Monthly Archives: April 2024

Your Emmaus Walk

Emmaus walk

That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. Luke 24:13-14

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the Walk to Emmaus. In it, we read that two disciples of Jesus are walking back home to Emmaus on the night of the first Easter after a very eventful visit to Jerusalem, to put it mildly. The One they had been following had been arrested, convicted, tortured and killed on the cross. Their hopes were dashed. You could say they were sulking home.

But then the risen Jesus walked with them, but they did not know it was him. He told the entire salvation story to them. Perhaps this gave them a little spring in their step. They invited this “stranger” into their home for a meal to presumably hear more from him. Then Jesus broke the bread for dinner. They knew it was him right then, just as he disappeared from their sight.

The story in many ways is a mirror of our walk of faith. We start our walk wondering what is really going on in this sometimes crazy and confusing world of ours. Then through his Word, Jesus provides us with the meaning of life we so crave, and in the end Jesus dwells with us where we are, and though we cannot see him now, we know he is our crucified and risen Lord and Savior.

It is our turn to go and tell others about our ”Emmaus walk,“ as these disciples did, when they returned to Jerusalem and said to the Eleven: “The Lord has risen indeed!” (Luke 24:34). Our faith walk is the best walk we will ever take.

No More Sighing

big sigh

And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Isaiah 35:10

We’ve all had moments in our lives when we let out “the big sigh.” Maybe it was a sigh of frustration in a person or situation. Maybe it was a sigh of sadness or recognition over a loss. Maybe it was a sigh simply uttered out of sheer exhaustion with life itself. I have sighed them all, and so have you, no doubt.

Sighs like this are signs that we know that sin is in the world and perhaps has gotten the best of us. The good news is that sighs like this can actually become prayers and pleas to God for help. And even better news is that God hears our sighs through the work of the Holy Spirit, as it says in Romans 8:26: ”The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.”

While our sighing many continue in this world, I was struck by the phrasing “sorrow and sighing shall flee away” from Isaiah. We can look forward with joy to that day when there will be no more sighing, only endless praise to the Lord!

Parked Car

parked cars 2

What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? Luke 15:4

After I got off the airplane on a return home to St. Louis after a trip, I suddenly realized that I could not remember exactly where I had parked my car in long-term parking. I got on a shuttle to the lot where I thought it might be and could not find it. I did a grid search and went down every aisle of the lot, looking for my black Ford Escape. (I soon discovered that Ford Escapes are a very popular model of car!) No luck. I checked my ticket. No indication of the lot to look in. I went to the booths at the exit. No person stationed there. Finally, I decided to go to Maps on my iPhone to just see where I was, and there it was: a pin that said “parked car” in a parking lot far from where I was. Eventually, a kind shuttle driver took me to that dot on my phone and there was my car, safe and sound. As funny as this may sound, I feel my car and I have had a stronger bond since, and I often check to see where my car is parked, even if I know.

There is something about this experience that reminds me of the lengths our Good Shepherd will go to find us. He will leave everything else behind to look for us when we are lost. He will take the time to search diligently. But like the amazing (to me) electronic link between my phone and my car, Christ is inextricably connected to us and will find us in the end, wherever we are. The reunion pinpoints a deepening in our relationship with him. We who were once lost in sin have been found and will never be forgotten by him.

Bracelets

Bracelet

I received this bracelet pictured above at a conference recently, and I have taken to wearing in fairly often since one of my favorite Bible verses is Jeremiah 29:11:  “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.”

I like that whenever I look down at my wrist, I can be reassured that the Lord has a plan for me, the Lord is not out to get me, and there is a sure and certain outcome to my life.

The letters embedded on my bracelet remind me, too, of these cherished words from God: “Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands” (Isaiah 49:16). Whenever he looks down at his hands, he is reminded of us, and we can be sure that he will never forget us.

Look with Love

Jesus face

The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him. Luke 22:61

The Greek word for “looked straight at” in this verse is emblepo. It literally means “to observe fixedly” or “to discern clearly.” In other words, Jesus gazed upon Peter fully, knowing him through and through. At first this might seem to be a scary thought, Jesus looking right at us and knowing all our faults and missteps. But there is a certain added depth to this verb that can give us comfort. When Jesus looks at Peter and “discerns clearly,” he sees a man who is many things—a disciple, a friend, a husband, a fisherman, but also a sinner. And Jesus in his complete gaze sees it all and in his great love, still has compassion on Peter. He already knew that he would forgive the repentant Peter for his denials of him. He already knew that Peter would become the greatest orator of the story of salvation in Jesus and one of the most widespread sharers of the Gospel message throughout the known world.

When Jesus looks at us, he does so in the same way. He sees our triumphs and our failures, our strengths and our weaknesses, our service to him and our sins. He looks at it all and still loves us, still forgives us, still calls us to spread the Good News for him. As St. Paul reminds us, “Let each of you remain in the condition in which you were called” (1 Corinthians 7:20). Through Christ we can see in ourselves what he holds dear and focus on that.

Charcoal Fire

fire

Now the slaves and the guards were standing around a charcoal fire that they had made, because it was cold, and were warming themselves. Peter was also standing there keeping warm. John 18:18

When they climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.” John 21:9-10

There are only two places where a charcoal fire is mentioned in Scripture. Think about when these charcoal fires occur: Once in a courtyard outside of Jesus’ trial, where Peter denies Jesus three times. And then once on a beach where the risen Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him.

This detail linking the two scenes is no accident. We are meant to draw a clear connection: We may sin (like Peter did by the first fire), but we are still forgiven (as Peter was by the second fire). How is that possible? Because of what happened between those two fires, which is the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Think of these two fires the next time you light a charcoal fire in your fire pit or start up your grill to cook dinner or smell a neighbor’s charcoal fire burning. We are blessed by Jesus to be warmed by his love and nourished by his Word, no matter how cold or harsh we have been to him in the past. Jesus always gives us a second chance (as he did with Peter).