Dear friends,
The refrain from the Canticle, ‘A Song of the New Creation” spoke to me this morning. It is, ‘I will make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert’. With the Alleluia’s ringing of Easter, as a family we encountered a wilderness with John, my husband, falling and needing a hip replacement. Through the days following we soon discovered the rivers of care, love and joy surrounding us all in our desert.
As I read and reflected on the story of our Gospel reading this weekend, I was in no doubt that the experience of those walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus was also a wilderness. They had experienced the crucifixion and were walking despondently home. Then a stranger joins them and asks questions and shares with them which eases their journey. They are then prompted to invite their new friend to stay with them.
As their new friend broke bread and offered it to them, they discovered the river in their desert, recognising him as their Lord whom they had witnessed crucified.
Many of us experience times of great wilderness, but as we gather each week to worship and break bread we are given the love, care and joy we need to live life in all its fullness. Everyone is invited to that experience. Come and join us.
In Christ,
Daphne
Daphne Cook, Licensed Lay Minister (LLM)