The two disciples experienced something when blethering with the stranger they met on the road to Emmaus. Not recognising the stranger as Jesus, they were surprised when he seemed to know nothing of the recent events in Jerusalem. Of how their beloved leader Jesus had been executed for preaching the Good News of God's love for his people, or how their hope for a different future had died with him on the cross. And, how angry and frustrated they were at the disappearance of his body from the tomb, three days after his death.
The disciples' grief is plain for all to see and it is so great that it gets in the way of their recognising who the stranger really is. Yet, as many of us do, the disciples find it easy to pour out their grief and frustrations to the stranger.
You may be able to think of times when this may have happened to you - when it was easier to talk to a casual acquaintance rather than someone close, about your inner feelings. This is probably why therapy works well for so often it is the detached, objective view that we seek to help u s make sense o f the muddles our lives sometimes lead us into. It is not so much that we are seeking answers to our questions or solutions to our problems from the other person but more that we need someone to listen to us, and to allow us to begin to unravel the muddle in our heads and find the answers from within ourselves.
This reflects what I think was happening for those two disciples walking with Jesus. What I think the disciples were doing - in talking to the stranger as they walked together they were trying to fathom out in their minds what had been going on in Jerusalem. What the stranger, whom we know to be Jesus does, is to listen and then to encourage them to think objectively about the situation.
Be open to the possibility of Jesus speaking to you in the most unlikely of people or situations for there is always something to learn from each others when we have the opportunity to engage in conversation without barriers.