Following

A few years ago I wrote a series of posts that were written as letters from a follower of Jesus to his parents. The series began on Palm Sunday, when the letter writer was telling of the grand entry into Jerusalem, when so many of His followers felt the culmination of their dreams. They just knew the overthrow of the Roman government was at hand. His kingdom would have to be established to do so. Soon they would achieve what had been foretold by prophets.

Instead, they were faced with betrayal and trials. Even keeping to the fringe, they were faced with denial of Him and what He stood for. Crucifixion for Him, confusion for them. Can you imagine the recriminations? Did Nathaniel blame Philip for bringing him to Christ? Peter had already denied him thrice, did he blame Andrew for bringing him to Christ?

The first day of the week, the day we come to worship Him today, the world turned upside down again. Resurrection. He had preached it to them during His ministry. As most of us do, they ignored what they didn’t understand (or didn’t want to hear) and chose that which most fit their needs. Resurrection changed all of that.

How many times have you heard pastors preach on the following week? Except for the Great Commission, we have a tendency to skip from Resurrection to Pentecost.

Why skip the wonder and awe the apostles felt at His appearance. Is it because we do not feel that same wonder and take for granted what an awesome time it must have been? Can we not imagine being in the upper room and watching Thomas proclaim the truth?

We simply ignore the mundane walk along the road to Emmaus. There’s such a great lesson there. Even today we walk through our days without recognizing Christ. He places people in our paths to display His worth and His will, yet we do not recognize Him or them. Our eyes are just as blind.

Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. (Luke 24:25-27 KJV)

Those same scriptures endure today. They are available in every congregation that calls upon His name as promise of God’s salvation. There is no other religion that requires such a belief as ours. No other religion offers the grace of God by faith.

And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? (Luke 24:31-32 KJV)

What does it take to open eyes? What does it take to have our hearts burn within us when we hear scriptures? Would we return along our path to tell those important in our lives what we’ve experienced?

It is now the week following Easter. Celebrations and gatherings are over. We go back to our daily routines. We know we’ll be headed for church upon the first day of each of the following weeks, but do we truly have no more time than right now to gather for life eternal.

Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. (John 4:35-36 KJV)

Le repas d'Emmaüs, Trophîme Bigot, 17th Century (Wiki Commons)