April 26, 2020
/Easter 3 Morning Prayer
Jeff Bohanski, Priest Intern
Luke 24: 13-25
Open the eyes of our faith to you walking with us, Oh Lord.
N. T. Wright, in his commentary entitled Luke for Everyone says,“If the story of the prodigal son has a claim to be the finest story Jesus ever told, the tale of the two on the road to Emmaus must have an equal claim to be the finest scene Luke ever sketched.
The scene Luke presents us today is so easy to picture. When the story begins we hear of two disciples were walking in fear, confusion, bewilderment and uncertainty. Jesus came near and went with them. But the two did not recognize him. Perhaps because they are afraid of what happened three days ago. Perhaps they are confused and bewildered because they had hoped Jesus would free them from Rome as he freed people from illness, demons. Now Jesus himself is dead. Or is he? They tell Jesus that earlier in the day they heard reports of Jesus being alive. Alive, could it be?
I believe it is important to note in this story Jesus walked with the two on their journey as if they were the only two on the planet. The disciples’ fear and bewilderment did not keep Jesus away. He walked with them, stayed with them, he did not abandon them to their fear. He explained scripture to them and broke bread with them. Jesus sought them out.
I find great courage when I read this story. What I learn from this story is that Jesus seeks me out. He is with me when I am afraid like he was with the two. He tells me as he told the two that he can be found in the scriptures. He is seen when we break bread together, when we serve one another.
What a scary time we find ourselves in. It’s not an easy time. An extrovert like me has a difficult time with social distancing. Today marks the first time I have been to the church since this whole social distancing began.
The week before everything was shut down I notified Jimmy that I would not be coming to church because I had picked up a bug going around school. I felt no one needed a person with a cold at the altar with the threat of the Corona Virus in the news. It ended up that a few days later the Rodeo was shutdown, HISD and all the surrounding schools were closed until April. Suddenly we are on the last Sunday of April and we are still in quarantine. Now we know school won’t be open for the rest of the year.
Where is Jesus in all of this? Like with the two, he is walking with us, he is in scripture he is in the midst of our community.
This morning we are live on Facebook, yesterday my niece had a Zoom birthday party for my kindergarten nephew. I’m holding five first-grade classes daily on Microsoft Teams. People are holding online coffee hours.
Where is Jesus in all of this? Like with the two, he is walking with us, he is in scripture he is in the midst of our community.
Like the two on the road to Emmaus I may not always recognize him because of my fears, my confusion, my bewilderment and my uncertainty, but I guarantee you he is with me because he loves me. I guarantee you he is with you as well because he loves you. God has always been with us. You can find him in the scriptures. Even when people were at their very worst and felt most abandoned. God was with them. God is with us.
Last weekend was my monthly Iona School of Ministry weekend. As the weekend started we all wondered how Jesus would be felt in our community via a Zoom. At our Sunday Service we heard the story of how locked doors could not separate Jesus from his disciples. As it turned out Jesus not only can’t he be stopped by locked doors, but he can’t be stopped by computer screens as well. Our whole Iona school community felt Jesus presence in our community even though we were spread throughout the Diocese of Texas and beyond.
Where is Jesus in all of this? Like with the two, he is walking with us, he is in scripture he is in the midst of our community.
One evening early in the pandemic social distancing I made the mistake of watching the news before I went to bed. I found myself tossing and turning and unable to go to sleep. When I find myself in a fearful or uncertain time I pray my prayer rope. I use two mantras. The first is “Be still and know I am God.” The other is “In you, oh God, I put my trust.” As I finished these prayers that night I felt as if I was falling asleep in the arms of Jesus.
Where is Jesus in all of this? Like the two, he was with me, he is in scripture he is in the midst of our community.
I invite you this week after you finish your prayers, after you finish reading scripture to call someone, call two people. Call them to say hello, let them know you are calling for no other reason than to check in with them. Listen to them. Tell your story. You will find where Jesus is. Like the two, he is with you, he is in scripture and he is in the midst of our community.
Amen.