The story of the encounter on the road to Emmaus is unique to Luke’s Gospel. In fact, it contains the fullest post-resurrection account of Jesus’ encounter with the disciples of all four Gospels. For Luke faith is a form of sight: seeing with fresh spiritual eyes (cf. Luke 9:45). This gift of new sight reaches its pinnacle when Jesus opens their eyes to understand the Scriptures which had spoken about him. Over two thousand years later we walk with the Lord along the road of our lives and on this journey he opens up the Scriptures for us too.
We are called, if you like, to be contemplatives: men and women who treasure and cherish the Word of God. For this is where God speaks to us in the most powerful way. Therefore, if we want to find out the mind of God, we must read the Bible and become increasingly familiar with the sacred text. Think of it this way: just as the Holy Spirit made the disciples’ hearts burn, so too he will make ours burn with the light and flames of God’s love. Because reading the Bible without love is simply a chore. Reading the Bible with love in our hearts is the way into a deeper understanding and knowledge of the love of God.