Two of [the disciples] were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him...Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. (Luke 24: 13-16, 27-30)
The Gospel stories of Christ's appearances after the Resurrection are full of mystery. He seems to be able to pass through walls and locked doors in a physical body with wounds from the Crucifixion you can probe with your fingers. No one recognizes him. Mary Magdalene mistakes him for a gardener when they meet by the empty tomb. In this narrative of a post-Easter encounter between Jesus and two disciples returning home from Jerusalem, the Resurrected Christ holds a lengthy conversation with them, but they only realize who he is when he breaks bread at a meal, perhaps, using a hand gesture recalling the Last Supper. Khrystyna Kvyk from the Lviv group of icon-makers combines Byzantine forms with Cubist geometrics and an Art Deco elegance of line to create a numinous image of the meeting on the Emmaus Road where the Risen Lord stands out in a gleaming gold garment concealed by his cloak. My series on Ukrainian art of the Passion of Christ comes to an end with this ethereal post-Resurrection image but the suffering of the Ukrainian people goes on. Pray for the Peace of Ukraine! (John Kohan)