That First Day (a Steve Orr Lectionary reflection)

Ever have one of those days? Seems like it's lasted a week?

We had one of those. At the end of that very long day we were discussing something that, to my mind, had happened several days before. Turns out it had occurred just that morning.

Our brains are spring-loaded to organize; doesn't matter if it's numbers, names on a list, articles arranged across a space, or, as in this case, events occurring over a timeframe. While our brains are aware of cause and effect, and that events happening serially may be related, there is also a sort of standard-events-in-a-time-period thing. That is, our brains become accustomed to, and sort of depend on, a "usual" number of events in a day.

We humans have patterns.

I doubt anyone is shocked to learn that our behaviors tend to fall into patterns. I think the surprise, at least for me, is to realize just how much our thinking mechanism depends on patterns. But, once you realize it ... well, it's not much of a stretch to accept that sometimes there's just so much happening, our brains have trouble believing it all happened the same day.

And that brings me to the Luke passage in this week's Lectionary scriptures. It's a slice out of chapter 24 usually referred to as, "The Road to Emmaus." Most of us are familiar with the story: two men on the way to the village of Emmaus meet-but-don't-recognize Jesus and He teaches them about the Messiah as they walk along. They finally recognize Him just as He disappears. The two men immediately return to Jerusalem and tell "the eleven and their companions" all that transpired.

And that's the end of the story ... or is it?

When I re-read the selection, I noticed it opens with the words, "Now on that same day...." I don't know about you, but I cannot resist following up on that kind of an opening, so I looked at the first 12 verses in chapter 24. You know what I found? The resurrection story ... the women coming to the tomb, the stone rolled away, the missing body, the angelic encounter, the women running to tell the Apostles and the other disciples (who disbelieve the women), Peter running to the tomb.

"...on that same day..."

I couldn't leave it alone. I had to know what happened, later, on that same day. You know what I found in verse 36? “While they were saying these things, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you.'” (New English Translation)‬‬

Do you see it?

On Sunday morning, Jesus rose from the dead. Then, through the women disciples who went to the tomb, the others learned of the resurrection. Then, Jesus encountered two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus, taught them about Himself from the scriptures, and disappeared as they were about to eat. Then, the two men rushed back to Jerusalem and told the disciples their story. THEN, just as they finished their tale, Jesus appeared to everyone in the room and, just to assure them He was not a ghost, ate some of their fish.

Whew! All of that in one day.

Until I read through Luke's description of those events, I've always thought of them as discrete; that is, separate things that actually happened on different days, maybe even weeks apart.

For me, it changes my understanding. Suddenly, I have a whole new appreciation for the love God has for us. Rather than allow His disciples to suffer and doubt even one day longer than was necessary, Jesus met them: at the tomb, on the road, in the upper room.

There were plenty of challenges coming their way in the weeks, months, and years to follow. But, that first day, He wanted them to know He was alive and well; a real, living person who eats fish! He knew they were going to need to have this certainty about His resurrection as they moved along into their individual futures.

And that is for us, too. Jesus wants us to enjoy that same "first day" certainty He brought to those original disciples.

No matter how full your day, even if it's so full you might get a little confused about when it all occurred, Jesus is in it with you ... today.
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Third Sunday of Easter (April 30, 2017)
First reading
Acts 2:14a, 36-41
Psalm
Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19
Second reading
1 Peter 1:17-23
Gospel
Luke 24:13-35
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I hope you can join us at Lectionary Breakfast Friday morning. Come at 8:00 to the Waco "Egg and I" restaurant. Eat, laugh, read, pray, discuss until 9:00-ish. You'll be glad you gathered with us to break bread, and you'll be fortified for whatever the day may bring your way.

Blessings,
Steve