Praise God Who Is Good! (4th Day 51)

Dear brothers and sisters,

Praise God Who hears our prayers! Praise God Who is Good! Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow!

A week ago (actually, a week ago Sunday), I asked you to pray for my parents and the people of south Florida. They had been without power or phone service for almost a week at that time and were expecting to suffer three more weeks like that. Yesterday, the Jubilee day of WV88, my parents had both their power and phone restored to them, two weeks ahead of time. In addition, they seemed to be in pretty good spirits. So, praise God for sustaining, protecting and comforting them during that time!

Now I have something else to ask of you. I want you to consider what it was we learned on the mountain and what we were supposed to bring down with us. As I said before, I feel a little like Moses coming off the mountain with his face so aglow with the radiance of God's glory that he had to cover it. I think we all felt that way in some manner coming off the mountain. You can't not be aglow with the glory of Christ. However, I have heard from more than one source that those of us who have Walked seem a little cliquish.

That was a hard pill to swallow when I first heard it, but however wrong that may be, perception becomes reality. No one who has walked the Walk would ever want to give the impression that the experience made us think we were better than those who have not gone on the Walk. On the contrary, I found the Walk to be a humbling experience. Still, the perception is there. I think that the "secrecy" around what happens there (e.g., no pictures) that is intended to ensure new pilgrims continue to enjoy the surprises that await them, creates something that is misinterpreted.

It is hard to try to explain what happens if you haven't gone through it yourself, even if you could take pictures and "tell everything." But, I think we may be discouraging others from going on the pilgrimage if that is something they don't feel comfortable with to begin with.

The Emmaus Walk is about Christ, not us. I've always been concerned that after coming off the mountain that I am going to stumble in some why that diminishes the good that I want to reflect or have focused through me. In other words, I fear doing something, intentionally or not, that dishonors our Lord. Getting angry when I shouldn't; hurting someone when I don't mean to; saying something stupid. All these things can hurt the image of change that I know took place in me while on the mountain.

So, here is what we need to think about: "How can I behave in public or private that will cause someone to want to go on the Emmaus Walk?" I think in addition to our behavior, we need to promote more aggressively and openly what the Walk is and what it's about. At the risk of spoiling some of the wonderful surprises, we need to be open to others about Emmaus.

Shortly after the Walk, I was asked to write a part for our church's newsletter about my Walk to Emmaus. Here are excerpts from what I wrote and I find it good to revisit them:

"The Walk to Emmaus is a life-changing experience in which Jesus reveals Himself anew to us (or maybe it just gives us an opportunity to see Him clearly once again). The purpose of the Walk to Emmaus is to 'prepare church leaders.'...

"The Walk to Emmaus does prepare church leaders in the sense that it renews our relationship with Christ and opens our eyes to the mission the Lord has given us. After Saul of Tarsus was blinded by the Light of Christ on his way to Damascus, Paul is said to have gone off to Egypt for several years in preparation of the most remarkable ministry in the history of the church. The Walk to Emmaus will take you to the next level of your Christian growth and maturity—it will awaken you to your purpose in life, which is to serve and love the Lord with all you heart, mind, soul and strength...

"Our mission is simply to prepare and be available to the Lord to do His Will. God will put you where He wants you to be. The Walk to Emmaus brings that realization into focus and changes your life forever.”

I believe more than ever that is what we are supposed to do; to serve the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. And I pray that we will keep that before us each and every day. Encourage others to walk the Walk. Emmaus shouldn't be a mystery to others; it's renewal, it's restoration; it's reunion with Christ.

De Colores,
Bill
WV88