Jesus appeared to them and said, "Peace be with you!"

Luke 24:35-48 The risen Jesus is real

35 Then the two went over everything that happened on the road and how they recognized him when he broke the bread. 36 While they were saying all this, Jesus appeared to them and said, "Peace be with you."37 They thought they were seeing a ghost and were scared half to death. 38 He continued with them, "Don't be upset, and don't let all these doubting questions take over. 39 Look at my hands; look at my feet-- it's really me. Touch me. Look me over from head to toe. A ghost doesn't have muscle and bone like this."40 As he said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 They still couldn't believe what they were seeing. It was too much; it seemed too good to be true. He asked, "Do you have any food here?"42 They gave him a piece of leftover fish they had cooked. 43 He took it and ate it right before their eyes. You're the Witnesses 44 Then he said, "Everything I told you while I was with you comes to this: All the things written about me in  the Law of Moses, in the Prophets, and in the Psalms have to be fulfilled." 45 He went on to open their understanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their Bibles this way. 46 He said, "You can see now how it is written that the Messiah suffers, rises from the dead on the third day, 47 and then a total life- change through the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed in his name to all nations-- starting from here, from Jerusalem! 48 You're the first to hear and see it. You're the witnesses.

Food for thought!

While the disciples were sharing what had happened to them on their way to Emmaus, something miraculous happened in their presence. Jesus, the one who had shown himself to them a while ago in the breaking of bread, came and stood in their midst!

They were terrified and thought they saw a ghost. Jesus did everything to prove He is real; He showed them the nail holes in His hands and in His feet; He offered to let them touch Him; He sat down with them to eat . Why all this? Because Jesus knows that the burden of proof is on him and not on us; He does not wait for us to be ready for him; he comes even when we are engulfed in fear, ignorance, doubt or disbelieve.

"Look at my hands; look at my feet-- it's really me. Touch me. Look me over from head to toe. A ghost doesn't have muscle and bone like this."

The risen Lord was no phantom or hallucination. He was real. The Jesus who died was in truth the Christ who rose again. Christianity is not founded on the dreams of men's disordered minds or the visions of their fevered eyes, but on one who in actual historical fact faced and fought and conquered death and rose again. We all need to understand that Jesus is alive! He is real. And that he is busy with us. The Gospel says:

Jesus went on to open their understanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their Bibles this way. He said, "You can see now how it is written that the Messiah suffers, rises from the dead on t h e third day."

What Jesus is saying is that, it was to him that all the scriptures looked forward, since the Old Testament; He is saying that all the Bible is about him, Jesus. That's how and why we should always read the Bible, in light of Jesus; we should look at all life thru the eyes of Jesus, because it is not only the Bible that is about Jesus; all life and all of life is about Jesus.

Seen in the eyes of Jesus, our life is meaningful, even those moments we think of as unfortunate, as tragedy. This is what Jesus did to the disciples: "He went on to open their understanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their Bibles this way." Learn to see life through the eyes of Jesus.

Like the disciples, sometimes we think we are seeing a ghost of ourselves and not the real we. It is only by seeing ourselves in the light of Jesus that we see the real we, the true persons that we are. Without Jesus, our life's events are meaningless. With Jesus, our life's events are meaningful.

Jesus is the Alpha and Omega of our life, he is the beginning and the end of our life; Jesus holds the key to ourselves; without Jesus we never enter ourselves, we never understand anybody. May Jesus open our understanding, too, because if Jesus does not open we shall not understand, we shall not enter, we shall not see as we should.