17 He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” Luke 24:17 -37
The Swahili greeting in Kenya is “Habari?” That translates to “News?” The required response is, “Mzuri,” Good. You always respond “good” because God is working so all news is good. The next line is “lakini…”, but…. Life is good because God is good but my cow died or my child is sick. Jesus comes alongside two people, Cleopas and friend, walking away from Jerusalem on Easter afternoon and they don’t recognize him. He establishes conversation with an opener similar to our “What’s up?” He allows them to establish the topic of conversation. Again, God comes to them on their turf, stepping into their questions.
What’s up could have a double meaning. It can mean to draw out the other about events of their life but it can also be pointing the talkers to a broader perspective on reality. What’s up is that prophecy is being fulfilled even if it is not the way the two people thought. Cleopas and friend pour out the lament of what they know about the events in Jerusalem. It sounds like they themselves heard the reports of the women who went to the tomb and of the disciples who went also and confirmed the body of Jesus was missing. “What’s up?” Is their question.
25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken!26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. Mark 24:25-27
Jesus now gives them an eternal perspective. He does not just show them his hands and side. He takes them to the same Scripture we turn to when we have questions about the events of our lives. All that happened was prophesized from the time of Moses, their hero. Jesus is asking them questions, not to trick them into showing their ignorance but to drawn them out so he could inform them, give the historical perspective and context.
I must confess that like Cleopas and friend, I get involved in the events of my everyday life. I need to step back and allow the Spirit to speak to me, give me perspective and context. We live in a fallen world where good guys get hurt, people die, and the happy ending will not be seen in our life time. But we also live in a world with sunrises and sunsets, with friends that love us with our warts and wrinkles, and we live with the written Word we can always turn to in times when we are confused. I love to read Psalm 121, “I look to the hills from where does my help come, it comes from the Lord,” when I am down. Psalm 51 helps me confess when I feel I have blown it. Many love Psalm 139 that talks about God knowing and understanding us. Blessing as you encounter a God today who wants to know, “What’s up?”
On the Way to Wonder 