We had hoped… These words are the words uttered by Cleopas on the road to Emmaus. Cleopas and his companion were walking on the road to Emmaus. They had heard from the women and the disciples that went to the tomb after the women’s declaration that Jesus was not there and an angel said he was alive. In the story Jesus meets them on the road, but like many resurrection appearances they don’t realize it is him at first. He asks them what they are talking about. Their response is both shock and honesty. First they can’t believe that someone hasn’t heard what just happened in Jerusalem to Jesus. They recount the crucifixion and then say “We had hoped he would be the one to redeem Israel.” They go on to share what the women have proclaimed. Clearly they don’t know what to think or believe.
I love this story for many reasons. I have always appreciated how Jesus just shows up, yes at first as a stranger, in the midst of their journey, in the midst of their despair, grief, and fear he joins them. Then Jesus listens. He lets them name what has happened, what they were experiencing, and what they had hoped for.
We had hoped…
Many of us have experienced high expectations and plans not working out. We had hoped for a different diagnosis; We had hoped that a relationship would work out; We had hoped this semester would have been different; We had hoped for a different grade; We had hoped we would have a job after graduation lined up. We understand what it means to say “We had hoped…”
Last week, Debbie Thomas spoke during the Institute of Liturgical Studies on the topic of preaching lament. She talked about the importance of naming lament. Throughout scriptures we hear people lament over and over, crying out to God. Yet, I think sometimes there is a message that people of faith somehow “shouldn’t” lament, that they are supposed to be the ones that see the “silver lining” or “joy” each day. The truth is, faith isn’t about always presenting a “happy life.” I believe faith is believing in a God that can handle our joy but who can also handle our lament. That we trust God enough to be able to hear our cries, our anger, and our grief and meet us in that place on our journey. When we don’t do this we can numb ourselves to try not to feel it and create a superficial faith. After all, in the Bible there is the book of Lamentations. Yes, an entire section of the Bible is dedicated to naming lament. The psalms also are filled with people crying out to God. A faithful journey includes honesty about your full human experience. Hope isn’t about denial of real loss, frustrations, and lament. Thomas reminded us that preaching hope is not about finding resolution, but about finding God in the midst of the brokenness. That God is always at work, even in the moment of death like Good Friday and the tension and limbo of Silent Saturday. God is at work through the small mustard seeds of life, and we can find hope in those small reminders of God’s presence.
So, as we look at hope, it’s not just happy sunshine optimism that everything is going to be perfect and okay. When we truly look at hope, it tends to show up when we least expect it. It tends to show up when we actually feel a little hopeless, when we wonder what that future might hold, when our world has been turned upside down, when the one that we believed in has been taken from us, it shows up. Walking next to us. It shows up and breaks bread and reveals a risen Christ that doesn’t deny the pain and the suffering and the frustrations of this world. It shows up in the midst of brokenness and says that I am a God that doesn’t stop showing up.
Each semester the Christian Leadership and Formation program holds an overnight retreat. One activity that students have come to request is an “Emmaus Walk.” It’s a time where they walk with another individual and share about what has been going on in their lives. Through those conversations they often become aware of God’s presence in their life and where God has been at work. Throughout Lent, over 140 faculty, staff, and students were paired up to participate in Lenten Faith Partners, meeting each week of classes during Lent for a one-on-one guided conversation. In the evaluations after, many mentioned how this time helped them pause and notice the presence of God in their life. We are called to walk with one another on our journeys of faith. And when we do, we often see how God shows up and walks with us.
In the Emmaus story when Cleopas and his companion arrive at the village that they were journeying to, they insist that the stranger stay with them. They offer hospitality to the stranger, and when the bread is broken, their eyes are opened and they see it is Jesus. As we journey together, we trust that the Risen Christ meets us and journeys with us, even when we don’t see it. We can continue to hope in a God that is active in the smallest of mustard seeds and in the midst of our joys, but also in the midst of our laments.
– Deaconess Kristin Lewis
Program Coordinator for Christian Leadership & Formation
Institute for Leadership and Service
