The Road

So much time, to think, ponder, wonder, worry, try to make sense of all that unfolds in our world and planet. Moments to remember what has passed in our lives; hopes, fears, longings, missed opportunities, and looking ahead, if we dare, to what might be.

Our vision of our lives in this place in which we find ourselves, perhaps feels like being adrift in a rudderless boat, at the mercy of things we cannot control. There are lots of things that we share with others, whether they or we are able to verbalise what lies in our hearts.

We’re in the Easter season still; the timing of the pandemic resonates with the uncertainty of Jesus’ disciples after his crucifixion. They were lost, rudderless, bereaved, seemingly let down by the one they trusted. If we are honest, we might feel some of this in the moment we are living through, but also for the times of difficulty in the past when we felt alone.

Just before the scenario of our gospel reading, the disciples were struggling and locked away. It was the women who went to the tomb and were met with the presence of two angels and an empty tomb. Just try and process that one! To add to the shock, no body, plus angels verbalising the simple phrase, ‘He is not here, He is risen.’ Let that resound in your heart and soul, today.

Then we move to our reading and we are even given the name of one of the two disciples walking away from Jerusalem to Emmaus: Cleopas. Down hearted, let down. The risen Jesus catches up with them and opens the conversation with a kind of, ‘What’s up guys?!’ They respond with a simple, ‘Are you kidding?!’ They chatter away on a stream of consciousness; stressed and fearful. Even as Jesus tells them more, they can’t hear or see what is in front of them!

They do the right things, but miss the point, even inviting Jesus to stay with them and eat, when they reach Emmaus. During the meal, he very simply, took bread, gave thanks, broke it and gave it to them. Suddenly, the penny dropped and simply Jesus moved on, out of their physical presence.

How easy it is to miss Jesus in our lives. Worry, fear, distraction, complexity, self pity,…we can each make our own list! But the witness of this account in the Gospel of Luke, is that Jesus Christ is only a breath away. We simply need to be ‘tuned in’. It is very easy, I agree, to get lost in self pity and anxiety and our own limited vision.

But we need to stop, ‘have a moment’ and sense that the Risen Lord of the Gospel stories is with us in the events of each day, as he was with the two disciples walking along a dusty road, carrying uncertainty in their hearts.

The Risen Lord, bless you and keep you and accompany you on your road and life journey.