The Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to John

Jesus said, ”If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.

”I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”  (John 14:15-21)

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I read a book written by an ex Jesuit priest.  I don’t know if you know it but the Jesuits are called the soldiers of Christ. In keeping with that reputation, their training, is extremely rigorous

He wrote about the academic and theological learning they did, and what they learned about the history of their order.  All quite normal. 

But he said that at a certain time – and I don’t know if it was everyday – they would go to their dormitory, and each would draw the curtain around his bed, and each man would take out a switch, and would whip himself on the back with this switch.

I am not too sure why they did this. It could be to strengthen them, for any hardships they may face, but I think it was for a more doctrinal reason. There has been  a belief in the church over the centuries that as Jesus suffered, we – if we are to follow him – must suffer also. 

Today’s reading from First Peter  (1 Peter 3:13-22 )  tells us that suffering for your faith is a blessed thing. Peter says that even if you have to suffer for righteous things, then God will bless you.

He was writing to people who had felt the whip – slaves – and others who were ridiculed, or physically harmed because of their beliefs.

And  he wanted to encourage them not to give up. He cites the suffering of Jesus, an innocent person who died for those who are guilty and to bring us closer to our God.

And after suffering torture and death, Jesus was elevated to the highest position in Heaven, and he sits at the right hand of the Father.

Suffering does bring out hidden qualities in people. Quiet unassuming people have become heroes in the midst of suffering. Suffering has been likened in the Bible to gold that is heated in the furnace until the impure ore falls away and only the purest gold remains. It toughens us. It purifies us.   If we can overcome suffering, with God’s help, then surely we will also be rewarded.

If you have lost a loved one. If you have suffered from a painful or disabling illness, if you are taking treatment for cancer, if a child has taken the wrong road in life, if someone you know and love is in pain, then you know what suffering is about.

And if you were to choose – suffering or no suffering, I know which  you would choose – character building or not – no suffering!

The point is though, that as human beings, we will all suffer some pain, sorrow, heartache in our lives. There is no getting away from it. It’s how we handle it that matters.  

George Matheson was born in Glasgow, in 1842. Before he reached the age of two it was discovered that his eyesight was defective. He, his parents, and the specialists fought a heroic fight, but before George had finished his course at Glasgow University, he was completely blind.

With great courage and faith, however, he graduated with honours in philosophy, studied for the ministry, and in a few years time became the minister of one of the largest churches in Scotland. In addition to his laborious preparation for sermons and services, he did a great deal of parish visitation, wrote numerous articles and twelve books, and continued his own studies throughout his life.

Blind!

It must have been heart-breaking for George Matheson’s parents to have a strange infection steal their son’s eyes.  It must have been truly heartbreaking for a young man to lose his sight.  Yet, George Matheson somehow found in that situation that God made resources available to him. God took account of his suffering, and gave him courage, resourcefulness, and grim perseverance, enabling him to be victorious over his handicap.

George took the life he had been given, blindness and all, and gave it back, a life fulfilled, and filled, and one which blessed countless others, both in his writings, in his ministry and in his example.

I am sure that there must have been nights when he cried himself to sleep, when his dark burden seemed too much to bear, and yet, with the help of his Lord, he made it through.

I said that we all have to undergo suffering of some sort. I say that because I know that in my own life (and I count myself to have been blessed to a great degree)  I have encountered suffering.

I say it because in my job I met  people all the time who were struggling with sickness, mental torment, grief disappointment, worry, stress, and so on.

It seems obvious, doesn’t it,  that  suffering is a part of human existence. And if it is, then it must have a purpose.

Imagine life being all rosy, no worries, no problems, nothing to bother you – just day to day – nothing happening in the suffering department.

It really wouldn’t be life, would it? 

I am sorry to say it, but it looks like suffering is something that God could take out of the world, but for some reason doesn’t.

We all know people who have had to put up with the most horrendous situations. Situations that just hearing about bring tears to our eyes. Situations that we wouldn’t want to be a part of, for all the tea in China.

