Further Down the Road: Emmaus

There is a moment on the road to Emmaus that I keep coming back to.

Two disciples, walking away from Jerusalem after those scary and confusing days , not yet knowing what Sunday morning had meant. A stranger joins them. He walks with them, asks questions, listens. And then, beginning with Moses and the prophets, he opens the Scriptures to them (Luke 24).

They don't recognize him. But something happens inside them while he talks. They say later, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road?

That burning is worth paying attention to. It happened before they knew who he was. The recognition came later, at the table, in the breaking of bread. But the burning came on the road, in the middle of the not-yet-knowing.

I think a lot of ministry and life happens there: down the road of not-yet-knowing. We are often processing our past and struggle to see how the promises of God connect to us in the here and now. And yet, many of us and many of the people we know, have burning hearts, aching for a clear revelation.

I used to think that the Emmaus Road story was a failure story. It's not. It is a presence story. The risen Christ was with them, ready to give them what they needed well before they realized their desire for it.

A Word on Trust

The Hebrew word batach (trust) carries a physical dimension the English word doesn't always convey. To trust in the biblical sense is to put your weight on something, the way a person leans against a wall or rests in a chair. The question batach asks is not merely what you believe, but what you are actually resting on.

Belief, on the other hand, is often what we know, or what we say we think or belief. Trust is the true indicator of faith: even when you don't know, even when you are rethinking something, even when you are picking yourself up after a fall, are you leaning into grace or your ability?

Psalm 56:3 puts it plainly: When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. Not when the fear is gone. In the middle of it.

That is Emmaus language. Trust exercised in the not-yet-knowing. You can read more about trust by clicking here.
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For Your Sunday Full liturgy is available for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, which is commonly called, "Good Shepherd Sunday." Calls to worship, prayers, and other elements are included. This is a great companion for the imagery found in the Emmaus Road text. Our Good Shepherd walks beside us and guides us wherever we are. Find it here.​

Benediction

As you go now into the days between Sundays, do so knowing that Christ still opens Scriptures, breaks and blesses bread, and makes himself know in the ordinary moments of our ordinary weeks.

Put your weight on him. Lean deeply into grace.

And may your spirit yearn and your heart burn within, bringing you back, over again, to the God who loves you so.

Grace and peace,

Jason