Sourced from Mucky Paws
4th may 2011
Roddy Hamilton

This was originally designed for two readers, so, if you find yourself alone, perhaps you might find another to read it with, give them a call and read it together?

How did we not see??
Why did it take so long to recognise him, the man who sat with the leper?and spoke to him, and touched his wounds, and spoke about healing, a healing that was more than making him better but restored him to family and community, reborn, reborn, reborn…

…reborn, reborn like Jairus’ daughter, lying dead in her room,
her father out searching for a miracle, and finding Jesus,
who, in heaven’s own time,
sat quietly with her,
and called her back into life, into life, into life…

…into a life, into a life that was now lived generously
for Zacchaeus repaid all those he had taken from.
From tree climber to social climber,
outcast to newly cast,
forgiven and accepted
by grace as Jesus ate with him, with him, with him…

…with him, with him, it was always an adventure
that took us to the borders of country, culture and faith,
where we met people on the edge
we weren’t meant to speak to,
but he did, the woman at the well,
who offered to draw water for him,
as he offered living water instead, instead, instead…

…instead, instead of going to the temple for prayer,
he threw the tables,
freed the doves, rolled the coins,
and broke the moneychangers.
This was the kind of prayer we all wanted!
Except, we used words, he used actions, actions, actions…

…actions, actions speak louder than words,
and as he took the bread,
and blessed it and broke it,
sparks flew,
light escaped,
heaven erupted in a thousand shards
as in a holy explosion, we saw him, saw him, saw him…

…saw him, saw him among us
and we wondered about a bread
that could contain such a miracle,
and knew it wasn’t the bread,
(that was just crumbs),
it was in the telling of the story,
for in sharing it
we began to trust these stories once more,
trust the truth they contained,
and in our believing,
we saw him once more, once more, once more…

…once more, once more, he said: share the bread,
it holds the story of Jesus,
and whenever you do this,do this in remembrance
of him.

Sourced from Spill The Beans Issue 34
Spillthebeans.org.uk

The Emmaus Road they call it.

It is the road from Jerusalem to a village called Emmaus,
a journey of about 7 miles.

If you walked it the other way around
you could call it the Jerusalem Road,
but no-one ever does.

Something happened on that road
a long time ago that made it famous.

Two travellers walked along it
one Spring night
and a third traveller joined them.

The two travellers were sad.
A friend of theirs had just died.
They were missing him.
The traveller who joined them was a stranger to them.
He seemed to be a preacher…
a story teller…
a teacher…

As they walked together
they talked about life and its meaning,
about the things that were important to them.
They listened to each other.
They asked each other questions.
Sometimes they smiled.
Sometimes they nodded.
Sometimes they struggled with their hopes and fears.

When they got near to Emmaus
the stranger walked ahead of them
as if he meant to walk on,
but this was their home
and they wanted to invite him in.

And the stranger stayed
and they shared each other’s food.
And he was a stranger no longer.
He was their friend.

They say
that the two travellers were friends of Jesus.
And the evening of their journey
was the evening of the day
that Jesus had risen from the dead.

And they also say
that when the meal was finished
the two travellers hurried back
those seven long miles to Jerusalem
to share their story:
the story of the road to Emmaus
and of Jesus who they recognised
in the sharing of bread.

Sourced from Spill The Beans Issue 34
Spillthebeans.org.uk

Lord God,
each of us walks our own Emmaus Road.
Some seem to have an easy route,
for others it is a bumpy, twisty, uneven road.
And so for them we pray this day.

For those who are ill and
see no end in sight for their pain,
we pray for healing
and for a sense that you are there with them.

For those who face financial difficulties
and see no end to their problems
we pray for solutions
and for a sense that you are there with them

For those who struggle to put food on the table
and see no end date to their empty cupboards
we pray for fairness
and a sense that you are there with them.

For those who are caring for loved ones
and see no end to their fatigue
we pray for rest
and a sense that you are there with them.

For those who struggle
with the daily juggle of responsibilities
and see no end to their merry-go-round life,
we pray for moments of stillness
and a sense that you are there with them.

Lord, so many people,
so many challenges,
it is often difficult for us to know where to begin.
Help us to take each situation as it comes,
to know what the priorities are,
to work out the ways in which we can help.
Help us to stick to your path of righteousness,
justice and peace,
in all we say and do.

Lord, hear our prayers.

Amen