“Utterly desolate”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Wednesday, April 20, 2022
Luke 24:13-35 (Forward, p. 81) CEV p. 1097
I can scarcely imagine what it was like for those two disciples who found themselves on the Emmaus Road that Easter Sunday afternoon. People who have lost their homes or businesses due to floods, windstorms or fire, may feel desolate, but as long as no lives were lost or serious injuries incurred, they often are quite resilient and feel that they can go on. So, what about those who have been in combat and lost limbs and now must face, not just a disability, but also the recurring trauma and nightmares? For people such as these, the future might look very bleak. Well might they wonder just what it holds for them.
I think that our two Easter Sunday afternoon walkers might have felt a bit like that. However, their desolation did not have to do with anything concerning their physical states, but with what the future might hold for them now that Jesus was gone. After all, they had pinned all their hopes and dreams upon Him, and now that had ground to a sudden, sickening halt.
So, as the story unfolds, they walk along, totally engrossed in their thoughts and misery, such that they don’t even perceive the stranger that comes alongside them and joins them in their walk. Their minds are totally fixated on their grief and sorry, and on the terrible things that have recently taken place. (Our sorrows and misery have that way of blocking out all else, such that we can’t see any other possibilities.) They don’t even realize that it is Jesus, but then, why would they even have had that thought? That Jesus was alive—much less with them—was the furthest thing in their thoughts.
The wonderful thing is that He was there in their desolation and grief and is likewise in these times for us as well. We are not alone in any of this but have Him there with us, walking with us through them, sharing these things, comforting us and helping us move on. It may not come all at once, and we may scarcely be aware of it—if at all—at the time, but Jesus nevertheless is there, truly the Emmanuel, God with us. For a while, it may be only something that we know by faith, rather than by experience, but nevertheless, even when we are utterly desolate, He is there and will help us through it, if only we let Him. Amen.
Forward notes: “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?’” (verses 30-32)
“Some weeks, after I take communion, pray, and leave the church building, it’s almost like Jesus vanishes from my life. I hear the Bible readings. The sermon speaks of the good news of the gospels. Often, I am inspired by these words. My heart is burning as the scriptures are being opened to me. But Monday comes. During the week, my spiritual eyes close. I cannot see Jesus when he is the person right in front of me, the man on the sidewalk asking for spare change, the chatty old lady who wants company, the family member who needs my full attention.
“But there are other weeks when all I see is Jesus. During those times, I give thanks for the life-giving encounters with strangers, friends, and family who each remind me of Jesus.”
Moving Forward: “Lord, help us to keep our hearts burning with the flame of scripture throughout this week.”