“While they were talking and discussing, Jesus came near and walked with them.” Luke 24:15
Dear People of St. David’s,
I pray that you and yours are safe and well and want to offer the gentle reminder that though Easter Day is past, we are still in the season of Easter. We are still in the season of the Church year when we are reminded that because Christ was raised from the dead nearly 2,000 years ago, He is with us now. He is walking beside us even now, reminding us how loved we are and that we are never alone.
The presence of the Risen Christ is not limited to Easter or the fifty days of the Easter celebration and certainly not to church. Christ is alive and walking up to us and walking beside us, beckoning us to know Him and to be known by Him in our everyday lives. He seems to come most eagerly to the places we regularly go and sometimes to places where we least expect to be found by Him.
The little passage quoted above comes from a longer story of two companions on the road to Emmaus that first Easter morning. They’re walking away from Jerusalem, even though they’ve heard the strangest news that Jesus’ tomb is empty. Perhaps they have business in Emmaus. Perhaps they’re returning home from celebrating Passover the week before. They may be leaving Jerusalem in fear of what the authorities might do to them as followers of Jesus. Whatever their motivation, Jesus comes alongside them. Jesus comes to them where they are and walks with them. He teaches them about the promises of God. He reveals Himself to them as they are living their regular lives and gives them hope for the life that comes through the resurrected Lord.
He comes to us in the same way. He comes alongside us to reveal His presence and to draw us into the riches of God’s presence and grace. I wonder when He will find us this week.
God loves us so deeply and personally that we can expect that God will be looking for us today and every day. It’s one of the amazing things about God’s grace and love. So let me invite you to pay attention to the promise that God is seeking you and me in our everyday lives and even at church. Allow yourself to be found by God. He’s right beside us and is ready to draw us into a far greater life and love than we will ever know without Him.
Grace and Peace,
The Rev. W. Frank Allen