Jesus interjects himself into a conversation between two brokenhearted, hopeless travelers as they journey to Emmaus. Not recognizing Jesus, it seems the travelers were reluctant to include him in their intense conversation. In the end, Jesus opened the travelers’ eyes to God’s larger plan and they recognized him.

Though we don’t always intentionally exclude Jesus from the heavy conversations in our lives, we often ignore his presence because we are too wrapped up in managing our conflicts and challenges. Other times we feel Jesus can’t really help in our specific circumstances and so we don’t invite him into the conversation. As we journey together, let us remember there is a bigger plan for our lives, too, and recognize that Jesus is our traveling companion.

In the early church, Easter was an eight-day celebration. This tradition gave time for believers to savor, wonder, and wander through the momentous event of Easter. In the Fifty series, we’ll step back and view the story of the 50 days between Easter and Pentecost as more than a series of separate events and build connections to gain a larger perspective.

This week, we look at Jesus’ reappearance to his disciples.