Welcome to my new blog, Emmaus Road.
The story of the apostles meeting Jesus on the road to Emmaus has always been a powerful one for me. After Jesus' death they were despondent because they were sure that their great hope for the future had been extinguished by the cross. And yet in their very darkest hour Jesus came and walked with them.
Of course they didn't recognize Him, even though they were strangely and powerfully moved by His presence. "Then they said to each other, 'Were not our hearts burning (within us) while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?'" It was only after he broke bread with them that their eyes were opened and they realized he had traveled with them that afternoon on the road, and that indeed he had never left them at all.
That story is the story of our lives. We walk along the road, in good times and bad, sometimes scarcely aware of His presence. Especially in the hard times, like the patch of road we're walking right now, He can seem far away. And then something happens, and just like we've been struck with a bolt of grace, we know at once that He IS there, always WAS there...and always will be.
My prayer is that through these musings and your responses that we will all become more aware as we walk along of Christ's incredible, life-affirming, comforting, loving presence every step of the way.
What a gift your reflections are to me, Rob. Thank you. A 26 yr old coworker of Jen's died suddenly yesterday (possible anurism) and today I woke to news of Buffalo plane crash. Feeling despondant and depressed, I needed this gift from God through you to bring me up again. I will look forward to future musings and may even take your advice and give this a try myself. God bless you,dear friend!Colleen
ReplyDeleteThanks Colleen. Your encouragement is one reason I decide to give this a shot. Stay tuned for more...apparently I had a lot of pent up stuff to say.
ReplyDeleteI have also found this story a powerful one. For me, the most compelling part is how Jesus appeared to the protagonists in the story. He was not just a voice, or a presence in their hearts, but a fellow traveller on the road. God is among us. God is the one along the road we shoot the breeze with, or talk about the recent news. I don't see God as the silent stalker leaving footprnts on the beach in that story we've all heard, but as alive in those around us; and in ourselves. The miracle is when we really see it.
ReplyDeleteRob, you are a good writer, keep it up!
Ron Pudlo
Ron,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much. We do tend to try to put Jesus on a perch at the right hand of The Father, and yet it seems the whole point of the Incarnation was to set him on the road right next to us. We seem to get the part about Jesus being God, but have a really hard time with Him also being man -- "like us in all things but sin." The more we work on that the better off I think we become.