Pathways Press.com

Written by Toni Pate, a contemporary pastor. This is an excerpt from her sermon “Ongoing Easter.”

The experience of this traveler [on the road to Emmaus] may well be like your own. You may be the unnamed one. You may know a lot about Jesus. From church, from home, from the Bible, or from TV — who knows where we get our images of him. You may know a lot, and you may care a lot about Jesus and Christianity.  But do you ever feel disappointed that God is not making things happen the way you thought he would? That your life has not turned out the way you had hoped? Have you been confused about where Jesus is during difficult times? Does it sometimes seem that as much as you believe Jesus is the Son of God, his promises of lighter burdens, of peace, answered prayers, and freedom from fear are not a reality for you? Then you are right there on this long walk — needing Jesus to come alongside you and help you to recognize his presence. But it’s a process. He wants to walk you through your doubts and disappointments. He wants to take you back through the story of God’s interaction with people from the very beginning and to see how it matches your own story. He wants to be invited into your home to share your everyday life. And at some point, if you have ears that want to hear, eyes that want to see, you will know he is alive and is with you. In the simplest act — a song, a prayer, a long-forgotten Bible verse, a meal — you will know him as the one who gave himself for you.

Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. [Luke 24: 13 – 14].