Companions on the Road

The Emmaus road story in Luke 24 is one of my favourites. I realized this week that by waiting until this Sunday I was placing it out of chronological order of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances. After the witnesses at the tomb itself, it is the first account of Jesus coming to the disciples. Somehow, though, waiting until the 5th Sunday of Easter seems right. Perhaps it feels it’s taken this long to get on that road.

The story is about walking and processing events deeply with a friend. The two disciples are grieving the death of Jesus, having no idea that He had risen that day as He said He would. They have had a shared experience and they need the walk home to Emmaus from Jerusalem to vent and question and decompress from a few highly charged days.

As I think about these two, I’m grateful for those who have walked with me and who have truly gotten what I’m going through in ministry and in life. We all need people who have experienced things with us or can relate to our intense and bewildering and even hilarious moments. These people can ground us and help us to face reality. They can commiserate and listen.

Sometimes, though, people walking with us can also ingrain negative views and us vs. them thinking. They can elevate our perceptions over the experiences and wisdom of others. They can cause us to narrow our interpretations rather than challenging us to broaden them. Therein lies the importance of finding good companions for the journey. We need to find kindred spirits who will keep us moving forward rather than backward or stopping fixed in one spot on the road.

We don’t know for sure why those two disciples didn’t realize it was Jesus walking with them, listening and then explaining the scriptures and how their understanding was lacking. Sure, grief played into their despair and inability to remember His words and promises. But left to just themselves they would have thought that all was for nothing and Jesus had failed. The ‘beloved stranger’ patiently and compassionately held their intense emotions and waited until they could hear the Truth.

We may be the disciples in this time, trying to make sense of church mid and post pandemic and other societal and cultural shifts. Are we looking for guides and reliable interpreters of what is going on around us so that we move forward with hope and not despair? Are we looking for Jesus’ presence among us, leading us to understanding and kingdom building? Or are we content to get stuck in negativity and returning to the tried and true that no longer serves the current moment?

We may also be called on to be the stranger bearing Christ’s image. The divisions in our communities are deep and people are walking around bewildered, frustrated and disillusioned. Everyone is stumbling through this time and some are struggling to cope more than others. How is God calling us to walk alongside and follow Jesus’ model of deep listening, even when we may disagree? How do we model Jesus’ grace and patience, offering solid information when people have cleared the decks of their emotions and can take it in? And how do we allow them to come to their own realizations of what needs to happen and change for the new life Christ offers to take root?

I pray that your journey, though it may seem long and winding, has brought with it good traveling companions and that you can find more. I pray that you are able to see Jesus with you, holding you gently with compassion. And I pray that you are willing to show the face of Christ to those you meet so that resurrected lives can begin.