April 21, 2020
Today’s Tuesday’s Thoughts on Scripture comes from Luke 24:18: Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” (NRSV)
The Road to Emmaus. Two walk along, discussing the events of the last week, when Jesus suddenly joins them and asks what they are discussing. No wonder they stop, look at him and declare, how can you not know what has happened. Have you been hiding under a rock?
Years ago when I was in seminary, a fire broke out in one of the buildings on the other end of campus. Fire trucks came, people went running and shouting, it seemed the whole place knew what was happening. I, however, sat in my apartment, completely oblivious. (I need to mention the building with the fire was only about two city blocks away, if that far, from my apartment. I mean the entire seminary campus includes only about ten buildings and it only takes minutes to walk the campus, so it wasn’t that far away).
Anyway, later that afternoon in class, someone said something about the fire. What fire, I asked?! Where were you, out of town? Didn’t you know?! I felt extremely foolish that I had somehow missed the entire thing. Fortunately there was not a lot of damage and no injuries, but I wondered how I could have missed being there for my classmates. How could I have been so self-absorbed?
I can only imagine how these two on the road feel about the new stranger. Who is he? What has he been doing? And I might have wondered what he wanted from us. Well, before the day is over, they will discover quite a bit about the stranger - he’s one known to them in ways that will change their lives forever. And many thousands in the future, including us and even more to come.
Blessings. And prayers.
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