“What things?”
This is the question risen Jesus asked two of his disciples as they were walking along the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35) after a heavy three days of grieving the loss of Jesus, their teacher, their hope for redemption, their go-to for all of their questions.
The disciples, appalled that he doesn’t know what just happened recount all they’ve experienced. And Jesus walks with them and listens to all of it, then opens their eyes to truths of Scripture all while they continue to listen but still not understand who is really speaking to them.
During our annual spiritual retreat, our team responded to Jesus asking us the same question.
‘What’s happened?’
Jesus of course already knows all of it, but we needed to retell the story, to face where change and conflict and crisis have weighed heavily on each of us, and to grieve the losses they have brought.
I recently heard lament defined as “the full acknowledgment of what really happened.” It is not a space to throw a pity party, but a necessary choice to face the truth of what is not as it should be and the pain this tension has inflicted upon us and upon those we see suffering around us.
I am thankful for the space created by our team taking the time to cry, to write, to question, to doubt, to sit before our Jesus and speak our need for him to be our healer.
It is only when we are receiving His healing, His comfort, His love that we can proclaim his Kingdom to the world. I am humbled and convicted and refreshed by the grace of our risen Savior and am leaning into His presence that is closer than our very breath.
Praise be to our Savior who sees us completely and chooses us anyways to be his.
“When hints of sadness creep into our soul, we must not flee into happy or distracting thoughts. Pondering sadness until it becomes overwhelming can lead us to a deep change in the direction of our being from self-preservation to grateful worship.” – Crabb