Up the Sunbeam

-- Some aches and pains are easier to ignore than others. There's the "Ooh, it hurts to move my finger," variety or the "Gee, what did I do to my knee?" kind. Those are usually fairly easy to ignore, or at least to create some mental distance where you can carry on pretty much unhindered. Then there's the, "Hmm, lunch didn't seem to agree with me, I think I'll lie down for a little while," or the "This sore throat is no fun, maybe I'll stop for a cup of hot caramel apple cider." These slow you down and may even make you ease up on your work schedule somewhat, but no big deal, right? Everyday ordinary aches and pains--we all have them, we all live with them, we all try to make the best of life with them. I am blessed to live with very few and very minor aches and pains--I hope you are too. However, I have a recent experience with pain that opened my eyes to something in me that lurks just beneath the surface of my personalit...

--   In his Gospel, Dr. Luke tells the story of two of Jesus' disciples walking from Jerusalem to a village called Emmaus. It was a 7-mile walk over hilly, sometimes steep, rocky terrain traversing a road subject to the dangers of robbers and thieves. They had timed their trip to have them at their destination while it was still daylight and just in time to be home for supper. It was Sunday afternoon, a mere 48 hours or so since they had seen their world come to a devastating end. Their beloved Jesus, the One they believed was their long-awaited Messiah, had been crucified and buried in a tomb. With Him was buried everything they had believed was true. They had heard that some of the women had seen Jesus alive that morning, but it all seemed like a cruel joke, or the imaginations of minds overcome with grief. As they walked together, they talked and reflected and wrestled with the implications of their loss. Somewhere along the way another man came and joined them as they walk...