And yet these people come through, and do so with their dignity intact, their sense of being intact, and are somehow  stronger for it.

A man was watching a new butterfly  struggling to exit its cocoon.  He watched for a while, and it appeared to him that  the butterfly was suffering as it wriggled, and squirmed, trying to get out, but making little progress.

Feeling sorry for it, the man took a pair of scissors and tried to help by making a tiny cut in the cocoon, so the butterfly could come out more easily.  It crawled out.

But that is all it ever  did – crawl.

The pressure of the struggle was supposed to push life-giving colorful juices back into the wings, but the man, in his mercy, prevented this. The insect was never anything but a stunted abortion.  It was condemned to spend the rest of its short  life crawling in the dust.

It seems to me that maybe God knows what he is doing.  It seems to me that you can depend on Him. Even when the struggle is hard and meaningless.

The Gospel reading recounts a few moments in that upper room before Jesus was betrayed.  The disciples were panicking. They knew now what Jesus was saying – that he would suffer and die. That he would leave them.

They felt lost.

But Jesus told them, “Don’t worry, I won’t leave you orphans. I will send you a helper, a parakletos.”

The Greek word for helper, is parakletos.  A parakletos is someone who is called in to help. It comes from the Latin word fortis, which means brave, and a parakletos was someone who enabled a dispirited, beaten person to be brave.

Their parakletos would bethe Holy Spirit.

Jesus, that night, was setting his disciples a hard task, sending them on a difficult engagement. But they would not be alone, the  parakletos, would  guide them  and enable them  to do what they were tasked with.

Jesus might be saying to us, in this day and age: “Life brings us many difficult times. Coping with them is something that is hard to do. So I am sending you a helper, the parakletos, who will enable you to manage, to make it  through, and to come to the light.”

God in His love and mercy, in His infinite love for us His children, sends us the help we need to make it through the night. 

He doesn’t want us to suffer. He doesn’t want us to have to cope all by ourselves. 

In fact, as George Matheson found out, he wants to be with us in our struggles, and the Spirit he sends will give us the strength we need. .

George Matheson wrote these words after twenty years of blindness.

O Love that will not let me go.

          I rest my weary soul in Thee!

          I give thee back the life I owe,

          That in Thine ocean depths its flow

          May richer fuller be.

He took the life he had been given,  a life that to many would have seemed empty and hopeless, and filled it with triumph.

With the help of  his parakletos – the Holy Spirit.  Am

The Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to John

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.

“In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.  And you know the way to the place where I am going.”

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

“Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.

“Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.

“Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.

” I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it. ( Jn 14:1-14)

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I read something a while ago: A ship had radioed for a  pilot to help make its way through dangerous waters. The pilot who showed up looked no more than sixteen. The ship’s captain  was understandably, a little nervous at turning his ship over to such a young looking pilot – a boy – so he asked the young man,” Do you know where all the dangerous rocks are?” The boy answered, “No sir. But I know where they aren’t.”

And you know, when  a pilot takes a boat through a dangerous waterway, the captain has to turn the boat over to him. And the captain doesn’t look over the pilot’s shoulder, or over the side of the ship, to look for hazards.  He trusts him. The actual path the ship will take is not so important. What is important is that he has placed his ship in the hands of a pilot. 

That’s something that in the church we have gotten kind of mixed up about.

We are Christians and we claim to follow Jesus, but sometimes, we are like a ship’s captain who doubts his pilot, and is constantly worrying about where the rocks are.

The thing is, that with Jesus as our guide, we don’t have to look around every corner, or steal a peak at the road ahead, or worry about what is coming our way.

We just have to follow Him. 

The disciples still hadn’t grasped that truth, even that night before his crucifixion.

Jesus told them not to worry. ‘ I am going to prepare a place for each of you. I will come back and will take you with me.’

Thomas said, “Lord we don’t even know where you are going. How can we know the way?

Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth and the life. Without me no-one can go to the Father.”

Don’t focus on the path. I am the  path – the way – the pilot. Focus on me.

