I love optical illusions. There are two pictures which are classic optical illusions where your mind plays tricks on you. In the first, some people see an old woman; some people see a young woman. In the second one, some people see a rabbit; some people see a duck. Physicists say that optical illusions prove that our brains add substantially to the visual input from our eyes. What we see is actually made up by our brains.

In our Scripture passage today, the two disciples on the road to Emmaus did not see Jesus even though they walked with him and talked with him on the road. That simple puzzle has amazed Biblical scholars for ages. We assume that Cleopas and the other disciple (who some say was Mrs. Cleopas) knew Jesus well enough that they should have recognized him. But verse 16 says, "...their eyes were kept from recognizing him."

How did that happen?