It
happens every now and then.
The mist
clears, the fog lifts a little
the light is
brighter, and the words on the page make sense
Sometimes there
is a warmth in our hearts that says,
‘I want more of
this’
‘I want to stay
in this place, and bask in this light and feel this sense of understanding.’
‘Our hearts
burn within us.
YES it is true.
It is clear. It makes sense.’
Those moments
make sense because of those other moments.
or days.
Where nothing
is clear.
Where there is
doubt and fear and unbelief
and not knowing
if any of it is true.
Not that we
know it is untrue
but we are just
not sure or clear or ...
Emmaus (Luke 24, The Bible) is a
gentle reminder that both of these are true and real;
The
doubt and the clarity.
In fact all those
resurrection appearances are based on this.
Mary, Thomas,
Cleopas and his friend
None believed;
could believe; were ready to believe.
For them, this
dream was all over. Finished. No more.
They had hoped.
Past tense.
This One, this
Jesus, they had heard his preaching - heard him explain God like no one had
ever before.
Somehow through
him, blind people had been able to see again, lame people walk, the friendless
find company, and people who had died were again alive, a gift of life for
their families.
There was
something very different about this man.
A freshness
like nothing they had experienced, in the way he talked, and lived.
Maybe,
certainly, this was the one through whom the hopes of our parents would become
alive.
We had hoped.
Past tense
We had hoped, and
now we don’t.
We have stopped
hoping and stopped our habit of hoping.
Mary, Thomas,
Cleopas and his friend.
Giving up hope
feels tired and sad.
It is easy to
imagine these two walking down the road
heads bowed,
shoulders slumped, short steps, feet dragging.
Talking about
what’s happened, trying to make sense out of it.
It’s all very
well for others to make up stories of seeing Jesus.
That didn’t
make sense either.
That sense of
hopelessness is real for many.
Even for many
in church today.
When we say a
creed that begins, “I believe”
some will want
to shout it out.
others will
want to put a question mark after it.
There is room
in the story for Mary, Thomas, Cleopas and his friend
and there is
room in this place for those who feel doubt, who have lost hope.
This story
doesn’t fix that doubt.
But it
encourages the search, the looking, the exploring – and a glimpse of hope.
Jesus appears
to them.
And they don’t
recognise him
He talks with
them
And they still don’t
recognise him.
They invite him
into their home
And they still don’t
recognise him
And
then,
that moment.
Bread is broken and shared
And
all that had happened before
All
that heart-burning made sense.
and suddenly
their eyes see what their hearts had felt along that road.
Just as their
doubt was real, so now is that joy.
From “We had
hoped” (past tense) to "Stay with us” to Recognition.
Welcome, and
hospitality, opens a new story.
A
new way of seeing the stories, of understanding God.
Those
moments when our hearts are burning – those are the ones we want to tell others
about.
And
we choose which moment to live in.
that moment of doubt or hopelessness
– or that moment of
our hearts burning.
Which of those stories will we live, which of those stories
will we pursue further?
In this story,
those who doubt are encouraged to keep looking
Those who are
convinced, are encouraged to be convinced
Those who have
seen something are encouraged to share it with others.
Emmaus – by Joy Cowley
On that day of
rain, I walked with You,
Seeing
but not seeing You in wet trees,
Hearing but not
hearing You
In
the symphony of water sounds
Played by a
flooded stream.
You
were everywhere and yet closer
Than the
sanctuary of my umbrella,
Closer
than a misted breath.
I
didn’t need to ask who You were
For
my heart burned with recognition.
Fearing that I
would lose You,
I
cried, “Oh Lord, come home with me!”
You smiled
through the dancing rain,
The
puddles, the grey fence posts,
And You
whispered, “Ah! I am already there.”