The church needs to remember that!

The truth of this is that because of his sacrifice on the cross, we have access to the Father. We are able to be in a right relationship with God.  That is why Jesus is known as ‘the way.’ 

He is the way to the Father.

Philip still didn’t understand. “Show us the Father. That is all we need.”

Jesus asks,  “Don’t you know who I am? If you have seen me you have seen the Father.” 

You see, Jesus came to earth to show us God in himself.  To bring God closer to us.

He said to them, “Have faith in me when I say that the Father and I are one, or, have faith in me because of the things you have seen me do.”

Believe me because of what I say:  Jesus’ spoke with an authority and knowledge that eclipsed that of religious leaders of the time. The truth is, he had inside knowledge. How could he silence critics, scribes, lawyers, who had studied the law, and Israel’s history, and theology, and had high standing as experts? Only someone who knew the mind of the Father could do that.

Believe me because of what I say

Or believe me because of what I do:  the healing of lepers, the giving of sight to the blind, the giving of hearing and words to those without hearing or speech, the giving of life and movement to those whose bodies were paralyzed, the raising of the dead,  the feeding of the five thousand, the stilling of the storm on Lake Galilee, and many other miracles – signs – signs –  that the Father endorsed Jesus as His Son.

His words and his works, evidence the divinity of Jesus the Son. 

And that Jesus is the way, the pilot, to eternal life, and all  we need do is  follow him.  

You know there have been others who put themselves forward as being the way, the end-all-and-be-all. Alexander the Great’s soldiers saw him that way.  He  generated such loyalty in his men that they would do anything for him.

Alexander would ask to meet with the leaders of the city he wanted to take, and he would give them a demonstration of his men’s  unquestioning loyalty.  He would order his soldiers to march forward, straight over a cliff. They did it without question. The city leaders, seeing this unswerving loyalty, knew they could not withstand his army and capitulated right there and then.

For his soldiers, Alexander was the way. No need to ask why or where, or how, they just did as he commanded.

Of course, Alexander didn’t lead them over the cliff. He led them from behind. Isn’t  that always the case with human leaders?

Jesus shows that he is the way by going over the cliff for us, as it were. He shows us sacrificial death. He shows us unconditional love. And in his conquering of death, he shows his divine  power.

Not only that, but he promises his followers that they will have the power to accomplish even more than he did. “You will do even greater things, now that I am going back to the Father, Ask me and I will do whatever you ask. This way the Son will bring glory to the Father.”

“Ask me and I will do whatever you ask.”

That doesn’t mean that we can pray that we will win the lottery. Or become a Canadian Idol. Or lose fifty pounds. Or get a better car, or a bigger house. Or be better looking.

It means that whatever we want to do in His Name, and if it is done for the glory of God, then he will help us accomplish it. 

Jesus’ prophecy on this came true. On the day of Pentecost, which we will celebrate soon, Jesus’ disciples,  filled with the Holy Spirit, and burning to carry the Good News of Jesus to the world,  spoke so forcibly to the crowd gathered around them that 3,000 people – three thousand –  decided to make Jesus their pilot, through this world’s tricky waters.

They went on from there until literally thousands, and then later, millions, of people became followers of The Way. Many, many more than the number that Jesus had persuaded to follow him.

 And still today greater things are being done in His Name. There is a church in Texas that has 40,000 members. They have to meet in an arena. It isn’t the only church with massive numbers either.

These churches have wonderful ministries raising money for the underprivileged, providing counseling and spiritual advice, providing legal and financial services for their flock; ministering to the sick and lonely, supporting thousands of the world’s poor overseas, and so on.

Forty thousand in that one church. That’s probably more than all the people who heard Jesus during his three year ministry.

But they didn’t do it by themselves. 

A lot has been accomplished in our little church over the years, and you can be proud of that. There is more to do.  Much more to do, as we witness to our love of Christ to the world outside.

But we make a mistake if we try to do it by ourselves.

Because it just won’t happen.

If we think we can do it without Christ.

