{"id":6465,"date":"2021-01-16T08:00:26","date_gmt":"2021-01-16T00:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=6465"},"modified":"2021-10-06T04:41:08","modified_gmt":"2021-10-05T20:41:08","slug":"264-emmaus-accompanying-those-who-mourn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=6465","title":{"rendered":"264. Emmaus: Accompanying Those Who Mourn"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong><sup>13\u00a0<\/sup>Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem,\u00a0<sup>14\u00a0<\/sup>and talking with each other about all these things that had happened.\u00a0<sup>15\u00a0<\/sup>While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them,\u00a0<sup>16\u00a0<\/sup>but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.\u00a0<sup>17\u00a0<\/sup>And he said to them, \u201cWhat are you discussing with each other while you walk along?\u201d They stood still, looking sad<\/strong>. <span style=\"color: #000000;\">[<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Luke 24:12-17<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">, <em>NRSV<\/em>]<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_6466\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6466\" style=\"width: 873px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/The-Walk-of-Grief-artist-unknown.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-6466\" src=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/The-Walk-of-Grief-artist-unknown.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"873\" height=\"491\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-6466\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"font-size: 15px; color: #000000;\">The Walk of Grief (artist unknown)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The seven-mile journey home to Emmaus undertaken by the two dispirited disciples is a long walk in disappointment and grief. Henri Nouwen helps us imagine and capture well the sentiment of the two sufferers on the road:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201c<em>Two people are walking together. You can see from the way they walk that they are not happy. Their bodies are bent over, their faces are downcast, their movements slow. They do not look at each other. Once in a while they utter a word, but their words are not directed to each other. They vanish in the air as useless sounds. Although they follow the path on which they walk, they seem to have no goal. They return to their home, but their home is no longer home. They simply have no other place to go. Home has become emptiness, disillusionment, despair\u201d [Henri Nouwen, <u>Burning Hearts<\/u>, p.23]<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The men had been following Jesus of Nazareth. They had heard him speak about the love of God whom he told them to daily pray to as Father, Abba. They had heard his message of the kingdom of God on earth as in heaven, and the love we need to extend to others. Life would be so beautiful; the world would be a good place to live in if people would only love each other, and show mercy and compassion to others. They had witnessed his powerful deeds, and witnessed or heard about him raising up from the dead the son of the widow of Nain, the little Tabitha, and Lazarus. They had seen some of his miraculous healings and were present when he multiplied the bread and fish for thousands. They were sure that Jesus was the Messiah.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Thoroughly defeated as they are in their hopes and expectations by Jesus\u2019 death, they do not walk tall, their heads are not held high, and their chests are not puffed up in festive triumph and joy. Instead, they look thoroughly dejected, with heads downcast and bodies bent towards the ground. They cut a picture which suggests that their energies are all but sapped. They are in grief.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This road of grief can be a reality that falls on anybody at any stage of one\u2019s life. We all experience some form of \u201closs\u201d at different points in life. It is all the more painful when the loss is severe and least expected. Most people\u2019s lives go well most of the time. They are generally happy and soberly content, without acting over their heads in giddy celebrations most of the time. Children\u2019s education and future are taken care of, and their own retirement plan seems well in place. But suddenly, something unforeseen happens, something tragic. It is like the sky has collapsed and fallen on them. The loss is great and sudden. Grief sets in over this unexpected loss. In the COVID-19 pandemic, official figures on those tested positive worldwide have surpassed 92 million, while currently active cases number around 25 million. More than 67 million people have recovered from infection, but the virus leaves permanent damages to the human body even after recovery. The number of deaths is pushing towards 2 million worldwide, many of whom were young and many even left behind young families. Everything changed for them and their families who mourn their sudden demise. When tragedies strike, endless questions accompany people who grieve: Why did this happen to us? What did we do to deserve this? \u2026 Where is God?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Luke\u2019s narrative on the walk to Emmaus speaks first and foremost to such tragic human losses, and what Christ would do for those who mourn. With empathy, the Risen Jesus walks with these two hurting disciples. Empathy is a sign of a true leader who, in this case, knows better where the two followers ought to be going better than they do and does something about it. Empathy is a strong element in Luke\u2019s Gospel, and it stands out again early in the Emmaus story.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Into that dispirited company of two grieving bodies on the road, a stranger inserts himself. But this is Jesus the Lord, the Son of God, who comes as a cordial for tired hearts, for he has said: \u201cCome to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest\u201d (Matthew 11:28). In doing so, he sets the prime example for the Christian work of compassion and empathy. In the best possible Christian tradition which is currently seen most prominently in the life example of Pope Francis, Christians minister by walking life\u2019s journey with people who are hurting, conversing sincerely with them, patiently listening to their stories, offering company and consolation, friendship and solidarity. As Jesus walks with the two hurting disciples, he seeks to put himself in their shoes, to understand their emotional state, and to feel what they feel in their lives, with their frame of reference.