Fra Giovanni Angelico (1387-1455)
early two thousand years ago two men were walking together along a dusty road in Palestine. They talked earnestly as they walked along of a great event that had happened. A man called Jesus, the Christ, had been crucified and buried, but after three days he was not found in the tomb. As the men talked, a traveler joined them and asked:
"What is it ye talk about and are sad?"
And the men asked if he were a stranger in Jerusalem and did not know the things that had come to pass.
The stranger said, "What things?"
Then the men told him of Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. And they said that they had all hoped He was the mighty one who was to save the world but that He had been killed.
Then the stranger, who was Jesus himself, but the men did not know Him, began to tell them the story of all things about himself. Still they did not know Him, and as they came to the village of Emmaus and the stranger made as though He would have gone further, the men said, "Come, abide with us."
This picture, showing the men inviting the stranger, was painted by Fra Angelico for the Dominican monastery in Florence, Italy. You will find it over the entrance of San Marco, where it welcomes every stranger who comes.
Fra Angelico was so kind and gentle and helpful that his companions called him "Angel Brother"; in Italian, "Fra Angelico."