Luke 24:13-35
“Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see him.” Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.
As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem, and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.”
Jesus teaches us that love begins by joining someone on their journey. In the Incarnation, Jesus joins us on our journey. On the way to Emmaus, Jesus joins the disciples. He shows up. Walks with them. Listens to them. Talks with them. Shares a meal with them. Love starts with presence. This might mean opening ourselves to someone else’s pain as Jesus did on the journey to Emmaus. To listen to someone share their pain and grief is holy work.
Shauna Niequist writes, “Many of the most sacred moments of my life, the ones in which I feel God’s presence most profoundly, when I feel the goodness of the world, all take place in the presence of people. Something extraordinary happens when we slow down, open our homes or enter into another home, look into one another’s faces, and listen to one another’s stories.”
When I read this, I thought about our first Gathering Church homegroup. They listened to our story during our first years here in Durham. They walked with us and held us during our struggle with infertility. I thought about how we looked into one another’s eyes and hearts and loved each other and said things like, “yes… me too… you are so brave... thank you” and at times we all sat in silence.
As many of you know, Curt and I left Durham for a few years, but thankfully we found our way back to The Gathering Church. Two weeks after we moved back to Durham, I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety and a panic disorder. It was terrifying! I felt like I was spinning out of control most days, and I wasn’t sure where God was in the chaos. I immediately drew a line in the sand with my anxiety on one side and God on the other. I didn’t want to bring my anxiety to God because I was afraid of disappointment. What if I couldn’t pray my way out of it? What if anxiety never left? What if this was the new normal? I didn’t want to be disappointed in God for the constant feeling of panic in my life.
Thankfully one of our previous home group buddies made her way back into my life. She joined me at my table; quite literally we shared a meal together. And I immediately remembered one night during homegroup this friend opened her journal and bravely shared her own struggle with anxiety and panic and fear. I felt safer and a little less dizzy. We started walking together again, and it gave me courage. It made me slowly start to erase the line I had drawn in the sand. I experienced God through her faithful presence. My anxiety wasn’t healed, but, like the disciples, my eyes were opened to God’s presence as I walked on my own Emmaus road.
Remember, sometimes God keeps promises through us, through simple and beautiful acts of being with one another. Who will you walk with, listen to, or share a meal with this Advent season?