Our own Emmaus Walks

All around us, the cherry blossoms have suddenly sprung into life and the sunshine bathes us with its light. In the midst of the struggles, worries and sufferings of the present moment, these signs in nature mirror the vision before us of the hope that the risen Christ brings. He came “to make the whole of creation new” he said. One of my favourite Bible stories is Jesus, appearing to come out of nowhere’, to join the disciples on their way to a village called Emmaus. (Luke 24:13-35). Scholars point out that the exact location of this place is not known. What an important fact- it means that we too, can have that surprising and joyful sense of Jesus when we take our daily exercise. As he drew near “something prevented them from recognizing him” we are told. How often do we only realise Jesus has travelled with us by looking back at our experiences? The gospel records that the disciples only understood that the Lord had accompanied them much later on after he had left: “did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road?”

Can we think of times when the ‘penny just dropped’ like this for us during our lives? Maybe it has happened at mealtimes or at prayer. What about now, in chatting with our family, as we ramble along, sharing our joys and sorrows, swapping comforting memories-or gaining a greater sense of perspective with gentle humour? However we take our own ‘Emmaus walks‘, physically or mentally, we should look out for Jesus’ presence in our conversations, directing our thoughts, drawing us to appreciate world around us, and prompting us to spare a kind thought for those we see along the way.

Fr Peter Conley