Often, we don’t understand. We think that we understand or we convince ourselves that we understand but in the end, we don’t understand. When we don’t understand something, we create a narrative that gives us the illusion of understanding. Rather than trusting in God and waiting for him to reveal his truth, we develop our version of events and we try to tie them all together in a rational, cohesive and coherent way. We come to conclusions that fit our narrative and we make decisions based upon those faulty conclusions. Now we not only do not understand but we begin to walk in the wrong way. We walk in the blindness of our limited understanding rather than in the light of the truth of God’s Word.

The Paschal Mystery is not easy for us to understand. The suffering and death of Jesus and the reports of his resurrection are not easy to understand. A Father God, who offers his Son as the lamb of sacrifice to take away the sins of the world, is not easy to understand. In the gospel of Luke, chapter 24, the two disciples of Jesus, Cleopas and his friend, are walking the wrong way. They are fleeing Jerusalem and the community of the apostles. They are on the road to Emmaus, abandoning their discipleship and going back to their old life, to their home, to what they know and understand. They are trying to make sense of what they have just recently experienced. They are discussing the event of the crucifixion of Jesus as they walk along. They have come to their own conclusions: Jesus was killed and their hope has died. Jesus failed in his mission. “But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel.” Now there is nothing left but to return to their former way of life and try to forget the tragic events they have just witnessed. They couldn’t have been more wrong.

God reminds us through Isaiah the prophet, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts.” (Is 55,8f) God thinks and sees things in a different way than we do. If we are ever to come to any true understanding of God the Father, we must walk a journey of faith with our Lord Jesus, the Son of God, to guide us. John points out in the Prologue of his gospel, “No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him.” (Jn 1,18) Only the Son knows the ways of the Father and only he can reveal them to us and help us to understand them. If we want to truly understand the mysteries of life, we must walk with Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life and listen to his Words. As the voice of the Father, coming from the cloud, commanded, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” (Mk 9,7) The Risen Lord continues to walk with us on our journey of faith and reveal the Father’s love to us. Wisdom tells us in Proverbs, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, on your own intelligence rely not; in all your ways be mindful of him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Prov 3,5f) We must listen to the Risen Lord, not only with our ears but with our hearts.

Pope Francis affirms for us, “The road to Emmaus thus becomes a symbol of our journey of faith: the Scriptures and the Eucharist are the indispensable elements for encountering the Lord.” In the encounter with the Risen Christ, walking alongside him on the road of life, we can begin to understand the ways of God that are revealed to us in Word and Sacrament. We can rediscover the joy of being in the presence of Truth and Love. Through the Risen Christ, revealed in Word and Sacrament, we can once again, “believe in God who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.” (1Peter 1,21) Our faith and hope are in God, not in our own ability to understand. Peter learns this and quotes David, “I saw the Lord ever before me, with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed. Therefore my heart has been glad and my tongue has exulted…You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.” (Acts 2,25-28)

As Cleopas and his friend realize, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24,32) We all have a journey of faith to walk but we do not need to walk it alone. Jesus will be our guide and our teacher through his Spirit and will give us the strength to complete our journey and to keep walking in the right direction, towards the kingdom of God. With Jesus as our companion we can bear witness to the gospel with joy and strength.