Ordinary Things

I have read this passage of Scripture numerous times. I have heard many pastors offer different takes and have sat in lectures while Ambrose University professors gave their assessments. I thought I had a good grasp on this passage and its meaning, yet as I looked at it again, I saw it from a fresh perspective. 

I  wish that I could have heard what these two disciples  were talking about as they journeyed towards Emmaus together on that day. I imagine them strolling down the road in a lively conversation as they considered everything that had happened in the previous days and weeks. As they wandered together, I picture animated hand gestures and sounds of wonder and amazement. I imagine one of them telling a story or two while the other shook their head in disbelief. I love that Jesus, fully man and fully God, enters this conversation and journeys with them. Jesus had a destination and a purpose, but he wasn’t in a hurry. Jesus could have made himself known from the beginning, but he chose not to. He was present, he asked questions, and he listened. This is awe-inspiring—the divine intersecting with and entering the ordinary.

As an International Worker in the Middle East, the intertwining of the divine and the ordinary is central to my work. In this cultural context, love is spelt “t-i-m-e.” I spend a lot of time with many people doing mundane things. I go to my local hardware store and buy supplies to maintain my home as anyone else here does. I go to the bakery and buy fresh bread. I shop for fresh produce at the market. I sit with my friends and help them with their English, chat about what is going on in our town, and—one of my personal favourites—hold their babies and little ones close. These are all ordinary things. The key distinction though is that Christ, the divine, in me, makes these everyday and beautiful moments feel like divine appointments.

How do you sense the divine in the ordinary? Just as Jesus walked alongside these two disciples  during this routine journey, he wants to walk alongside you. Is there room for him on the path beside you?