I like the story of a little boy who was spending his Saturday morning playing in his sandbox. He had his box of cars and trucks, his plastic pail, and a shiny, red plastic shovel. While he was making roads and tunnels in the soft sand, he found a large rock right in the middle of the sandbox. 

He dug around it and managed to dislodge it from the dirt and then exerting himself to the fullest, he pushed and pulled it across the sandbox.  But when he got the rock to the edge of the sandbox, he found that he couldn’t roll it up and over the little wall.  He shoved, pushed, and pried, and managed to get the rock teetering on the edge, but it tipped and fell back into the sandbox.

The little boy grunted, struggled, pushed, shoved again, but all that happened was that the rock fell back once more and mashed his chubby little fingers, and he burst into tears of pain and frustration.

Unknown to the lad, his father had been watching this little drama from the living-room window.  And just when the first tear trickled down the boy’s cheek,  a large shadow fell across  the sandbox. It was the boy’s father.

Gently but firmly he said, “Son, why didn’t you use all the strength that you had available?”   The little boy sobbed back, “But I did, Daddy, I did! I used all the strength that I had!

 “No, son,” said his father, “You didn’t use all the strength you had. You didn’t ask me.” 

And dad reached down, picked up the rock, and removed it.  [1]

Think about what you would like to see accomplished by your church. Think about what you would to accomplish in your own life of faith.

The first thing we have to realise is  that we can’t do it alone.

The second thing to remember is that Jesus assured us that if we wanted something that would glorify God. If we wanted something that would further the work of Christ in our life. Then all we have to do is ask. 

That’s the promise.  We have not been left alone.  Not alone.

Amen.

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[1] Bible.Org.Trustworthy Bible Resources.

The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ According to John 10:1-10

Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit.

The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.

The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.

They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.”

Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.

All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them.

I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

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Since what has been named the 2026 Iran War, originally ‘ a military operation’

Information – trusted information is scarce. False information is aplenty.

There are many examples of this, including  the original forecast of the expected duration of the war – two to eight weeks, or as some forecast – three to four days.

As of today, no-one knows when the war will end.

Trust has been destroyed, lives lost or ruined, as the duty of care has been discarded like so much trash.

Jesus tells his listeners to be on the look out for those who can’t be trusted –  thieves,  robbers, wolves –  predators. 

Predators!

With so much duplicity in  our world, where do we turn?  To whom do we look?

” At me’  Jesus  says.

”  I am the shepherd. The sheep know my voice. I am the gate for the sheep,” he says, using an example people would understand.

The sheepfold at that time would have only three complete sides. The shepherd would be there, at the fourth side, checking the sheep as they came in, slowing them down with his rod, so he could check them for injuries. And when all were safely in he would lie across the entrance so that anyone wanting to come in to do harm would have to deal with him first. .

The shepherd  had a heavy wooden rod with which to beat off any lion or wolf or bear that might try to attack the sheep. The staff was used to rescue lambs from thickets or crevices where they might have fallen into danger.  The rod was the protection.

Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

He might also have a slingshot.

A famous shepherd by the name of David fought off a lion and more with a slingshot, didn’t he?

When you care about your charges, you will fight ferociously to protect them won’t you?

You won’t exploit them.

Who is being a shepherd?

And who is being a wolf?

There are plenty of stories about governments wasting our resources – not safeguarding what belongs to the people.

There are many who are only interested in their own welfare?   Some of those who manage major corporations seem more interested in lining their own pockets rather than worrying about their shareholders, and their employees.  And their customers.

Some who claim to represent us are in the pockets of other interests.

Financial analysts have given so-called independent advice, which later was found to be just a come-on for stocks they were actually selling. 

We should do what Will Rogers suggested when investing.  He said, “ Take your money out of your savings, invest it in a stock, and when it goes up, sell. If it doesn’t go up  – don’t buy it!”

It looks like  no-one is out there looking after you, doesn’t it?

So what do we do?

I think the only answer is to look elsewhere for protection, for guidance, for an example in how to live.