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The unspoken background bears repeating. In following Jesus of Nazareth, these two disciples, like so many others who have already found him inspiring, have experienced a serious change in their own lives. To begin with, to follow Jesus is to interrupt one\u2019s normal routines because Jesus was an itinerant preacher who preferred to travel from village to village to preach the kingdom of God (Mark 1:15). Yet they persisted in following Jesus because of a special pay-off from which it was so difficult to divest oneself, and that is, the daily discovery of a whole new vision in life. In a way that brought fresh vitality to every aspect of their existence, they have discovered such new dimensions to their ordinary everyday activities that they could experience the reality of forgiveness, healing, and love. In simple everyday lives, Jesus\u2019 words and actions embodied great power that touched the very core of their humanity. With Jesus, life had become something worth living. He had been the human face of God, in whom alone the human hearts could find rest.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">But now, he is dead. Even more, he died an acutely painful and humiliating death after extreme violence and hatred were committed against him. The One held in high esteem by God and humans was reduced to a common criminal, crucified between two common criminals outside the city gates. He had been reduced to nothing, and worse. They had lost that unique Jesus of Nazareth. In losing Jesus, they felt lost. They found themselves in the dark pit of human travail \u2013 the sense of \u201clostness\u201d \u2013 living aimlessly, hopelessly, in a void. That void is acute spiritual emptiness. It is a depressing spiritual darkness.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Nouwen incisively describes human \u201clostness\u201d:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201c\u2026 nobody can escape agonizing losses that are part of our everyday existence \u2013 the loss of our dreams. We had thought so long of ourselves as successful, liked, and deeply loved. We had hoped for a life of generosity, service, and self-sacrifice. We had planned to be forgiving, caring, and always gentle people. We had a vision of ourselves as reconcilers and peacemakers. But somehow \u2013 we aren\u2019t even sure of what happened \u2013 we lost our dreams. We became worrying, anxious people clinging to the few things we had collected and exchanging with one another news of the political, social, and ecclesiastical scandals of the day. It is this lost of spirit that is often the hardest to acknowledge and most difficult to confess.\u201d [pp.25-26]<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Those women are doing what Jesus wants to see them do who sit with a grieving widow, holding her hands at the funeral wake, silently shedding tears together with her. Of importance is not talking much, but just being with her, and comforting her by their presence. This is ministry of compassion at its best, where empathy is conveyed, not necessarily by many words, but by warming hearts and growing faith.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The apex of all the losses, however, is occupied by the loss of faith. Without faith, we do not \u201csee\u201d the resurrected Lord and cannot recognize him when he joins our company. Without faith, we speak like \u201cfoolish men\u201d. Without faith, we are \u201cslow of heart\u201d to believe what the prophets of old had already spoken about Jesus, the Suffering-Servant of God.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In the midst of all this pain of lostness, Christians yearn from deep within their hearts for the gentle and consoling voice that assures them: \u201cBlessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted\u201d (Matthew 5:4); \u201cBlessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh\u201d (Luke 6:21). And so in the midst of tears and heart-pains, a relief comes. The Lord is there in person, or vicariously represented by us, his hands and feet. The journey that starts with pain and lostness, will end with burning hearts. In empathy, Jesus came to those who mourn; in empathy, we are to do the same.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Common in our own community are those saintly blessed women, doing what Jesus wants to see them do, who sit with a grieving widow, holding her hands at the funeral wake, silently shedding tears together with her. Of importance is not talking much, but just being with the one going through a devastating loss, and by their presence and gentle touch comforting her. This is ministry of compassion in true and ordinary best, where empathy is conveyed, not necessarily by many words, but by warming hearts, growing faith, and preserving hope.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Emmaus gives us an itinerary of faith. It starts with pain. The road does not end in hopelessness. From pain, we can get to faith and hope. But we need help. The Resurrected Lord shows the urgency and the way to accompany people who are hurting.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Copyright \u00a9 Dr. Jeffrey &amp; Angie Goh, January 2021. All rights reserved.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">You are most welcome to respond to this post. Email your comments to <strong><u><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"mailto:jeffangiegoh@gmail.com\">jeffangiegoh@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/u><\/strong> You can also be dialogue partners in this <em>Ephphatha Coffee-Corner Ministry<\/em> by sending us questions for discussion.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>13\u00a0Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem,\u00a014\u00a0and talking with each other about all these things that had happened.\u00a015\u00a0While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them,\u00a016\u00a0but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.\u00a017\u00a0And he said to them, <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=6465\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Dr. Jeffrey &amp; Angie Goh","author_link":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?author=1"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?cat=1\" rel=\"category\">From Our Perspective<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"13\u00a0Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem,\u00a014\u00a0and talking with each other about all these things that had happened.\u00a015\u00a0While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them,\u00a016\u00a0but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.\u00a017\u00a0And he said to them,&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6465"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6465"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6465\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6667,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6465\/revisions\/6667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}