12 After this he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. 13 And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them. Mark 15: 12-13
After this…
After what? A post script was added to the Gospel of Mark but the Gospel of Luke 24:12-14 recorded the same encounter with the risen Christ. Easter Sunday afternoon at sometime the risen Christ appeared on the road to Emmaus to two people. Last week we looked at Mary Mgdelene’s encounter on Easter morning. The followers did not believe she had seen the risen Christ nor had talked with him. Perhaps you have your doubts also. You have never actually seen nor touched Jesus. This second encounter has a different flavor. Two people are walking along to Emmaus, a small town about seven miles from Jerusalem and talking over the events of the day and digesting all the stories swirling about town. There was no TV, CNN or radios then.
I don’t remember what I did Easter afternoon but it probably involved eating with friends and then a snooze thinking about perhaps the sermon but perhaps wondering when the kids would call. I might have been preparing for Monday. I suspect that first Easter was more like the afternoon of 9-11 without TVs and radios to report. Everyone is comparing notes about what they’ve heard.
As I think of Sunday afternoon as preparation for teaching on Monday, I think of the song by the Mamas and the Papas:
, Monday, can’t trust that day
Monday, Monday, sometimes it just turns out that way
Oh Monday mornin’ you gave me no warnin’ of what was to be
Oh Monday, Monday, how could you leave and not take me
The week prior people hailed Jesus as the expected Messiah and then they yelled for crucifixion and now are confused if the body was stolen or what??? It is easy centuries later to jump to “Hallejuah” and skip the grief and despair when life does not turn out the way we want but I suspect we often have Monday downs. For all our wants, often life does not turn out the way we want or the way we expected. Those irritating interruptions upset our day and we feel we have been left behind. The two travelers were not believed by their friends any more than Mary was. It was a no-good-very-bad day. After this,” signals a coming to terms with reality.
It is at this point of disorientation, this point of confusion, this point of discouragement that Jesus steps into that we shall be looking at this week. We have a God that meets us when our faith is scraping the bottom of the barrel and when life seems all topsy turvy. When we feel God has left us behind and not taken us on his journey of health, wealth and prosperity, it is at those times that we see the risen Jesus in a whole new way.
This week we will see God in sunrises and storm clouds, even a solar eclipse today. We will recognizes him when we see things work out for the good. But let us be encouraged that even “after this” God is still working to bring about good. Thank you Lord that you are working even when I can’t see you and when I am confused and down. To you be the glory.
On the Way to Wonder 