I think you have to look to someone with good references; someone who has proven to be a good friend; someone who has delivered what he promised to deliver; someone who is a good shepherd.

Someone you can follow.

Like Jesus.

The early disciples, and those who joined them chose to follow Jesus. And to live as he would.

We read in Acts that in the early days of the church, no one wanted for anything. The reason was that those who had much, gave so that those who had less could eat.   Those who could, helped those who couldn‘t.  Those who could work helped those who were too sick to work. 

A few years ago, such people would have been called communists  – those who had much, sharing with those who had nothing, and all property held in common.

But it was just that the followers of Jesus were trying to live as he might have.

Simply put, we have to try and live as Jesus did. We have to share with those less fortunate. We have to see that no brother or sister goes hungry.

We have to try each day to be more and more like him; loving others; putting him before wealth and power; and looking after our neighbour rather than preying on him, or her.  

We have to show the world that we are God’s people,  spreading his word where we can, and encouraging and exhorting those in positions of power to serve rather than to exploit.

And if we are chosen to lead, leading as a shepherd would – protecting and watching over those for which we have been given responsibility.

This might sound idealistic.

Naïve.

People  say  you have to look after yourself first, and last.  The wolves are out in front, winning at every turn. Money makes money.  And that is good for everyone they say, even those who somehow don’t get the chance to share. 

It is good that some people are rich and powerful.?  The system somehow takes care of people?  Isn’t that what they say?

Don’t believe it.

In 1923 at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago, Illinois, eight of the most powerful money magnates in the world gathered for a meeting. These eight, if they combined their resources, and their assets, controlled more money than the US Treasury. The group included such men as Charles Schwab. He was the president of a steel company. Richard Whitney was the president of the New York Stock Exchange, and Arthur Cutton was a wheat speculator. Albert Fall was a presidential cabinet member, personally a very wealthy man. Jesse Livermore was the biggest bear on Wall Street in his generation. Leon Fraser was the president of the International Bank of Settlements. Ivan Krueger headed the largest monopoly.

Quite an impressive group of people wouldn’t you agree? .

But take a look at that same group later in life. Charles Schwab died penniless. Richard Whitney spent the rest of his life serving a prison sentence in Sing Sing. Arthur Cutton, the great wheat speculator became insolvent. Albert Fraser, the president of that big international bank? He committed suicide. Seven of those eight great big money magnates had lives that were disasters before they left planet earth.

Where did they go wrong? 

They went wrong by thinking that what they had and controlled actually belonged to them. That they were deservedly gifted with knowledge and power and had no sense of responsibility towards the thousands who depended on them to make good business, and good moral, decisions.

I guess to be charitable towards them we might characterize them as bad shepherds – very bad shepherds.

Jesus is the good shepherd. The one who cares for his sheep.

In fact dies for his sheep.

That’s right –  dies for his sheep!

Jesus died for his sheep!.

He died to save his sheep from dark sinful, shameful, empty lives, and to give them new life, new hope, new reason to live.

He was the only one who could do that. He was the only one with the right credentials.

He didn’t sin.

He did His Father’s will.

 He put us first and himself last. Everything he did was to benefit others.

He spurned riches, spurned power, lived as an itinerant, slept out in the open.

He was what today is called ” a low overhead” sort of guy. 

He wasn’t making off with the company profits; wasn’t making himself rich and others poor.

No, he put himself last.

As should we!

The Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to Luke 24:13-35

Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened.

While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad.

Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him.

But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place.

Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive.
Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.”

Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared!  Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?”  Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.

As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them.

When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight.

They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!”

Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

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                      A young man, name of Mike, had had a bad year. It began with his mother getting sick, and although they had expected her to recover, she had weakened and died.

Then his sister had called him and told him that she and her husband were getting a divorce.

Then he had been working on the roof, and as he was coming down the ladder, he stepped off  –  two rungs from the ground – fell and broke his ankle.

