The road to Emmaus.

HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU SAT AND THOUGHT ABOUT SOME OF THE GREAT EVENTS OF THE BIBLE , AND WISHED YOU COULD OF BEEN THERE, GREAT EVENTS SUCH AS GOD FORMING AN ENTIRE UNIVERSE OUT OF NOTHING SIMPLY BY THE POWER OF HIS WORD, HOW ABOUT BEING WITH THE SHEPHERDS IN THE HILLS AROUND BETHLEHEM AS THE ANGELS ANNOUNCED TO THEM THE BIRTH OF MESSIAH, MAYBE WATCHING THE RED SEA PART FROM ONE SIDE TO ANOTHER AS THE HEBREWS PASSED THROUGH IT ON DRY LAND .
ONE EVENT I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE BEEN A WITNESS TO IS LOCATED AT THE END OF LUKE'S GOSPEL , BEGINNING AT 24 V 13 ITS ONLY A SHORT PASSAGE BUT THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
I LOVE THE WAY JESUS WAS READY TO WALK ON , BUT UPON BEING INVITED TO EAT WITH CLEOPAS AND SIMEON HE ACCEPTED, IT REMINDS US THAT HE GAVE US A FREE WILL TO CHOOSE, HE WILL NOT FORCE HIMSELF UPON US BUT AWAITS AN INVITE INTO OUR LIVES.
" IT'S TRUE PETER , EVERY WORD" SAID CLEOPAS. PETER SOMEWHAT CONFUSED , WANTING TO BELEIVE IT BUT HAVING PROBLEMS DOING SO. HE CASTS HIS MIND BACK TO THE MIRACULOUS CATCH OF FISH JUST 3 YEARS AGO IN GALILEE, HE REMEMBERS LAZARUS AND THE DAUGHTER OF JAIRUS BEING RAISED.
"YES" HE SAYS "BUT THIS IS JUST WAY OUT, HE HIMSELF WAS DEAD, I SAW HIM DIE, THE ROMANS KNEW HE WAS DEAD TOO, THATS WHY HIS LEGS WERE NOT BROKEN UNLIKE THE OTHERS WITH HIM ".
"I TOLD YOU SO" SAID MARY MAGDALENE, "YOU YOURSELF WENT TO THE TOMB AND THE STONE WAS ROLLED AWAY, WAS HE IN THERE ? NO! I SAW HIM, YES AT FIRST I DID NOT RECOGNISE HIM, BUT THEN WHEN HE SPOKE I REALISED IT WAS JESUS".
"MARY , I BELEIVE YOU " SAID CLEOPAS, SIMEON AGREED, THOMAS BEING HIS SKEPTICAL SELF HAD TO RESPOND " CLEOPAS, SIMEON I KNOW YOU SAID ALL THIS HAPPENED AT AN INN ON THE ROAD TO EMMAUS BUT ARE YOU SURE YOU DIDN'T VISIT ONE BEFORE YOUR JOURNEY BEGAN"? OF COURSE THAT RAISED A FEW LAUGHS IN THE UPPER ROOM, WHERE THEY WERE MEETING BUT NOT FROM PETER.
HE IS DESPERATE TO BELEIVE THAT HIS LORD IS ALIVE , BUT HE CANT GET OVER THE FACT THAT IF HE IS RISEN THEN WHY HAS HE NOT CAME TO PETER? SURELY HE WOULD . ALWAYS ON HIS MIND IS THE NIGHT HIS LORD WAS TAKEN AWAY, HE STILL HEARS THE ROOSTER AND IT HURTS HIM BECAUSE HE DENIED JESUS 3 TIMES DESPITE PLEDGING TO DIE WITH HIM.
HE SITS DOWN, PUTS HIS HEAD IN HIS HANDS, HE RUBS HIS EYES, ITS LATE, HE WANTS TO SLEEP, TIRED , FED UP , DEFEATED.......NOT QUITE.......HE LEAPS TO HIS FEET " RIGHT CLEOPAS, TELL ME AGAIN , DONT MISS OUT ANYTHING" BRIEFLY RECALLING HOW JESUS TOOK HIS FAITH OUT TO THE DEPTHS AT CAPERNAUM, THIS TIME HE TAKES HIMSELF OUT TO THE DEPTHS, HE PONDERS " COULD MY LORD HAVE RISEN ?I REMEMBER HIM SAYING TO THE SANHEDRIN " DESTROY THIS TEMPLE AND IN 3 DAYS I WILL RAISE IT UP " IT'S BEEN 3 DAYS SINCE HE.....COULD HE, IS THAT WHAT HE MEANT "?
HE TURNS TO CLEOPAS "BEGIN, PLEASE" THEY GATHER ROUND THE TWO TRAVELLERS , EVERY EYE FOCUSED ON THEM, THE ONLY SOUND TO BE HEARD IS THAT OF A DOG HOWLING OUTSIDE AND THE GENTLE SLAP OF THE WINDOW SHUTTER IN THE COOL LATE NIGHT BREEZE.
"AS YOU KNOW , SIMEON AND I HAD SET OFF FOR EMMAUS , IT WAS LATE AFTERNOON , ITS ONLY 7 MILES SO WE FIGURED AT A GOOD PACE WE COULD MAKE IT BY NIGHTFALL, WE WERE KEEN TO SEE HOW THE BELEIVERS WERE COPING AFTER ALL THE EVENTS OF THE LAST 3 DAYS."
"WE WERE TALKING OVER THESE VERY EVENTS WHEN A STRANGER DREW NEAR TO US AND JOURNEYED IN THE SAME DIRECTION, THERE WAS NOTHING REMARKABLE ABOUT HIS APPEARANCE , HIS TUNIC LOOKED WELL WORN, AND DUSTY, BUT WHEN HE LOOKED AT ME I SENSED HE WAS A MAN OF GREAT UNDERSTANDING, I DONT KNOW WHY".
