Reflecting…

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?" "What things?" he [Jesus] asked. (Luke 24: 18-19)

"What things?" Jesus asks. What things are you focusing on? It’s the day of his resurrection. The day we know as Easter and which we celebrate with such delight, confidence and wondrous joy! Yet, Jesus’ resurrection day not only began in confusion, but confusion reigned from dawn to dusk. Mary is confused when she cannot find Jesus’ body. ' Now what?' she wonders. For the disciples, the resurrection is inconceivable and therefore, unbelievable. Some run to see for themselves, and late in the evening, another disciple is still insisting on evidence that he can see and handle himself. Somewhere in the middle of all of this, Jesus meets a couple of travelers, not his best friends, not his mother, not the new recruit to replace Judas, but believers who evidently had been in Jerusalem for Passover and now were heading back home. Toward Emmaus. That’s when he asks them what things are weighing so heavily on their minds.

What things are we focused on? Focus is necessary. We talk about focus a lot in the church, in our personal lives, in business, in studies. Focus keeps us, well…focused – that is, it keeps us clear about details, their relevance, their importance. It helps us make decisions and move forward. However, focusing narrowly can sometimes have the side effect of separating related things from each other so much so that we miss the deeper meaning that is evident when they are connected. To understand the acts of God, Jesus makes a case for integrating things. On the road to Emmaus late that afternoon, he pulls things together for these two travelers.

He [Jesus] said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. (Luke 24: 25-27)

To understand, we need to integrate “things” we have known for some time with “things” that are happening at the moment, he says. Beware of the Great Disconnect. Put it all together – a little incident that happened just now, something that didn’t seem important back then, what everyone else always claimed to be true – that’s what leads to an “ah-ha” moment when each of us can exclaim, ‘Oh, now I get it!’ When we integrate, we see things from God’s perspective. Then reasons will become more evident and new, hopeful outcomes as well.

The problem with focusing too narrowly is the loss of emotional balance. Since focus is so much a matter of thinking and planning, we might not realize that focus has an influence on our emotions. Mary’s confusion about where Jesus’ body can be leads immediately to worry and fear. We, too, react to the things we are focused on. Fear, worry, guilt, bewilderment, sadness, grief, eagerness, happiness – all are reactions to how we perceive some particular “things” such as terrorism, a friend’s illness, strange symptoms, loss, a mistake or sin, an upcoming opportunity, a loved one coming to visit, etc. For the two on the road to Emmaus, focusing solely on the immediate details of Jesus death and the puzzling reports that his body cannot be found had squeezed out their hope. That’s the way Jesus had found them.

He [Jesus] asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?" They stood still, their faces downcast (v. 17).

But after he put it all together for them, what a difference!

They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?" They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, "It is true!” (vv. 32-34a).

Got joy this Easter? Easter joy was never intended to be momentary, a Sunday morning high. It was made to last, from things that were bound to come from the beginning of time and things that will continue into eternity. Our joy depends on how we connect things. And the one to whom we are connected.

Oh, the joy when we begin to comprehend the blessed connection between His Grace and His Peace,
Pastor Shirley