The talk along the road hadn't helped. Words had failed. The sign worked. And immedi ately Cleopas and his friend rose to go back to Jerusalem to take up the new life. Words don't always help.
Talk is sometimes useless, as the Hebrew prophets knew so very well.
When they had been talking for days and days at the tops of their voices, they would finally refer to signs in silence. Let' s come back to the risen Jesus at Emmaus. His words failed, but his sign worked. The care that Jesus had for his bereaved followers didn't either. Love doesn't guarantee understanding, even a love as strong as Jesus'.