Buon Camino!

Surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, Paul writes. Witnesses cheering us on. Life is a pilgrimage but we don’t go it alone. Jesus is true to his promise, that he never leaves our side. How amazing is that? Like the disciples headed for Emmaus, we don’t always recognise him but if we take the time to engage with that stranger next to us today, on the bus, in the waiting room, at the school gate, we might just catch a glimpse of him.

And then there is the community of saints: family, friends and other believers we fellowship with in church and Bible studies, prayer groups and FB groups. Cheering each other on. Sharing burdens, supporting in prayer, travelling with us in spirit.

Then there’s that cloud of witnesses, which I take to be the saints that have gone on ahead, round the corner and further in to Jesus’ presence. Out of sight, but somehow aware of our journeys. Praying us forward.

May the Lord bless each reader who so kindly cheers me on through the blog. Though I am not very good at acknowledging ‘likes’, I do notice and am encouraged. Thank you.

As  they say in Spain, Buon Camino!

Thank God for Easter

As yesterday’s early morning walk behind the cross drew near the church, those carrying the cross strode out of sight, followed by a few swift followers. The rest of us were ‘stuck’ behind a ‘bottle-neck’ formed by one old man with his cane, and his companions. 

Nobody overtook them. We knew where we were headed, so we kept company with those who were finding the way difficult.

Sometimes on our life’s journey we feel like we’ve lost sight of Jesus, lost sight of his cross. But he has left us map points by which to plot our course, guidelines in Scripture by which to live, and it’s as we continue to walk in faith that his cross comes back into view. It’s right that we adopt the pace of the slowest in our party, so that we can all arrive together. There are no prizes for the sprinter in the Kingdom but I think Jesus loves the marathon runners who slow their pace at times to accompany others who struggle along the way.

Jesus walked with the disciples on the road to Emmaus, as they struggled with Easter weekend events. He walks with each of us as we struggle to make sense of our circumstances, and the situations in the wider world.

Thank God for Easter.

Getting to Know You

Don and I got to know each other mostly through transatlantic correspondence, in the days before skype and email. We shared our dreams and our opinions honestly and made plans together. 

What we didn’t share until we were together were those looks deep into one another’s eyes, those shared giggles at events, those discoveries of one another’s habits. 

The Pharisees studied the Scriptures and they knew their Messiah was coming. They were sure they would recognise him because they thought they understood exactly who they were looking for. A conquering King. But they were wrong, and they didn’t.

After the crucifixion, two of Jesus’ friends were trudging along the road to a nearby town, Emmaus. They were joined by a stranger who seemed ignorant of what had transpired in Jerusalem over the weekend. He explained the events by opening up the Scriptures more fully to them. He remained a stranger to them.

When he sat down at the supper table with them, though, and broke the bread and gave thanks...it was then that they recognised him as their risen Lord Jesus. They knew the way he broke bread. They’d shared a lot of bread with him.

It’s good to study the Scriptures. If we want to really know Jesus, though, and recognise him, we need to spend time in his presence, too. Worshiping. Waiting. Listening. Asking. Receiving. Then we begin to recognise him in our own daily walk, as we discern one or two of his characteristics often in unexpected ways or people. 

It was exciting to get to know Don and fall deeper in love. It’s exciting to get to know Jesus and fall deeper in love every day. He’s on the road with each of us. It doesn’t get better than that.

Grateful heart.

Walking With ...

As the meeting ended last night, one elder offered to walk another one home. Two elders asked another for a lift. 

We were built to accompany each other. To keep one another safe. To help carry one another when the journey is hard or long. 

I love the story of the disciples trudging in dejection towards Emmaus on the first Easter day. Some of their friends were claiming that Jesus had risen from the dead, but they knew what crucifixion was and knew that there was no way he could be alive again. A mysterious stranger joined them and they had a deep discussion as they carried on to their destination, finally inviting the stranger in to stay with them. It was as he broke the bread and thanked God for the food that Jesus was recognised. Jesus was alive. He had overturned the ‘no way’ and made a way. Jesus had walked with them on the lonely, hard road, sharing truths and challenging their ideas. They hadn’t recognised him.

My mother walked with me through all my growing up years – actually, she’s walked with me metaphorically all my life. What a privilege it is now to walk the hard road with her as she trudges through her 90’s. What a blessing Skype and the internet are for easing communication and enabling stewardship of her resources even from a distance. 

