble and open.

Can you think of another couple in the Bible of whom it is said “their eyes were opened…”? Sadly in this case it was to see their downfall: “they knew that they were naked”, and so they took steps to cover their shame. Yes – Adam and Eve, right at the beginning.

And so the first creation went horribly wrong. But now, on the first Easter Day, God is bringing into being the new creation, a creation of which we are all invited to be a part.

Are you yet part of this wonderful new, clean creation? Have your eyes yet been opened?

Here’s a prayer I invite you to pray…

Open my eyes, Lord,/ I want to see Jesus,/ To reach out and touch him/ And say that I love him./ Open my ears, Lord,/ And help me to listen./ Open my eyes, Lord,/ I want to see Jesus. Amen. (Robert Cull, altered)