"HE SAID, WHY ARE YOU SO DOWNCAST, WHAT IS IT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT"?
"I WAS ASTOUNDED. WE LOOKED AT HIM, I GUESS WITH UNBELEIF , I HAD TO SAY "SIR SURELY YOU ARE A STRANGER IN JERUSALEM, HAVE YOU NOT HEARD OF WHAT THINGS HAVE BEEN GOING ON THESE LAST FEW DAYS" "WHAT THINGS" HE SAID " SO I TOLD HIM" " CONCERNING JESUS OF NAZARETH, A PROPHET MIGHTY IN DEED EVEN BEFORE GOD AND THE PEOPLE, HOW THE CHIEF PRIESTS DELIVERED HIM TO BE CRUCIFIED BY THE ROMANS . WE BELEIVED HE WAS THE ONE TO REDEEM ISRAEL , BUT BESIDES ALL THAT , ITS THE THIRD DAY SINCE THAT HAPPENED , SOME OF THE WOMEN OF OUR COMPANY WENT TO THE TOMB EARLY THIS MORNING ONLY TO FIND IT OPEN AND THE BODY GONE , ONE OF THE WOMEN SAID SHE SAW AN ANGEL WHO TOLD HER THAT JESUS WAS RISEN, EVEN AFTER THAT OUR BROTHER PETER RAN TO THE TOMB ONLY TO FIND IT EMPTY ".
"WHAT DID HE SAY TO THAT" ASKED MATTHEW , GLANCING OVER TO PETER, WHO WAS ENGROSSED BY EVERY WORD OF SIMEON AND CLEOPAS.
"WELL" SAID CLEOPAS , "HE STEPPED OUT A FEW YARDS AHEAD OF US , AS WE SLOWED DOWN HE TURNED AROUND AND FACED US SAYING , ""O FOOLISH AND SLOW OF HEART TO BELEIVE ALL THAT THE PROPHETS HAVE SPOKEN...OUGHT NOT MESSIAH TO HAVE SUFFERED THESE THINGS ".?
"HE ENCOURAGED US TO WALK ON WITH HIM, AND BEGINNING AT MOSES AND THE PROPHETS HE EXPLAINED THE SCRIPTURES CONCERNING JESUS, I DIDN'T WANT IT TO END . HE MADE THE WORD COME ALIVE THE WAY HE SPOKE , ANYWAY WE WERE GETTING CLOSE TO EMMAUS, THERE WAS AN INN WERE WE HAD PLANNED TO TAKE SUPPER, IT LOOKED AS THOUGH OUR COMPANION HAD PLANNED TO CARRY ON DOWN THE ROAD, BUT WE INVITED HIM TO STAY WITH US AND TAKE REFRESHMENT, BESIDES THE DAY WAS OVER ,ITS NOT GOOD TO WALK IN THE DARKNESS, ESPECIALLY WITH THE INCREASED ROMAN PATROLS , THEY'RE VERY TENSE AT THE MOMENT."
"DIDN'T YOU KNOW IT WAS JESUS"? ASKED PETER, "HOW WAS IT YOU DID NOT RECOGNISE HIM? I WOULD OF "
" I DONT KNOW" REPLIED SIMEON, " I CANT EXPLAIN IT . MAYBE I WAS LOST IN HIS WORDS OR SOMETHING BECAUSE HE MADE THE SCRIPTURES SO EASY TO UNDERSTAND , HOW IS IT I NEVER SAW THESE THINGS COMING? ANYWAY WE SAT TOGETHER ON THE RUG BY THE FIRE AND HE REMOVED HIS TURBAN, I HAVE TO ADMIT THERE WAS SOMETHING ABOUT HIS EYES, ITS LIKE THEY LOOKED RIGHT THROUGH ME , TO MY INNER BEING EXAMINING MY HEART , MY SPIRIT , THEY WERE SO PIERCING "
"THE INNKEEPER BROUGHT US SOME BREAD AND WINE , OUR HUNGER FOR FOOD HAD CAUGHT UP WITH OUR HUNGER FOR THE WORD, YET IM SURE IT WOULD NOT BE AS SATISFYING ".
"WE ASKED OUR TRAVELLING GUEST TO SERVE , IT WAS THEN........SIMEON PAUSED AS THOUGH HE WAS RELIVING THAT MOMENT OVER AGAIN IN HIS MIND.
"IT WAS THEN, WHAT " SAID PETER, ANXIOUS TO KNOW EVERY DETAIL.
"IT WAS THEN "SAID CLEOPAS , "WHEN HE TOOK THE BREAD AND BLESSED IT , IT WAS THEN WHEN HE BROKE IT AND GAVE IT TO US THAT WE SAW THE WOUNDS ON HIS HANDS AND WE KNEW IT WAS THE MASTER , WE GLANCED AT EACH OTHER AND HE HAD GONE...VANISHED !! I THINK WE JUST SAT FOR A MOMENT LOOKING AT THE EMPTY SPACE , IT WAS AMAZING , WE HAD TO TELL YOU, THERE WAS NO WAY WE COULD HAVE WAITED UNTIL DAY LIGHT".
PETER STOOD UP LOOKING AT CLEOPAS AND SIMEON, HE NOTICED THAT THE EXCITEMENT AND AWE THEY HAD ONLY JUST RELATED THEIR STORY WITH HAD BEEN REPLACED WITH A LOOK OF WHAT CAN ONLY BE DESCRIBED AS ASTONISHMENT.
PUZZLED , HE TURNED AROUND.....................
"PEACE BE WITH YOU " SAID JESUS.
Written by Tom