God Speaking

“But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.” (Luke 24:29)

One of the joys for my husband and me in owning a holiday cabin was being able to borrow our grandchildren and take them with us for fun at the lake. Our granddaughters loved coming as much as we loved having them and half the adventure was getting there. As soon as the two eldest girls were old enough, we began taking them for short stays. The daylight hours were packed with all sorts of activities ranging from fishing with Grandpa, to sighting the return of the resident loon and trying to copy her haunting cry, to catching a glimpse of the muskrat, to checking out the frogs and sometimes even seeing a black bear nonchalantly wandering down by the lake, but when evening came there was always a reluctance to actually going to sleep. Perhaps they then realised they were far from home and grandparents were not quite the same as Mommy and Daddy so bedtime was always a drawn out affair. They were happy to go to bed as long as I stayed with them until they fell asleep and repeatedly urged me to “Stay with us”, if I tried to slip out of the room. I was reminded of the two disciples meeting Jesus after the resurrection on the road to Emmaus and how this was their cry to the Risen Lord, “Stay with us” (Luke 24:29)

This story has always fascinated me as to why the disciples did not recognise their risen Saviour; even while he explained scripture to them and I thought that perhaps their own sorrow had clouded their vision. The more I thought about their emotions I began to see a whole range of conflicting thoughts that must have been racing through their minds. Fear was probably one of the major ones troubling them. Jesus had been killed, were they perhaps the next ones to be persecuted? Disillusionment was right behind, perhaps they were thinking that Jesus was not the Messiah after all, and sweeping over them a deep feeling of loneliness at the loss of a much loved friend and then the most destructive of all thoughts, despair.

We may have experienced some or all of these emotions as we travel life’s journey. We may have been so consumed by something outrageous happening around us, that we have been temporarily blinded to the help that is so close at hand. We may have been overcome with despair, thinking our problems are unsolvable. This is then we need to re-read this beautiful last chapter in Luke’s gospel and find how closely we relate to these two followers of Jesus. Jesus opened their minds and their hearts through scripture and this is a good place for us to start, but the compelling message I see in this passage are the words , “Stay with us”. In the story we read,

“As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther.” (Luke 24:28)

The two then realised their need to keep this source of comfort and hope with them and their need generates that urgent plea, “Stay with us” Jesus does not intrude upon our lives. He wants our relationship to be two sided. He wants us to want him as much as he wants us.

Brennan Manning in his Reflections for Ragamuffins puts it this way;

“Grace stands waiting”

Jesus is always right beside us waiting to be asked to flood us with his grace. We only need to say, “Stay with us” and our eyes will be opened and our hearts will be burning within us, as joy replaces all the ugly emotions that blind us to his incredible, unconditional love.

Related articles

• The Presence We Need Most Is Always With Us (marypenich.wordpress.com)
• Listening to the Scriptures and Breaking of the Bread (Eucharist) (junjunfaithbook.com)
• Appearance to the Disciples in Jerusalem (tvaraj2inspirations.wordpress.com)