Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him. Luke 24:13-16
We return again to the story in Luke’s gospel about two disillusioned travelers as we seek to learn more as we walk on our own Emmaus road.
The Emmaus road provides us a safe place to process our struggles.
As the story continues, Luke tells us that the two men were reviewing everything that had happened to them in the city. We aren’t told the exact words that they said, but it doesn’t take a lot of imagination to make a good guess. I can well imagine that the conversation may have been similar to what follows.
“You know, when we entered the city a week ago, it seemed like everything was perfect.”
“I know. I thought the same thing too. What happened?”
“I don’t know. It just doesn’t make any sense. I thought He was God’s Messiah. He was going to bring in the Kingdom. But it all fell apart. The religious leaders. Judas. Pilate. The crowd. They all just turned against Him. Why would God let that happen?”
“I don't get it either. It just doesn’t seem fair. And you know the worst part?”
“What?”
“The worst part is what to do with all of this now.”Again, we aren’t told what they said to one another. But whatever it was, it was likely raw and full of questions and doubt.
It was then that Jesus showed up and joined them. Yet for some reason they didn’t recognize Him. He simply walks with them while they talk. He doesn’t interrupt. He doesn’t scold them. He just listens and creates a safe place for them to process their inner struggles.
That’s still true today. Contrary to what we sometimes think, God isn’t put off when we ask hard questions and express our honest doubts and uncertainties. He knows that walking on the Emmaus road is just as much a part of the spiritual life as the Damacus road is. For it’s on the Emmaus road that we’re given the space to hammer out our faith in the context of a real and at times very harsh world.
Have you ever experienced that? You had questions and doubts but were told not to ask them or think about them. In fact, you were almost shamed into thinking that having such thoughts was some sort of scandalous sin. So you kept quiet and coped with it as best as you could on your own.
If so, know this. The Emmaus road is supposed to be a safe place to process your struggles. Contrary to what others may have told you, God welcomes your honesty. In fact, that’s the only way to get through it to a better and stronger place in your faith.
So if you’ve got a spiritual mentor who can provide that kind of safe place, take advantage of it. There’s something healing just in being heard and affirmed by another believer. But whether you have such a person or not, you do have someone with you who isn’t offended in the least about your struggle. You can talk with your Lord. This leads us to the next truth about our Emmaus road experience.
The Emmaus Road feels lonely even when we aren’t alone.
Traveling on the Emmaus road can indeed feel very lonely at times. I suspect these two guys felt a lot like that. No one could really understand what they had been through – what they sensed they had lost. If they told others, they would probably only be laughed at or reminded, “I told you so.” That was the last thing they needed.
It was while they traveled along the road with their loneliness covering them like a heavy blanket that Jesus showed up. But as Luke tells us, they didn’t recognize him. Why they didn’t, we aren’t told. Perhaps, they didn’t look up. Or maybe they were just so preoccupied with their pain and disappointment that they were unable to perceive His presence. Whatever the case may be, here they were walking along the Emmaus road feeling very much alone not realizing that they weren’t.
It reminds me a lot of the story of Jacob in the Old Testament. He’s thought of as one of the great heroes of the faith. However, he also had a tragic capacity to be conniving, manipulative and cruel. As a case in point, he joined in a plot with his mother to deceive his father into giving him the family blessing that rightfully belonged to his older brother, Esau.
When Esau found out what his brother had done and that the blessing once given couldn’t be reversed, he was furious. In fact, he was so angry that Jacob had to run for his life. The next thing we know is that Jacob is at some unknown location trying to figure out what to do. He’s exhausted, so he falls asleep. And while He’s asleep, he has an unexpected encounter with God who seemed very far away at the time.
When he awoke, he realized the significance of what had happened to him and made this comment, “Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”
Isn’t that the way it often seems? We’re traveling down the Emmaus road, and it appears that God is nowhere to be found. But that doesn’t mean that He’s absent. It’s just that we sometimes struggle perceiving it. Why is that? Why do we feel alone when we aren’t?
I think part of the answer is that we want God to come to us on our own terms much like the two guys in our story. In their minds, Jesus was dead and gone. They had witnessed that themselves. Now there was no way that He could be with them. But He could, and He did. They just couldn’t perceive it.
So when you’re on the Emmaus Road, and it appears that you’re alone, because it feels like God has abandoned you, take heart. You’re not alone. He’s there whether you recognize Him or not.
The Psalmist understood this well.
Where could I go to get away from your spirit? Where could I go to escape your presence? If I went up to heaven, you would be there. If I went down to the grave, you would be there too! If I could fly on the wings of dawn, stopping to rest only on the far side of the ocean - even there your hand would guide me; even there your strong hand would hold me tight!Taking just a little liberty with the text, we can add – even on the road to Emmaus He is there.