Imaging Emmaus

The Gospels give us a literary record of our Lord and of his life, but we have no visual record.  To show how events might have looked, an artist has to use their imagination to some degree.  On Easter 3 we saw the gospel story for that day portrayed on our bulletin cover where the artist imagined two men encountering a third man on the road to Emmaus.

However, St Luke, the author of the literary record, does not mention two men but two disciples.  He names one of them as a man, but leaves the other unidentified.  So, the other one could have been a woman.  In fact, the person’s anonymity underscores that possibility.

Let’s try again.  A wife and her husband are walking home together at the end of the day when they encounter a stranger going their way.  In a gesture of generosity, they offer their unknown companion hospitality for the night, and in doing so recognise the Risen Lord.  The first two disciples to know our Lord in the Breaking of Bread were a man and a woman. 

Imagine that!

Photo credit Leslie Buck: "A woman with her husband at Emmaus".