The Emmaus Journey   Luke 24;13-35

Holy Saturday … a gruesome reality has set in.  Each of them asks, “What’s to become of me, of us, now and in the future? If ever there was a spiritual crisis for Christ’s disciples, it was when they saw the Lord of life lose his life. Their reaction was to pick up the pieces and give up the cause. And, they would have. Except, they met a Stranger on the way, who explained the reason behind their every ‘why?’, enflamed their hearts and restored their faith.
Lest we judge these disciples of Jesus too harshly, let’s try to understand the trauma of their experience. What was the state of mind and heart of the two disciples, fleeing away from Jerusalem? We may see some parallels that these disciples faced, in our own lives these days. The rampant spread of COVID-19. We pray for and worry about all families, patients and all medical teams. 
Let’s consider some of the parallel experiences in our lives with those of the disciples:  “My dearest friend dies suddenly, tragically; I’ve lost my work, the job I’ve been trained for and am good at; my dreams for the future are shattered; I’m homeless, all my friends I relied on, are scattered; one of my companions dies by suicide from the stress; those in town laugh at me for being so foolish to risk caring, believing that I could make a difference in helping those in need; and the one person in the world I completely trusted, is nowhere to be found; what or who in my life can I hold on to? What lasts?”
Like the disciples heading home to Emmaus, we too have anxious hearts, as we adjust to quarantine, separation of loved ones, lack of resources, protection for medical personnel and first responders. Daily we face the enormous tragedy of death due to the pandemic. Like those two disciples, we are on an Emmaus journey, in great need of recognizing the Risen Lord who is seeking us out, bringing us hope, fulfilling God’s promises, restoring our spirit. The path he walked through, being rejected, and his suffering and death on the cross tells us Christ knows our pain. So caught up in our own worries, we’re tempted to believe God can’t or doesn’t care, and all we want to do, is to get away. We need to allow the Risen Christ to companion us through this crisis; to ask for his healing, enduring love. It’s there for the taking. Call upon the one who walks this journey home with us; he is “Virus free”; his death and resurrected paves the way for our new life, whatever that means. Death does not have the final say. Life Eternal is Christ’s final word. He wants to be near us with all that we experience.  The song from the Broadway musical “ Mame” has an upbeat line: “We need a little Christmas” often played during the December holidays.  We all “need a little Easter now, this very moment” as well! Christ’s death and Resurrection gives us our “Little bit of Easter”. Let’s proclaim how and where we can, a faith-filled Alleluia! Christ, our faithful companion is alive and lives in us all!   A grace-filled Easter be yours!