Some hopes for Lent 2010






















Well here we go again:  Lent 2010. The forty day period of reflection that allows us to get closer to the meaning of Christ's coming as a human and his suffering , death and resurrection.

I love the story in the gospels of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. It is a tale that unfolds after the death and resurrection of Jesus. The two disciples are feeling low because they do know how much Christ meant to them when he was alive. They feel despondent because they have not really grasped the meaning of his death and they don't have much sense of his presence in their lives, and are probably doubting the facts of his resurrection. Yet they had hoped ............................... and that glimmer of hope keeps them talking and walking.

But they are troubled with grief and sorrow and they walk as we often do when we are feeling at a loss and bewildered as to what to do next.

But somewhere down the road a stranger comes alongside them and as they walk they tell their story about their dreams,  their hopes and fears and the stranger somehow opens them up and amazes them by his own knowledge of the scriptures.

They stop and have a meal and it is then that the stranger breaks the bread  at the table and they realise that they are with  Jesus. There is more to the Emmaus story but this is plenty enough for starters......

Part of my hope this Lent is that I will be able to open a path to walk along and somewhere along the way Jesus will meet me , break bread with me and open  my heart to understand his presence in my life and how to live it well for his sake.

6 comments:

claire bangasser said...

What a beautiful and inspiring post, Phil!
How much I like your take of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and how similar to them we are so often.
May your hope come true! May your resurrect with him on Easter morning!

Blue Eyed Ennis said...

Hi Claire,
Thank you so much for your care and support for my blog entries.
I hope we can walk alongside each other this Lent even if it is at across the miles ! I pray that we will be able to bless each others strivings to get closer to what it is all about.
God Bless
Phil

Concord Pastor said...

I'm glad you stopped by my place, Phil - and I'm grateful for the correction on my widget - no, that was most certainly not Mozart - but it is now!

This page is terrific - just added it to my reader!

May your Lenten springtime be a season of grace and peace...

Blue Eyed Ennis said...

Hi Fr. Austin. Glad you came by and had a look at my blog and pleased too that you like what you saw.

Springtime is slow to arrive this year in the UK but I hope it is warm there for you in Boston. I hope you return here.

God bless you in your work and service to others for this 40 day preparation of Lent

ROBERTA said...

this is a holy lenten reflection phil. the emmaus story is profound as is your lenten hope. may it be so.

Blue Eyed Ennis said...

So glad to hear from you Roberta.
Thank you for commenting. I hope and pray that Lent refreshes us both and I know I will be expecting great inspiration from you through these 40 days ( no pressure there then eh ??!- only joking). Your blog is a regular one to visit for me because it is full of astuteness and spot on nearly always.
Godbless you
Phil