A very ordinary extraordinary encounter

‘… ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?’ (Luke 24:38)

Luke 24:35-48 (Year B: Easter 3)

Something we saw and touched and experienced..

The story in this extract from Luke’s gospel follows on from the ‘Emmaus Story’ where Jesus walks along with two disciples and ends up staying the evening with them before disappearing. The Risen Christ turns up, unexpectedly, and departs similarly. A common feature in all four gospels, including that of John, is a strong emphasis on the physical risen body of Christ. There is eating together with displays of wounded hands, feet and sides (Luke goes for feet and hands, only). The gospel writers are anxious to dispel any notion that the Risen One is a ghost or a phantom of collective or individual psyche. Christ is one of us among us but in a way that is altogether new and that defies space and time limitations.  The disciples have entered into a new reality where Christ is present to them in their midst and within their hearts. We read in the Acts of the Apostles (thought to be written by Luke) that (Acts 10:40-41):

but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.  He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen – by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 

We have been chosen to eat and drink with the Lord. What a privilege. It cannot escape us that this places a huge responsibility on us to witness to that freedom, peace and joy that we have seen and touched and experienced. We, too, are witnesses. Let us open our eyes today and walk in this freedom without shame or further doubt. Christ walks with us, and behind us and before us. He has overcome our doubts and our fears. As it is written in the first letter of St John (1 John 1:1):

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.

And today in 2015 we are witnessing these events.  What happened on the road from Emmaus as well as to Emmaus is that Someone walked into our lives – unexpectedly. It was a natural encounter, so it seemed. Then in conversation with this stranger our hearts were lit up and something sparked deep within us. Jesus spoke about the words of scripture. But in doing this he joined a conversation among the disciples. In other words, he spoke with them more than at them. This is how we learn from others – others who speak with us and not down to us, or up to us or at us. People who speak with us in active conversation bring out something new and old within us. And this is educare – to educate. Such was the joy and the warmth experienced by the disciples that they felt an irresistible urge to share what they had experienced with other disciples. And this continues today among us. ‘Joy and amazement’ (verse 41) together with ‘peace’ (verse 36) are the fruits of such learning and encounter.

Like the spring rains that water the earth..

There is something decidedly Hosean about this story from Luke. The prophet Hosea, writing in the 8^th century BCE declared (Hosea 6:1-3):

Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.   After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him.  As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.

Like the spring rains that water the earth the Lord will come to us. He will not fail us.

In this fallen world, trust is sometimes betrayed and promises broken as a world that we expected never emerged.  However, it is never too late for faith to be renewed, for hope to be affirmed and for love to be re-discovered.

A parable..

One evening shortly before the sun set in the west a soul walked a lonely and quiet road. The air was still and the warmth of the sun was resting on the green road. On the way, he met other disciples among whom the spirit of Joy resided. A conversation started and hearts were warmed as minds were opened. Food was shared and there, in the quiet of the evening, new hope and life was born. In that short interlude, when spirits lingered and stories shared, a new way was opened. Where will it lead?  Christ risen and crucified walks our path every day.

We have passed from doubt to trust and new hope..

From doubt we pass to faith and trust. There is no need any more to be troubled in spirit or to allow doubts to arise. We have met the Risen One on the way and He has nourished us and restored us.  He has overcome our doubts and shown us a way forward one step at a time under the gaze of his love. As it is written in Psalm 34:27:

‘"Great is the Lord who delights in the peace of his servant."‘

For God delights in our well-being, our happiness, our peace and our flourishing. His plans are for peace. The prophecy of Jeremiah 29:11 holds true today for you and for me and for others.

 For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.