A Journey to Emmaus

^{Luke 24:13-35}

¹³ Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. ¹⁴ They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. ¹⁵ As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; ¹⁶ but they were kept from recognizing him.

¹⁷ He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” They stood still, their faces downcast. ¹⁸ One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

¹⁹ “What things?” he asked.

“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. ²⁰ The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; ²¹ but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. ²² In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning ²³ but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. ²⁴ Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”

²⁵ He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” ²⁷ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

²⁸ As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. ²⁹ But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

³⁰ When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. ³² They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

³³ They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together ³⁴ and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” ³⁵ Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.

This past weekend, I attended an Emmaus Retreat.

We are not allowed to share specifics about what happened at the retreat but I can tell you that it was powerful and oh so very real. If you have an opportunity to go, do it! 

What I can discuss is the circumstances that gave me the opportunity to attend. About a week ago, I got this message from my friend, Sheila: "Thought of you with this retreat. It is beyond any experience I have ever had. I know I am sending this kinda last minute, but that's how I roll...day by day! If you can perhaps sneak away for a weekend, and don't have a race, it's a perfect place to gather and reflect (and take some awesome runs around the beautiful grounds)." 

Usually, I would stew on something like that for a few days but (a) it was time sensitive (b) I knew that my stress level had reach an all time high and this was *just* what I needed.

I replied that I could go and got all the wheels set in motion for it. The weirdest thing was that I looked at my calendar and saw that we had next to no plans. This is a VERY RARE thing for us and the weirdest thing of all was that I didn't see a long run on my calendar. Huh?!?!?!?



 So, here's what happened...

Way back in the beginning of the Summer when I was calculating out weeks for my marathon plan, I must have made a mistake and skipped a week. I only just realized it when I realized that I had run my longest run of 22 miles with 4 weeks to go until the marathon. For those not well versed in marathon plans, that insane run usually happens when you have 3 weeks left to go. Because I had done that 22 miler the weekend before, it made it much easier to say "yes" to a retreat. Ummmmm, that is soooo a God thing, right?

On that Friday, I packed up my bags and got dropped off. Again, I can't share the details of the weekend but I can tell you that I didn't bring my phone or my purse or my calendar. And it was soooooo awesome. I needed that time away. Though it wasn't exactly a relaxing weekend (they keep you pretty busy), it was well worth the time. 

And bonus! I did get a chance to run during a Saturday afternoon break. It was over 80° and I only went 4 miles but a run is a run, right?

So, if you are contemplating an Emmaus retreat, I hope that God shows you that it is possible and well worth it.