During these last few difficult months of transition I’ve been very aware of the presence of Jesus, whispering encouragement and bringing peace and giving guidance. I wouldn’t say I’ve been very creative or profound but I have felt the comfort and love of our Saviour and known that he is on the lonely road with Mom and me. 

I’ve also been privileged to be aware of the physical presence and willing spirits of a few special people gathered round Mom and me on that road – Mhairi, Shirley, Mark and Son. A little further out and there are others, willing to help in a practical way where they can. Sandi, Jeb, Anne, others. And on the phone, sending cards, gifts and prayers are Don, Jamie & Chrisie, Robbie & Emma, Doug & Joey (and even wee Flick). All trudging the path with us.

Beyond that, I’ve been overwhelmed by the spiritual support of a cohort of Christian family from round the world holding Mom in prayer as she has adjusted to new circumstances. God is so good. There is nothing more precious than the family of God walking each other home, home to where there are no more tears, no more sorrow, no more separations, no more pain. 

No airports in heaven. It’s gonna be great. 

Meanwhile, that lonely path is more crowded with loving people than you might imagine. Look around and count your blessings. And see where you can join someone on their lonely path today. That’s what I’m going to do. On Food Bank duty today.

Sharing the Journey

We read this morning the story of a couple of Jesus’ friends who were walking back to their village, Emmaus, on the Sunday evening after Jesus was crucified. Dejected and grieving, they trudged along, sharing their sorrow and speculating as to what had happened to Jesus’ body. 

Had it been stolen by the Jewish priests? Taken away by the Romans? Or, as the women insisted, had Jesus really risen from the dead?

Suddenly they were aware that someone else was walking with them, someone who feigned ignorance of these events. He asked them what they were talking about and they were shocked he hadn’t heard. Obviously this situation was the talk of Jerusalem. Where had this guy been, they wondered, not to have heard about it?

With a short word of frustration at their ignorance of Scripture, this traveller then began to cite prophecies from what we call the Old Testament which foretold all these events and linked them to the coming and person of the Messiah. The two disciples listened, and invited him in to share supper and stay the night as it was dark. 

When he broke the bread, Jesus’ identity was recognised and then he disappeared.

How aware am I of Jesus’ companionship on my journey day by day? I may not be going very far, may not be doing anything very significant, but Jesus is with me. His promise is that he will never leave us so he walks alongside, listening to our conversations, banal and silly or deep and profound. Do we recognise his voice as he suggests things to us? Do we respond to those suggestions? Do our hearts burn inside us as the disciples’ realized theirs had? 

I have been doing housework and have a small hill of ironing awaiting my attention later on. The sun is out and the seedlings from the garden centre are root-bound and begging to be released into the soil.  I also have a couple of pieces of writing to try to finish today. 

It is the writing where I really crave divine inspiration, but maybe I need to train my ear for that gentle whisper while I tackle the sheets (ugh!) and plant out the pansies.

He walks with me today, and he walks with you. Are you aware of his presence?

Expectations

Two friends of Jesus trudged back home after a holiday weekend in the big city. They trudged, eyes downcast, hardly able to take in the disappointment, the shock, the grief. They talked as they walked, perhaps in staccato bursts of emotion with long silences between.

A stranger joined them and asked about their conversation. They couldn’t believe anyone could have been in Jerusalem over this Passover weekend and not know about the strange happenings. The crucifixions – maybe not such a headline grabber in this province of the brutal Romans. But these were different. There was an earthquake, too, and darkness over the land for three hours. The curtain of the Temple, thick and heavy, had ripped from top to bottom just as Jesus died on the cross.

And now, the strangest thing of all. The tomb where Jesus’ dead body had been laid was found empty by his followers and some claimed they had seen Jesus alive again, risen from death. How had this man not heard about all this?

The two friends hadn’t expected the weekend to end this way. It seemed a total disaster. 

As the stranger broke bread with them, though, they recognised him...Jesus! It was true! He was alive again. And then he was gone.

Some of my expectations don’t turn out as I think they will. I imagine fantastic outcomes and then can be disappointed when they don’t materialise. 

But hidden within every disappointment is a divine twist, because our creative Lord is able to bring beauty from ashes, joy from pain, life from death.

Today I am not so much carrying my own disappointments as I am the disappointments of others whom I know well. My prayer for them this day is that they will take a second look and see what the Lord is able to do with anything offered to him. 

I have no preconceived notion of what that might look like...only an expectation that when anything is put into the hands of our almighty God, he can do more with it than we can ask or imagine.

Happy Easter Tuesday!