Third Sunday of Easter

How many of you are taking this time of self-isolation to get into a practice of going for a walk around your neighborhood?

Its amazing that when we walk,

even when we are walking through the same space we have over and over again,

we sometimes see new things.

The ancient Greek physician and philosopher Hippocrates said,

"Walking is a man's best medicine."

A walk can cure some of man's most normal dis-eases. 

If you've ever had a bad mood and decided to go for a walk, you know,

it is amazing what a walk can do for the human body. 

Sometimes when you are frustrated or concerned about something,

the best thing you can do is go for a walk and let your brain process.

We have been conditioned by our development to walk.

And right now some of the best exercise you can get for being cooped up at home

is going for a walk around your house or neighborhood. 

(Of course, wear a mask and stay 6 feet away from people. 

Wave to them, say hi, but stay healthy.)

The disciples in the Gospel passage from Luke today are on a walk.

Specifically they are walking the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus. 

We don't know why they are going to Emmaus on the day of the Resurrection,

perhaps they simply needed to take a walk to process everything that had happened. 

We do hear that they are talking about the events going on.

We also don't know where Emmaus was in Ancient Judea, but we are told how far it is. 

The Greek says they walked sixty stadia, depending on which Roman definition you use, sixty stadia calculates out to about10-12 km or 6.2 to 7.4 miles, so for ease, we say 7 miles.  The average human walking pace is 3.1 miles an hour, so they probably spent over two hours walking the seven miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus. 

As we all know from the story of the Good Samaritan, roads in Ancient Judea were not always the safest places. People were robbed, beat up, and otherwise harassed for money and goods on the roads. Some people were friendly, and some people were friendly in a way you knew meant they wanted something. As the disciples are walking they meet someone they don't recognize, but who seems interested in having conversation along the way. 

Sadly, it is not along the walk that they recognize Jesus. It takes more than that for the disciples to know who Jesus really is. Naturally, it is not until Jesus does something so iconic as giving thanks and breaking bread, that the disciples recognize him for who he truly is. Sometimes it is that way in life. We go along with something or someone and only later on in the process realize who or what they are or they are doing. Of course, as soon as they recognize him, he is gone.

Thankfully, that was all the disciples needed. They recognize him and feel transformed.

Father Brian Reid, on the clergy discussion page said and asked, "Immediately after Jesus is revealed the two disciples return to Jerusalem. It was already late when they stopped for dinner, presumably at an inn, a safe place. What would cause *_you_* to walk  another_seven miles_ back to where you started, at _night_, in the _dark_, _before the invention of any street lighting_, though an area that is "beyond the pale" _where outlaws live?"

And now they go to run back? in the dark?

I do run, and I usually like running, but I can tell you, running in the dark is not always very pleasant. I have gotten more than one skinned knee trying to run too early or late when the sun isn't shining.

What kind of news would really need to be heard that soon? 

 How many of you would have said, eh, I'll wait until the morning...

This was big,

huge, 

enormous, 

magnificently enormous news! 

This was worth risking their very lives in the dark of the Judean countryside.

Jesus is alive! 

I find that this story has a lot to say to us right now. The disciples are having a hard time coming to terms with all that is going on, so they go for a walk. They are struggling with what to do, in a place of confusion and frustration. They don't recognize someone else at first... not because of a mask, but all of these things sound familiar to our current situation.

We are in a time period of change. We are still in that walking phase, trying to figure out what has happened. Trying to understand the stories we are hearing, trying to make up our minds about what this means for us and our lives. Perhaps Jesus will come to us and interact with us, or perhaps he has already. Perhaps we won't recognize him right away. Perhaps we won't know what a grace it is in that moment. But every time we do recognize God in the midst of this time, we have Easter Joy to share. Like those disciples who ran back to their friends, they couldn't help themselves, they had to share their stories; we are given an opportunity to share our stories, to continue sharing the good news we find during this time of distress.

I hope that during this season of Easter,

despite all the concern in the world

you can find something so irresistible, so worthy to be shared,

that you do find yourself telling everyone you can.

I don't necessarily want you to risk your lives sharing your good news, I'd like to see you all in person again, 

but I do hope you feel that joy, that need to share 

how you have found Jesus in your life.

May Jesus surprise us all with his presence this week.

Amen.