Easter Wednesday - April 27, 2011 

A Meditation from Henri Nouwen

Two of the disciples of Jesus were on their way to a village called Emmaus... Jesus himself came up and walked by their side; but something prevented them from recognizing him... But while he was with them at table he took bread and said the blessing; ...and their eyes were opened and the recognized him. ...They said to each other 'did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us...?'. (Luke 24)  

The resurrection stories reveal the always-present tension between coming and leaving, intimacy and distance, holding and letting go, at-homeness and mission, presence and absence. We face that tension every day. It puts us on the journey to the full realization of the promise given to us.

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Jesus can find us in our dead ends...

Just as Jesus found the disciples fishing after his resurrection, 

Jesus comes to us in our dead ends. Jesus can find us, 

even when we’ve tucked ourselves away, in a secluded spot — 

feeling ordinary and empty.  

~Bonnie Gray 

Read John 21 then Selah: Pause and consider this:

• What are your seeming "dead ends"?

• In what ways are you tucking yourself away - secluding yourself for protection?

• In what ways are you feeling ordinary and empty?

Take 3-5 minutes to ask God, "Lord, will you give me your perspective on these places of "stuckness" and "emptiness" in me. How do you feel now, as you emerge from opening your heart to God in this space?

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