Walking On the Road to Emmaus

And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. (Luke 24:13-15)

I have been thinking about this little story in Luke about two disciples walking along the road to Emmaus from Jerusalem. The complete story is found in Luke 24:13-35.

The Bible Dictionary says this:

A village 60 furlongs, or about 5 miles from Jerusalem; generally identified with the modern Kulonieh, on the road to Joppa.

There is a lot to be said about this wonderful story. Imagine having the Lord Jesus Christ appear to you and walk along with you and expound on the scriptures to you. Five miles isn't a long way, but if you are walking, it would take awhile and you would have time for a wonderful conversation with the Lord. Even if you didn't know until later that it was the Lord, as these two did not, it would still be an intriguing conversation.

Walking is often used as a metaphor for traveling through life and for living life in accordance with the Lord's commandments. Or, conversely, for walking in darkness, i.e., not in the ways of the Lord.

What I am thinking about this morning, however, is literal walking. Walking by yourself opens up opportunities for thinking about all sorts of things and also for prayer. Whether you are walking for exercise or to get somewhere, you have this quiet time in your mind and heart which can lead you to insights or to communion with God.

If you are walking with a friend, you have a chance to really talk things over. This is what struck me about the story of the road to Emmaus--that these two disciples (and later, Jesus) had the time and opportunity for an in-depth discussion of the gospel and of recent events in Jerusalem.

I think we miss out on a lot when we don't have this kind of time and opportunity to think, to pray, or to talk with a companion. There are a lot of blessings for us living in this modern age, but whenever I read of the road to Emmaus, I think that one blessing we miss out on unless we make the effort to create it, is to walk along, alone or with someone, with plenty of time to concentrate on something. It can be working out a problem, contemplating nature, prayer, meditating on some aspect of the gospel, or whatever we might want/need to focus on for awhile.

In ages past, people often traveled by foot, but now, it's often a matter of driving to a park (during the daytime, when you have a hope of it being safe) or, if you are blessed to live in the country, of walking around your property or down the road a ways. Even if your choice is to go to a track at the gym, you can usually be alone with your thoughts for awhile at least, although I have to say that I think being out in nature helps this process along.

It just seems like a chance to unwind, give serious thought to things, and let go of the stress of the modern world for a little while. May you find a quiet place to walk.

Trains and Boats and Planes

I enjoy traveling although I haven't done as much of it as I would like. Trains hold a particular fascination for me, perhaps because they are not so common anymore--a sort of nostalgia trip.

When I was 15, my family and I took a round trip on a train to Chicago where we spent several days sightseeing. I enjoyed Chicago, having never been to a big city before. But I loved the train trip. Part was overnight, but there was still time to enjoy the sights and the little glimpses into people's lives as we passed them. When I hear a train whistle, I think of how nice it would be to spend some time just riding trains around the country and doing some serious people-watching, as well as scenary-watching!

While in Chicago, we took a boat ride out on Lake Michigan. That was great--I'd never been on such a large body of water before (it was a vacation of firsts) and it was fascinating to see the water extend on to the horizon. Many years later, my mom and I took a boat ride up and down the river at Branson, Missouri. This was before it became so clogged with tourists. We went without reservations and had no trouble finding a good motel. We were able to see some great shows for $10 each. Imagine doing that now! And no traffic jams!

I didn't fly on an airplane until much later. I worked for a company that had it's home office in Dallas and they routinely flew people down for training of various kinds. I loved it! I was a little apprehensive that I would find myself afraid of flying, but that turned out to be my only fear. The acceleration of take-off is my favorite part. I loved seeing the tops of clouds and looking at the landscape far below. Soon after take-off, the view is the best--it's a bird's eye view, but you can still see people clearly and buildings and vehicles look like very realistic toys.

I enjoy car travel as well. You can stop and go as you please and enjoy the scenery. I enjoy it most when I don't have to drive. Then I can pay complete attention to the view. In fact, I think that letting someone else pilot the transportation is definitely the best way to go.

I enjoy sightseeing and visiting museums and other places of interest or just walking around a town and watching people, but the transportation is just as fascinating to me.

Where Would You Like to Travel?

Where would you like to travel if you could go anywhere in the world? What would you like to see?

There are many places that interest me. I think that outside of the USA, I would like to visit the British Isles and tour England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. I would want to see castles and villages and cathedrals. I would want to visit places I read about in books. Since I read a lot of books set in those countries, I would enjoy that a lot. Museums and art galleries would be interesting, but I think driving around and looking at actual places would be the best.

The Holy Land would be a great place to visit, if it were safe. I'd be a bit nervous going there now. Still, to see the places we read of in the scriptures would be a wonderful experience.

In the USA, I'd like to visit places that figured in the early settlement of our country. The Church history sites would be great, too. I'd like to see the oceans and just enjoy the countryside all around the different states--mountains, rivers, lakes, etc. Alaska would be an interesting place to visit--though perhaps not in winter! There are some good places to visit right here in Oklahoma. Some I've seen and some I haven't. Don't you find that we take for granted that which is near us and long for somewhere far away and "exotic?" But our home area would likely be exotic to someone else who lived far away.

I am glad we can travel vicariously through books and TV and the internet, but it's always nice to visit a place in person and get a real feel for it.