Letter from the Minister

‘‘The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!’ (Luke 24: 13-35)

In the sixties and seventies, a wall hanging that adorned the walls of many homes read:

‘‘Christ is the head of this house

The unseen guest at every meal

The silent listener to every conversation.’’

The anonymous verse reminds me of Jesus’ appearance to the two grieving and confused disciples, who were making their way from Jerusalem to Emmaus, where they lived – the lectionary reading for the third Sunday of Easter.  Cleopas and his companion were clearly miserable from the events of previous days that had led to Jesus’ death. All hope seemed dead to them and they were clearly at a low point of their faith. Trapped by their doubts, fears, worries, guilt, hurts and confusion, the disciples’ vision, and their understanding were so clouded, that they did not recognise that it was the risen Christ, their Lord and Master, that travelled with them. And so it is with us sometimes, when life paralyses us and leaves us frozen, and we cannot see or feel the presence of our God who promises never to leave us or forsake us.

The journey to Emmaus is both a literal and a spiritual journey. On the one hand it recounts the story of two disciples who, after the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord, walked seven miles from Jerusalem to their village. On the other hand, it outlines for us the journey that we all take from not recognising Jesus, to understanding what the scripture says about him, to recognising him for who he is, and finally to our giving witness of what we have experienced. This story has always been significant for Christians as a record not only of the experience of two disciples on the way to Emmaus, but of Christians’ experience in every age. Four things stand out in this heart-warming passage:

·       Jesus seeks us

·       Jesus opens our eyes

·       Jesus reveals himself

·       Jesus moves us to share

As Jesus draws alongside us on our individual life journeys, let us remember that Jesus seeks us because he loves us. Jesus opens our eyes to enable us to see that he is with us. Jesus reveals himself to us in various ways – through reading and reflecting on scriptures; when we partake of the Lord’s Supper; through nature and in many diverse ways through the power of his Holy Spirit, so that we can trustingly put our hands in his; and Jesus moves us to share the love, comfort
and peace he gives us, so that others may experience the risen Christ.

In Oscar Wilde’s deeply moving essay, De Profundis, written in his last year in prison and which discussed his spiritual journey through his trials there, he wrote,
‘‘Once in his life every man walks with Christ to Emmaus.’’

The two disciples’ journey moved from confusion and sorrow to joy and hope as they raced with frantic excitement, back to Jerusalem, to spread the good news of the risen Christ. The risen Christ had always been with them, as he is always
with us.

‘‘Open our eyes, O Christ that we may discern you

in the people we meet,

the meals we share,

the words we read

and the solitude of our own hearts.’’

(Richard Harris)

May the joy, hope and peace that the risen Lord gives be ours during this Eastertide.

Easter blessings to you all,

Georgina