Connected Community Through Christ

There’s something significant about the interaction Jesus has on the road to Emmaus with His disciples. Jesus, being fully God and fully man, recently resurrected.

Though we preach so often about the dichotomy of Jesus, as fully human and fully God, once He’s resurrected, His human aspect can begin to be pushed aside in comparison to the spectacular miracle of being brought back to life as Christ-God. In fact, often after we say “He is Risen!” on Easter Sunday, we begin to shift to acknowledge Jesus as only God in the narrative.

We can only speculate on how Jesus felt, but we know from His prayer in the garden of Gethsemane, He asked for His cup to be taken away. He spent time with His friends and His community on the nights leading up to His crucifixion. 

How human, to be afraid and terrified of what might be happening. How human to beg God for a different outcome; and how human to seek out community and companionship after something terrifying and so victorious happens like death and resurrection.

Do we overlook normalcy in our relationship with Jesus, only choosing to believe when it is extraordinary? Could it be, that often what we need is more mundane than a miracle? Could it also be that God works through our community, family & friends. When we feel like we don’t recognize God walking with us, is it because we’re looking for something divine instead of recognizing the God-given connections in our lives as a God’s work in our lives?

By modelling Jesus’s life, what do His actions on the road to Emmaus teach us about God’s part to play in great tragedy and greater victories? Is there maybe something holy about the support systems and people God has placed in our lives that we fail to recognize as Jesus because we’re only expecting the Divine?

Connecting to Your Faith:

Even Jesus relied on His friends. After He died and conquered death, He sought out friends who wouldn’t identify Him as “The Resurrected Christ.” He sought out normalcy & travel with company and in turn, Christ was walking with those Disciples through an act of companionship, not through divinity or miracle. 

Are there people in your life who help you connect with your faith? Whether it be through their support, insight wisdom or even their physical work. Whose presence in your life can you identify as God’s aid and presence in your life? Send them a message today and tell them how they’ve helped you in your walk with God.  God often is seen connecting us to Christ through our community, we just have to remember to look for the mundane as well as the divine to fully grasp His presence in our lives.