Sometimes we take the sad journey to Emmaus like two disheartened disciples took that first Easter. It is the journey when we think all hope is gone. Or maybe a grief so overwhelming buries us until it feels like nothing will ever be the same again. Like the Emmaus travelers, “we had hoped” for something different. The Emmaus travelers did not know how The Great Truth would change their journey. They were caught in the valley of not-yet-knowing.
But everything changed when Jesus joined their journey.
As the unsuspecting travelers offered hospitality, Jesus offered them himself. He took the role of host in their home, took their bread, gave thanks and broke it.
Then, they knew what they could never un-know. With a gasp of great faith, Jesus resurrected their hope.
I need that same unblinding presence. I need Jesus to be my host, take what meagerness I offer, transform it into what I need . . . a new understanding of what life with the risen Christ means. I need His reminder that nothing waits for me in this day or in my future that the presence of our living Lord cannot redeem.
Too often, I compartmentalize resurrection truth in ways that do not help me live in resurrection power. But when Jesus adds his living presence to wherever I am headed even when I do not know where that is, the journey is different, companioned, directed, and informed.
I may have more Emmaus walks to make, but I need never make them alone.
Hope lives!
