A Reflection by Rev Sonia Hicks
This week’s video from Sonia is very topical!
https://www.methodistthamesvalley.org.uk/
Reflections on the Acts, leading up to Pentecost
Invitation to all from Sarah Gardner, Rosemary Willis, Hazel and Sister Patricia of St Edwards to a series of Reflections on the Acts, leading up to Pentecost: These are 1-hour weekly ecumenical reflections on the Acts of the Apostles via Zoom. (Zoom is an app the IT minded members of our Church are beginning to feel more confident with) The first of these took place Wednesday 22 April 13.30-14.30. Anyone who would like to see the details retrospectively, please email:
sarah.gardnerlobo@gmail.com or r@rosemarywillis.me and they will be happy to send the material to you.
The following 4 reflections will take place as follows:
2. 1.30 pm to 2.30 pm, Wednesday 29 April
3. 1.30pm to 2.30 pm on Wednesday 6 May
4. 1.30 pm to 2.30 pm on Wednesday 13 May
5. 1.30 pm to 2.30 pm on Wednesday 20 May
Again, please email Sarah or Rosemary as above and they will be very pleased to send you details of the Meeting ID and passwords to access these Bible Studies on Zoom. Alternatively, if you are not able to access via Zoom, please email Sarah or Rosemary and they will be happy to send you the materials used.
The Road to Emmaus by Tim Baker
This week’s gospel reading, the story of Cleopas and his companion on the Emmaus Road, is one of encounter.
The two disciples, fleeing all that was agonising and painful about the events in Jerusalem, including Jesus’ death…they meet a stranger on the road. A stranger who seems oblivious to what has gone on, but seems incredibly well-versed in the scriptures and to have a particularly interesting (and possibly quite radical?) take on how they can be interpreted. He talks to them all the way to the house, and is eventually invited in as a guest. It is only then, as they break bread together, that the recognition dawns.
This is the Christ. Jesus, somehow, miraculously, back from the dead. And as they grasp this truth, he is gone…
Wow – it’s quite a story! We go on this roller-coaster of emotions. The premise of the story – meeting someone on the road and inviting them back to your house – is not something we can do at the moment, in the midst of the Coronavirus lockdown. However, the story has lots of encouragement for us as we reflect on what it means to be disciples of Jesus in this strangest of all Easter seasons…
Firstly, in verse 21, where Cleopas reflects on the sadness of Jesus’ death – ‘we had hoped that he was the one’. We had hoped.
Perhaps we have already lost loved ones to the virus, and ‘had hoped’ for so much more – for longer with them, to be able to be with them at the end, to be able to attend their funeral and throw a party at the end. We are dealing with the grief of ‘we had hoped’.
Perhaps we had made plans for April, or May, or for the summer, which have now been thrown into jeopardy by the virus. We were looking forward to an exciting moment or holiday, we were planning to see family and friends, we were attending events or festivals or gatherings that are usually a key part of our yearly rhythms.
We had hoped for so much more.
We know the pain of the grieving disciples as they walk the weary road.
And yet, Jesus comes into their midst.
This is the great joy of the resurrection stories in the gospels – they all point us towards being a people of hope. We cannot always be happy, we cannot always rejoice, we may need to grieve…but we do not grieve as a people without hope.
Rather, we look for the encounter with Jesus, even in the midst of pain and anguish. Even amongst broken dreams and lost hopes, we look for the stranger who joins us on the road of life’s journey. He is there, beside us. Telling stories, breaking bread, sharing love and grace. Wherever you are today, on your journey. However you feel about the ‘hopes’ you have lost, Jesus wants to come and sit and eat with you.
Will you make him welcome?
Tim Baker
Published in The Vine at Home material, compiled and produced by ‘twelvebaskets’