And to cap it all off, he had heard from the Income Tax department about the Tax return he had so meticulously worked on.  He didn’t get the refund he had been counting on.  He got a letter asking him to send in the back-up to his last two year’s returns, for audit.

So now, he was sitting on a bus, heading for the coast,  to take a couple of week’s holiday, to try and settle his mind, to recuperate, but most of all, to try and put his life back into some sort of order.

He chose a seat near the back of the bus hoping not to be disturbed.  He wanted to read his book, or to sleep. He didn’t want company. He just wanted to be quiet.

But a large man with two suitcases, and a couple of shopping bags, was pushing his way down the aisle, saying “Sorry. Sorry,” to the people he brushed against with all his stuff, and seemed to be heading Mike’s way.

Mike pretended to be asleep,  but he couldn’t help peeking when he heard the grunts and the sighs as this big passenger rammed his stuff into the overhead luggage rack.

The man sat down, right next to Mike.

So Mike closed his eyes again, and tried to sleep. But it was hard. The big guy was taking up more than his fair share of seat, and Mike was feeling a bit claustrophobic.

“I’m Maurice,” Mike heard. Then again, “ I’m Maurice,” and Mike wondered who the guy was talking to, so he opened his eyes, just for a moment,  and he saw the man was talking to him. 

With his hand outstretched, the big guy said again, “Hi, I’m Maurice.”

“Oh, ….Mike,”  he said, reluctantly taking the other’s hand, and receiving a firm, but friendly shake.

Well, to make a long story short, and it was going to be  long, because Maurice was going the whole way, they got into conversation. Mike realized he would have no choice, so he resigned himself to listening to this bore.

Turned out that Maurice wasn’t a bore, really. He had a ready smile, and a look of happy serenity about him. And somehow Mike found himself doing most of the talking. He told Maurice about his terrible year, his own temporary disablement, and the feeling he had that his life had fallen apart.

Maurice appeared to be genuinely interested in what Mike had to say.  He listened quietly, made encouraging noises along the way, with his eyes always on Mike. 

About noon, the bus stopped for passengers to get off to buy refreshments if they wished, but Maurice rummaged in one of his bags, and pulled out two packages of sandwiches. He offered one to Mike. It seemed so natural a gesture that Mike accepted. Maurice pulled two cans of coke out of the same bag and handed one over.

Mike opened the can and was just about to  put it to his mouth when Maurice asked, kind of shyly, “Do you mind if I say grace?”

“Oh….. yes…. go ahead,” said Mike, wondering if he should close his eyes, and if the other passengers would think them crazy or something, but he went along with it.

Maurice gave thanks for the food, and asked God’s blessings on it; then he did a remarkable thing. With eyes still closed, he asked that God would bless his new friend Mike, and help him see beyond his troubles to a brighter and happier life.

And Mike felt moved by that, and although he was a bit embarrassed, he thanked Maurice.

They ate in silence, then Maurice put away the cans and wrappings, and settled down to sleep.

Mike wanted to ask Maurice about himself.  He felt  bad that he had seemed to be the only one talking.

But the big guy’s eyes were closed, and there was nothing for it but to try and sleep himself. There would be plenty of time to talk to Maurice before  they got off the bus when they reached the coast.

He dropped off right away.

In what seemed like a only second later, he was awakened by the bus driver shaking him, and saying, “We are here. Time to get off.”

Mike looked around and the bus was empty, except for him and the driver.  All the passengers, including his new friend Maurice, had disembarked.

He got up, took his bag and got off the bus.

The sun was shining. He could smell the sea. He felt excited, and  relaxed, all at the same time. He squared his shoulders. His mind was at ease. It  was as if he had left the darkness of his life behind, at home. As if a burden had been lifted.

He felt ….better….healed?

It seems to me that is how we meet Jesus – he comes to us in our life’s journey. He comes to us when  we need him most. Like a friend he drops in for a short while. It is like being with someone who really understands you.

He is there for a while, as we need him, then slips off, leaving us to try it on our own.

To see what we can make of it.

