The Road to Emmaus; living in the in-between

There is a story in Luke Chapter 24 about these two guys walking down the road to Emmaus. They are confused and afraid because Jesus is dead and the tomb is empty. On top of that, the women are telling these crazy stories about angels and Jesus being alive. I think we’ve all been on this road; grief stricken, perplexed at the situation we are in and fearful of the unknown.

Just since Saturday, I have known three families to have lost loved ones, not to Co-Vd and not in my immediate family. Nonetheless, I have experienced all of these emotions of sadness, confusion and fear. Yesterday, I attended my first drive-by visitation. As the family and the casket sat on the front porch of the funeral home, my heart broke. I wanted to reach out and touch them, to hug them and bear some of their burden. All I could do was wave from my car. 

Thus begins our next lesson. Today, we will focus on Luke 24:13 -24 AMP.  However, I have included the link of the entire chapter and would love for you to read the whole story as we will be studying for the next few weeks.

Going Deeper: For those of you that want to go deeper, before you read the scripture, spend a little time in prayer. Ask God to reveal to you what it is that God would like you to glean from the passage. Take a deep breath in through your nose for a count of four, hold it for a two-count and then let it out slow and controlled through your nose. Do this a couple of times to center yourself. Then, open your eyes and read the text. As you read, pay attention to what words or phrases pop out at you. Just notice. You may want to jot them down for later reflection. 

Read the text; Luke 24:13-24 AMP.

“And they stood still, looking brokenhearted.”

I often wonder why we celebrate Easter like we do.  Our whole Christian calendar marches toward Easter morning. While we raise our voices, to sing “Christ the Lord has risen today,” the disciples are still mourning the loss of their teacher and friend. Easter is a culmination of our faith but the knowledge of who Jesus is has not yet been revealed to the disciples. They thought Jesus was their Messiah and they hoped it were true. But at this point in time, their teacher is dead and his body is missing. They are in the thin space between belief and knowledge, the promise of a future and the reality of where they really are. They are caught between knowing and not knowing. Unbeknownst to them, God was still developing their faith. And God is developing ours. 

Most of us are on our own road to Emmaus, caught between knowing and not knowing. Our lives quickly get flipped upside-down and we find ourselves living in the in-between. Here is where God grows us and strengthens us. We begin to understand who God is in our lives. The disciples and all the followers of Jesus’ day did not have the privilege of knowing the rest of the story like we do. They were literally living in that thin space between life and death and life again, between believing and knowing.

God is in the in-between. God is the One who fills in the gap between believing and knowing. As these two guys walked the road to Emmaus, Jesus joined them. It doesn’t even matter that they didn’t recognize him. He was there all the same.

We too are on a road. Sometimes, we find ourselves in the in-between places of our lives. These are not fun places to be. We didn’t ask to go here, but we are here all the same. Take heart my friend, God is here also, even if you don’t recognize Him.

Let us pray;

God of the in-between places, comfort us in our grief. Calm our confusion and settle our fears. Forgive us when we do not recognize You. Reassure us that You are always with us. Thank you for growing our faith in these uncomfortable spaces. In Jesus’ name, Amen. -M

P.S. – Join me next week as we discuss the difference between believing and knowing. Leave me a comment below because you know I love to hear from you. Share this message with a friend or on your Facebook page.