The Emmaus Walk

I recently spoke at one of our sister churches in the Four Corners area where my wife and I live.
While I was preparing for this sermon I found myself surprised to read in Luke's Gospel account in chapter 24:21-24
But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.”
I had always thought that these disciples left when Jesus was crucified. Can you believe that these disciples heard all of this and still left?
My mentor used to always tell me that "unmet expectations leads to depression." As I read through this passage I began to think about all of the times that I have expected Christ to redeem different situations that I have been through. I remember longing for Jesus to redeem people who were sick, help in relationships, or just to give me a sign that he was around. It is interesting that I would always expect Jesus to fix things in the way that made the most sense to me. When things fell through I would begin to question myself, others, even God.
This passage is exactly what we go through in our lives when we don't face situations seeking God's perspective. These poor disciples don't even recognize Jesus when he explains the scriptures to them. It is not until Christ breaks the bread that their eyes are open.
I currently try to approach things with an open mind. I always pray for fruit and ask for God's will to be done. I feel that as I seek to be more in sync with the will of God and try to understand the whole of scriptures that I become less likely to expect God to do things a certain way but can always expect that the presence will be along side me as I seek to glorify God.
As we look at these disciples, I also feel reminded of the importance to understand and explain scripture and listen to people. These guys not only heard but saw everything that happened in those days. They still did not get it. We have to be patient and wait for the Spirit to move inside these people's lives. Always caring and rooting for them.