Having come from Scotland the Easter refrain was given by the minister as “He is Risen!” to which the reply was the obvious reply of “He is Risen Indeed!” I am blessed to have a church family that knows that here in Seeley Lake and replies in kind.
After the cacophony of Palm Sunday and the celebration of Easter, I find church life is a bit slower paced in the church calendar. So much so that in Scotland the Sunday following Easter is called Low Sunday for a reason. The Sunday after Easter the attendance is LOW! I’m hoping it will not be so here, but …
I often like to share a favorite post-Easter story that strikes me as poignant year after year. It is the beloved story of the two men on the road to Emmaus. “Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.” (Luke 24:13–15)
The story goes on to share Jesus explaining the purpose in His death from the Old Testament scriptures then they stop for the evening dinner, and as Jesus breaks bread and blesses it, they suddenly realize it is Jesus they have been walking alongside. Luke 24:32 explains their response: “And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”” They ran back to the other disciples in Jerusalem to share the good news.
I love this bit of the story as they explain it was not about a church denomination, a religion, or even creed. Rather, they had met Jesus in person. We also need to encounter the Easter story and meet the living Jesus who died in our place to forgive our sins. There was no ritual of a church or speaking to a priest/minister to attain it, only in Christ alone was there a realization that the resurrection was proof of who Jesus was and is. Only in knowing the resurrected Jesus do we as well find hope for all that ails us. Only through Christ can we know freedom from guilt, shame and confusion that sin brings to our lives.
Looking back to earlier in the story, verses 25-26 says, “Then Jesus said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” How often as we encounter the truth of scripture does the description of our hearts mirror Jesus’ words to these two disciples?
My prayer for all of us here in Seeley Lake is that we encounter the resurrected Jesus in our day-to-day living.
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