Seeing Clearly

I see that there are some of you who wear glasses. (If you wear glasses, you might mention that to the children as well.) There was once a little boy named Emmet who couldn't see very well. The funny thing about it was that he didn't know it. In fact, no one knew it -- not his mother or father, his grandmother or grandfather, not even his closest friends knew that Emmet couldn't see very well.

Emmet thought that everything in the world had fuzzy edges because that is the way things looked to him. He thought that all of the other children saw things just as he saw them. As he got older his mother began to wonder why Emmet always sat so close to the TV. His grandfather noticed that when he looked at a book, he held it very close to his face. When Emmet began school, he complained to the teacher that he couldn't see the words on the chalk board clearly. Finally, everyone began to realize that Emmet needed glasses.

Emmet's parents took him to an eye doctor and the doctor told them, "Emmet needs glasses." In a few short days, Emmet had a brand new pair of glasses. At first, he was afraid that the other kids would make fun of him because he had to wear glasses, but when he put the glasses on, he put his worries behind him. WOW! The world looked so different. Suddenly, Emmet discovered that everything in the world didn't have fuzzy edges. He realized that a tree had leaves. He could read a book without holding it right up to his face. He could see her mother's face clearly, even when she was all the way across the room. It was great.

You may not have trouble with your eyesight, but all of us have difficulty seeing and understanding things at times. Our Bible story today takes place just three days after Jesus was crucified and shows how some of Jesus' disciples had trouble understanding what they had seen.

When Jesus died, his followers thought that he was gone forever. They didn't know what to do. They were very sad. They couldn't see things clearly because they were so mixed up and upset. Two of Jesus' friends were sadly walking back to their home in the village of Emmaus when another traveler joined them on the road. They didn't recognize who it was, but they began to talk to him and tell him all about what had happened to Jesus and how sad they were. When it was evening they arrived at their home and invited the stranger to stay with them and have supper. The sat down to eat and when the traveler broke the bread and blessed it, something happened. It was as if they had put on little Emmet's glasses. Suddenly they saw clearly what they hadn't seen before even though they had been looking right at it most of the day. They realized that the stranger who had joined them on the road was really Jesus - alive and well. After Jesus left them, they ran back to Jerusalem to tell the other disciples.

Sometimes we feel confused up and don't see things clearly. When that happens, we need help understanding our lives more clearly. Jesus is with us to help us to do that. He helps us to understand that God loves and that there is nothing to be fear.

Father, we are thankful that as we travel along life's road, Jesus is walking with us and that he will help us see and understand the things that happen in our life. Amen.