The Road to Emmaus

Denis McBride’s “The Road to Emmaus and Beyond: A Journey from Easter to Pentecost” is a great reflection based on the Luke 24 story of the two weary crest-fallen disciples making their way home from Jerusalem to Emmaus. The bottom had fallen out of their world as all their hopes had been dashed. As McBride says: “Their hopes are in the past perfect tense: it is not only the body of Jesus that has been buried, but their hope in Jesus has been entombed as well. …. Their hope that Jesus would prove to be the awaited messiah is now cancelled by their experience of what has happened to him. Their hope has been reluctantly laid down in the tomb, beside the dead body of Jesus.” However, they had a lot to learn, new insights to gain. McBride again: “Their experience of the Lord sends them out of doors, on mission. They do not stay in Emmaus to build a monument to the place where they met the Lord: their experience compels them to share it with others as good news.” But they were desperate to share what had happened. This is indeed a story of mission. “At the heart of their experience there is an imperative to mission: to hand over their experience as good news to others. They do not hoard the revelation of Christ because it is not something that has been given to them for their exclusive benefit. Seeing the Lord is a dismissal for ministry. So they do not try to build a booth to mark the spot, thereby associating the presence of the Lord with one particular place; that presence has now become part of their experience and it is their interior change which marks the spot.” So, it is good for us to note with McBride: “In that sense Emmaus is not just one place in history; Emmaus is wherever the community gather to hold holy the memory of Jesus and break bread together in his name.”

Visiting South Sudan

Imagine visiting South Sudan together with Pope Francis and the Archbishop of Canterbury. I recently was invited to a Presbytery of Clyde event at Paisley Abbey (pictured) where the guest speaker, Revd Dr Iain Greenshields, the current Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, gave the assembled company of Presbytery representatives and ecumenical and interfaith guests insights into just that. The idea began when the government of South Sudan (not Sudan, which is one of the countries that borders South Sudan) invited the Pope to visit the country on a pilgrimage for peace and unity. The Pope wanted to accept the invitation, but was also keen to model good practice in line with the invitation that had been offered. Aware that the majority Christian population included significant numbers of both Anglicans and Presbyterians, alongside Catholics, he invited the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland to join him for the visit. So, Iain told us of a fascinating trip meeting the top officials of South Sudan, alongside the Pope and the Archbishop, and with a clear opportunity, and even invitation, to speak a message of unity. He told how in their final message to the government Justin Welby and he were encouraged to repeat the Pope’s own message of service, peace and unity. A couple of interesting personal notes: my last time in Paisley Abbey was a little over 50 years ago, attending my last school service as a pupil of Paisley Grammar School; and it was good to have a brief conversation with the Abbey’s current locum minister, Revd. Jim Gibson. Jim and I were good friends and fellow classmates at the University of Glasgow’s Faculty of Divinity until we graduated – in 1977!

Brother Lawrence and Zen

“Brother Lawrence: A Christian Zen Master” is a fascinating collection of insights, bringing together the Christian tradition, by citing Brother Lawrence, and that of Buddhism, offering similar insights from a number of Buddhist teachers. The book begins with a reminder that “Zen itself is not a religion but a technique, a practice that can be applied to any religious tradition. However, it grew out of Buddhism, and it has always fit most comfortably within the Buddhist faith.” However, the book also recognises how well this fits with the way that Brother Lawrence lived. “At its heart, Brother Lawrence’s practice was simply Zen—a focus on the present moment in order to wake up, to be able to see the Light. This way of living drew not only the attention of church leaders during his day; down through the centuries, it has continued to draw the attention of those who see in Brother Lawrence’s life a way of relating to God that Christianity has often neglected. Other mystics, including Meister Eckhart and Teresa of Avila, might be able to explain this in greater detail in their writing; Brother Lawrence simply lived it.” The book adds “Zen asks us to let go of our focus on the ego, to empty ourselves of our selfish attachments, to destroy our mental constructs, and simply be present to the light. Not so very different from Christ’s call to die to ourselves so that we may be born again!” There is certainly loads of parallel wisdom from both traditions cited in this insightful book. Naturally, I identified most with the quotations (updated in language) from Brother Lawrence and the Christian tradition, but it was easy to recognise the many ways in which Buddhism offers similar messages. A final quote – “Don’t get tired of doing little things for the love of God. The size of our task matters not at all, only the love with which we do it.”

Brother Lawrence

I recently read – or reread – Brother Lawrence’s “The Practice of the Presence of God”, and enjoyed the chance to reflect on his gentle reminders of the value of just being with God and recognising that fact. As he says: “we do not always have to be in church to be with God. We may make an oratory of our heart so we can, from time to time, retire to converse with Him in meekness, humility, and love. Every one is capable of such familiar conversation with God, some more, some less. He knows what we can do.” He picks up the idea of prayer (being in the presence of God) as a holy habit. “How can we pray to Him without being with Him? How can we be with Him but in thinking of Him often? And how can we often think of Him, but by a holy habit which we should form of it?” Our relationship with God is key and developed as we spend time in God’s presence. Knowing about God is good, but not enough. We need to know God. “We must know before we can love. In order to know God, we must often think of Him. And when we come to love Him, we shall then also think of Him often, for our heart will be with our treasure.” So, Brother Lawrence encourages us – “get in the habit of often thinking of God, and forget Him the least you can.”