Luke 24:13-17: a reflection

13Behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was sixty stadia from Jerusalem. 14They talked with each other about all of these things which had happened. 15While they talked and questioned together, Jesus himself came near, and went with them. 16But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17He said to them, “What are you talking about as you walk, and are sad?”

As two disciples walk along, talking sadly of all that has happened, Jesus himself draws near and walks with them, and gently invites them to tell him what makes them so sad. While they talked and questioned together, the account says, Jesus himself came near, and went with them. And he said, what are you talking about as you walk, and are sad? The disciples were downcast, walking and talking over their grief and confusion. And Jesus does not stay away until they have it figured out; he draws near, walks with them in their sadness, and asks them, gently, to tell him what troubles them, drawing out their sorrow so they can pour it out to him. This shows Christ drawing near and inviting us to tell him what makes us sad. Christ draws near and invites you to tell him what makes you sad. Christ walks with us in our sadness, asking after our sorrow. You may pour out your grief and confusion to the Christ who asks. Christ does not wait until you have it figured out to draw near.

Notice what Jesus does as the sad disciples walk along. They were downcast, walking to Emmaus, talking and questioning together about all that had happened, the crucifixion of the one they had hoped in, their grief and confusion. And into this, Jesus himself draws near and walks with them, though they do not yet recognize him. And his first word to them is not a rebuke or a lesson, but a gentle, inviting question: what are you talking about as you walk, and are sad? He invites them to tell him, to pour out what is troubling them, to bring their sadness into words before him. This holds a tender comfort. When we are downcast, walking through our own grief and confusion, talking over our troubles, Christ is not distant, waiting until we have composed ourselves or figured everything out. He draws near, and walks with us in our sadness; and he invites us, gently, to tell him what makes us sad, to pour out our grief and confusion to him. We do not have to hide our sadness from Christ or wait until it is resolved; he asks after it, inviting us to bring it to him. This is an invitation to honest prayer in our sorrow: to tell Christ, who draws near and asks, what makes us sad, pouring out our grief and confusion to him. We do well to bring our sadness to the Christ who draws near and invites us to tell him what troubles us. Bring your sadness to Christ, who draws near and invites you to tell him. Christ walks with you in your grief and asks after your sorrow. Do not hide your sadness or wait until it is resolved; pour it out to him. Christ draws near in your sorrow before you have it figured out.

That is worth taking to heart, for Christ draws near and invites us to tell him what makes us sad, and we do well to pour out our sorrow to him, as he asked the downcast disciples. We can imagine we must hide our sadness or resolve it before coming to Christ; but he drew near to the sad disciples and gently asked what troubled them. Pour it out. When you are downcast and walking through grief, remember that Christ draws near and invites you to tell him; pour out your sadness to him rather than hiding it. Bring your sadness to Christ, who draws near and walks with you and gently invites you to tell him what troubles you, as two disciples walked along talking sadly of all that had happened, and Jesus himself drew near and walked with them and asked what they were talking about as they walked and were sad; for the disciples were downcast, talking over their grief and confusion, and Jesus does not stay away until they have it figured out but draws near, walks with them in their sadness, and asks them gently to tell him what troubles them, drawing out their sorrow so they can pour it out to him, which holds a tender comfort, that when we are downcast and walking through our grief and confusion Christ is not distant waiting until we have composed ourselves or figured everything out but draws near and walks with us in our sadness and invites us gently to tell him what makes us sad, so that we do not have to hide our sadness from Christ or wait until it is resolved but can bring it to him who asks after it, an invitation to honest prayer in our sorrow, to tell Christ who draws near and asks what makes us sad, and we do well to bring our sadness to him.

Lord Jesus, as two disciples walk along, talking sadly of all that has happened, you yourself draw near and walk with them, and gently invite them to tell you what makes them so sad. While they talked and questioned together, the account says, Jesus himself came near, and went with them. And he said, what are you talking about as you walk, and are sad? The disciples were downcast, walking and talking over their grief and confusion. And you do not stay away until they have it figured out; you draw near, walk with them in their sadness, and ask them, gently, to tell you what troubles them, drawing out their sorrow so they can pour it out to you. Show me what you do as the sad disciples walk along. They were downcast, talking and questioning together about all that had happened, their grief and confusion. And into this, you yourself draw near and walk with them, though they do not yet recognize you. And your first word to them is not a rebuke or a lesson, but a gentle, inviting question: what are you talking about as you walk, and are sad? You invite them to tell you, to pour out what is troubling them, to bring their sadness into words before you. This holds a tender comfort. When I am downcast, walking through my own grief and confusion, talking over my troubles, you are not distant, waiting until I have composed myself or figured everything out. You draw near, and walk with me in my sadness; and you invite me, gently, to tell you what makes me sad, to pour out my grief and confusion to you. I do not have to hide my sadness from you or wait until it is resolved; you ask after it, inviting me to bring it to you. Take that to my heart. When I am downcast and walking through grief, keep me from hiding my sadness or waiting until it is resolved; help me remember that you draw near, Lord, and walk with me and gently invite me to tell you what troubles me, and help me pour out my sadness to you who ask after it.