The Seven-Mile Church

"'Weren't our hearts on fire within us while He was talking to us on the road? Didn't you feel it all coming clear as He explained the meaning of the scriptures?' So, they get up immediately and rush back to Jerusalem—all seven miles—where they find the eleven gathered together..." —Luke 24:32-33, The Voice

The familiar "road to Emmaus" story and the guys' eye-opening encounter with Jesus never gets old to retell, re-read, or reabsorb. But what about the road back to Jerusalem? All seven miles of it. Even though it must have been getting dark after Jesus joined them for dinner, culminating with His "I'm very much alive!" revelation, the two Christ-ones set aside weariness and risked their very well-being and comfort. Without hesitation, they walked back the seven miles that very night to tell some incredibly good news to a bunch of friends very much in need of hearing some.

Probably took about three hours at least. No streetlights. Hardly a home with lighted window anywhere to bring some comfort. Strange noises from the woods, to the left and right. But on their arrival, they found friends who were grateful they'd made the effort.

Sometimes, in the comfort of our homes after a long day, suddenly, a friend in need comes to mind, or there's this glimpse of revelation that makes the lightbulb within explode with such clarity that it begs to be shared. Maybe it's a word of discernment for a situation or a loved one that emerges out of a simple prayer that is more sighing than words. Or, there's the ancient Promise that suddenly jumps off the page into your reality as if for the first time, even while mowing the lawn, and it may be for you but you know it's also for that friend who has been in need of direction, hope, wisdom. Maybe all three.

And more often than not, in that comfort and dwindling daylight, it's really easy to say: "Ah, it can wait 'til morning."

Maybe. But perhaps the Emmaus Road guys are trying to lead us down a much better path:

What if there's someone in the dwindling daylight who could really use, who desperately needs some good news that you're carrying inside right now, not tomorrow?"

A simple text, an email, an old-fashioned phone call on that device used for everything else but. And if you really want to push it, there's this one that still needs work, especially in New England: offering to stop by without fearing intrusion of privacy, never realizing yours might be one of the first friendly, comforting faces of their day.

Sometimes, we can make the idea of discipleship more super-spiritual than it was intended. Being a Jesus follower can be as simple as showing procrastination and inconvenience the door. and putting feet to well-known words from the One we claim to be following:

Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them.”

Who knows? God might have a much-needed encouraging word in return simply by stepping out—a word we didn't realize we needed until we delivered ours. And even if not, it's still all good. Because making that seemingly inconvenient "seven-mile trek" to someone at just the right time, whether in word or deed, is the very feet of a disciple who is more than a concept in a study guide, who is the hands and voice of a worshiper who does more than just sing...

...and perhaps most all, is the heart of Jesus that makes the idea of 'church' exactly what He had in mind.

"There's a thin place between here and heaven,

There's a Kingdom closing in;

It's our love for God and for others

That makes the world look more like Him..."

from "Be Your Heart," by Michael Ketterer

[ADAPTED FROM 4-12-15]