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BlogHere are the thoughts and news of the people in our community. Leave a comment as you wish. If you want to join the blogging ask Mark.
Saturday, April 15, 2006Easter Saturday - The Road to Emmaus
What did the Disciples think? What is it like when God seemingly doesn't act? The disciples on the road to Emmaus is one of my favourite Easter sub-stories. The hopelessness that you touch at the start of the story powerfully reflects the feelings of Easter Saturday. There were 2 disciples walking away from Jerusalem this is what they said: They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?"Luke 24:17b-21a They had waited so long for God's redemption. So long for a prophetic voice. The darkness of waiting had burst out into life. A prophet had come. But now once again they are plunged back into darkness. Hear it: "He was a prophet powerful in word and deed". A great man doing the great things. He spoke with authority a prophetic voice. He healed the sick, the blind, the deaf, the lame. You can almost hear them reminiscing! What more could they hope for surely this is the one? If he cannot fulfill the hopes that had built up over a thousand years, who could? He was different. Hear their expectations and disappointment: "We had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel". They had hoped that Jesus was going to be the one who would defeat the Romans and kick them out of the Promised land. To restore the fortunes to the nation, to be their ruler. Hadn't they just seen hints of it just a few days before? When he entered Jerusalem, people had welcomed him and recognized who he was - they wanted him to be king. That is what they had hoped for and surely now it was going to become a reality. Luke doesn't hide this hope from us, it is here at the end of the Gospel and right there at the start of Acts "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?". But these hopes were locked in a tomb behind a great big stone. This was not just the sadness of losing a great friend although there was that. It was the despair that results from loosing all your hope. They had placed all of their hopes in him, They had placed all their eggs in one basket. And now it was all over. They somehow had to find a way to rebuild, but how could they. How could they trust anyone again? Everything must be treated with suspicion. How could they hope again? To understand the thinking of these two disciples is to understand the state of our culture. A culture let down by the hopes of a better world through human effort and progress, let down by a story world that has failed. And so suspicion and lack of purpose dominate. But Jesus whispers in their and our ears, "you have misunderstood the story". There is another way but it involves death for a greater purpose. It is also the message to us. As we place security in hopes and dreams, God's great purposes in our lives. When will they happen? What is God doing about it? God calls us to lay them down in the tomb, and whispers one message in our ears: "Have faith in God" Have faith in God. Not in hopes dreams and visions but in God, in the all powerful one who calls us to faithfully trust what we cannot see, even as the two disciples could not see Jesus on the road. Have a faithful trust in God. Trust him. Trust in the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Allow him to your Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end of your life. Trust him to be your North, South, East and West. Allow him to fence the borders of your life. Allow him to dictate your world. To stand on the ground that he has allocated for you for this time. Put all your eggs in his basket. Have faith in God Labels: easter, reflective Posted by: Mark | 10:39 am |
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