Introduction
One of my favorite resurrection stories in Scripture is the appearance of Jesus to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. (Luke 24, 13-35). The two disciples' hearts were broken. They were lost. Then Jesus appeared to them. He interpreted for them all of the Scriptures that had referred to Jesus as Messiah. He revived their hope. He built their faith. And then he revealed himself to them in the breaking of the bread.
Many times in our own lives our hearts are broken. We are lost. We need the love and strength of Jesus in our lives. We need to have our hope revived and our faith built up. We need the powerful prescence of the Lord in our lives. Our God offers this and more through the power of his Word in Scripture. Just as he explained the Scripture to the two disciples, he will give us knowledge of Scripture through the power of the Holy Spirit as we reflect on his Word and open our minds and hearts to his wisdom.
This book was written to help us open our lives to God's Word in Scripture. The readings and reflections in this book may be a good opportunity to begin to explore the Word of God, and its meaning for our lives. I have arranged the reflections according to themes, so that they may be used for study as the Lord leads us. Each reflection contains a Scripture cite, as well as the reflection itself. I suggest that one way to use this book is as a daily help in prayer and study by reading the entire Scripture passage, and then by using the reflection as a way to commune with the Lord in prayer, letting him teach and bless our lives through his Word. This is just one suggestion, however, and individuals are encouraged to embrace these reflections in the way that is most meaning ful for them. However you proceed, I know that as we open our hearts to God's Word in our lives, we will be able to say, as did the two disciples, "Were not our hearts buring (within us) while he spoke to us on the way, and opened the Scriptures to us?" (Luke 24, 32).
-- John Palmer
Book Excerpt
IN HIS IMAGE
(John 20, 11-18) - "Jesus said to her, 'Mary!' She turned and said to him in Hebrew, 'Rabboni,' which means teacher."Jesus knows us even better than we know ourselves. He is our Creator. He formed us. He loves us with an everlasting and unconditional love. Our souls long for our Lord. They long to touch him and live in his love and light. With the many concerns that we are faced with in our lives, we sometimes lose our focus on the Lord. In our sinfulness our souls are stifled, and we fail to see and recognize the Lord in the many ways in which he is present to us. In this passage Mary, in her sorrow and grief, fails to recognize Jesus when he appeared to her. Earthly concerns kept her from recognizing him. It was when Jesus spoke her name with love and tenderness that her soul recognized her Creator. Her earthly concerns faded away, and Mary was again in the prescence of her Lord. The Lord continues to call each of us by name. He continues to be present to us in our lives. He longs for the times when our souls recognize him and our earthly concerns melt away. He longs for us to always live in his love and his light.
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