Brothers and Sisters,
Have you ever been disappointed in God’s plan for you? Have you ever found yourself walking away from God? When you are confused and afraid, is your tendency to run toward God or away from Him?
The two disciples in the gospel this week are on a journey away from where Jesus was; full of grief, of dashed hopes, of disappointment (Luke 24:13-35). All of their ideals and dreams, defeated, collapsed, and gone. In a sense, these two sad, downcast, depressed men represent all of us without Jesus. In this way, all of humanity is in this same situation. And we come to realize, God is never absent from us, but we were absent from God. We haven’t really been seeking God in our life, although we like to imagine we were. In reality, we have been walking in the opposite direction, like the two disciples, going away from our fears and despair. But God in Christ is truly seeking us, and He will find us, and bring us home, and fill us with joy if we let Him.
God yearns to draw near to us. Even when we don’t yearn to draw nearer to Him, He’s constantly drawing nearer to us. Even when we are full of uncertainty, disappointment, frustration and fear, God comes to walk alongside us. God is with us. That is the message of this powerful story. God is with us. He’s there walking alongside us in the moments and circumstances of our day. He’s there in the scriptures, speaking to our hearts. And He’s there in the Eucharist, waiting to enter our souls. We just have to welcome Him to stay with us. Are we walking with Jesus or are we walking away?
God Bless,
Deacon Howard