That’s what happened on the road to Emmaus, isn’t it? The two men – we read that they were disciples – were walking along, depressed, eyes downcast, when a man fell into step with them,  kind of joining them on the road.  

He listened for a while as they told him of their sorrows, and their feelings of defeat  – they  had expected something else of their rabbi, Jesus. They had thought he would bring about a transformation of Israel, and restore the old glory. Isn’t that what the scriptures had foretold?

But this stranger told them about the prophets, and explained to them how the Messiah would come, and would be rejected by his own people, and would be mistreated, and would have to die on a tree, but would rise again, and bring another kind of glory to the world.

This Messiah would live and act and be, in a way that glorified God.

And would enable others to glorify God.

(How much better it would have been throughout history if people, instead of seeking to glorify their country, or their clan, or tribe, had instead been about glorifying God? )

The two travelers didn’t recognize the stranger as Jesus until he broke bread with them.

But they had been helped on their journey, not the physical journey – although his presence must have made the seven mile walk from Jerusalem less tedious – but in their life’s journey, which was soon to include going out into the world and telling people about their Lord.

And they would continue to be helped on their life’s journey by the spirit of Christ within them.

Then he was gone.

He would be always within call – within prayer – as it were – he had always promised that – but they were now to take their knowledge of him,  and his teachings, and the example of his life, and help bring others to know him as they knew him

Help others to want to be more like Jesus.

It wasn’t quite their time yet, of course.  They were still to receive the Holy Spirit; still to be energized, if you like;  still to be empowered to do the big job that Jesus had  given them.

But they would always remember this time, the time they spent with Jesus, on the road to Emmaus.  They had met their Lord, again –  a man declared dead, buried, and supposed to be forgotten.

They had witnessed Christ alive. The Risen Christ.

They could say without doubt, and they did say it, on their return to Jerusalem, “He lives! “He lives.”

Meanwhile, back at the seaside, Mike, breathing the sea air, felt renewed. He had met Christ. Living in his erstwhile friend, Maurice.

The two disciples who had met Jesus on that dusty road, along with the other disciples, were not given rules to live by. If you remember, Jesus had merely said, “Love others as I have loved you.”

And they would try to be like him, live like him. In fact some of them went to their deaths, like him.   But by his example, they had also learned how to shoulder another’s burden. 

The  way Maurice had shouldered Mike’s burden.

There are a few lessons for us here, aren’t there?

One is that we ought to try and live as Jesus did.

Another is that we should be ready to share someone else’s burden.

Another is that we should be open to finding Jesus in others, and in ourselves….

…..and that Jesus comes to us, in whatever guise, when we most need him. 

And again, he may just put us on the same road as someone else – someone who needs us to be Jesus.   

See, it’s not all taking, nor is it all giving. And that’s a good job, because there are times when we need help and there are times when we can give help.

And he seems to put us in the right place at the right time, as either giver, or receiver, of his blessings.

A Canadian soldier, in London at the end of the war, walking among the bombed-out ruins, was struck by the number of orphan children living there.   Street kids in what was left of the streets.

He came to an area where a few shops were still standing, and  smelled the unmistakable aroma of fresh baked bread.  There was a bakery shop, and there was  a young boy, tattered and mucky, with his face pressed against the bakery window.  The glass was steamy from the heat of the ovens. And that smell of freshly baked bread wafted out through the open door. 

The boy saw the baker bring a tray of freshly baked confections and place them in a glass display case in the window. He sighed loudly, and rubbed his empty stomach.

The soldier, on an impulse went over to the urchin and asked him, “Would you like one of those?”

“ I really would, mister.”

So he went in and bought a dozen, came out and gave the bag to the boy.

As he walked away, the little boy caught up with him, grabbed his sleeve, and as the soldier turned to see what was up, asked, “Are you God?”

At that moment, at that time, in that little boy’s life, that Canadian soldier was God, wasn’t he?

He was doing what God would have wanted him to do, anyway.

Wasn’t he?

And that’s the whole point, isn’t it?

Amen.