Solace in the Grief

Solace in the Grief
Luke 24:13-32

Solace – Today we begin a series called Sundays of Solace, Six Weeks with our Risen Lord. Sunday we understand, it is the first day of the week. It is not the Sabbath of old that those of the Jewish faith follow, it is the day of the Resurrection of our Lord. It is the day that we gather together to worship our Risen Savior.
Six weeks with our Risen Lord, we can even get that too. There are Six Sundays between Easter and Ascension Sunday. But Solace. Why Solace?

When you Google the word Solace, you get a couple of options, information about the James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, or definitions. Well, since I'm not near the fan of 007 since Sean Connery retired, I chose to check the definitions.
The top definition for Solace is: 1) comfort in sorrow, misfortune, or trouble; alleviation of distress or discomfort. 2) something that gives comfort, consolation, or relief:

Solace is comfort. Solace is peace.

So, solace is what we seek in our risen Lord. Over the next six weeks we will slowly work our way through Luke 24 and Acts 1 as we walk with our risen savior the his last weeks before the ascension. It is in this time with our resurrected Lord that we find Peace and Comfort in this life. It is in seeing Jesus offer solace to his Disciples, be they the two Disciples on the way to Emmaus or the Disciples who wouldn't believe until they saw the wounds. My prayer is that over the next six weeks you will find this sanctuary to be a place of solace, but more importantly you would find that Christ is the only one that can truly offer you solace.

We begin with the gentlemen from Emmaus. So often we read this passage within the context of the entire Christian story, which is fine in some respects, but it doesn't do justice to Luke's writing of this story. It is only found in Luke and it is carefully placed after Mary, and Mary, and Joanna, and Salome have returned from the tomb wondering and Peter has gone to the tomb and been amazed. In fact, vs 12 tells us that Peter went home amazed, bewildered, wondering, what it all means. We then get this story that tells us what it means.


As we read we see their grief. They drop their heads as they talk, you can almost hear it in their voice.
They are defeated, everything they had believed had died with Jesus. How could the things he said be true if he were dead. They are dejected. They are grieving.
What makes it even worse is that a couple of women have gotten everyone's hopes up that he isn't really dead. These women said he's alive, but these disciples were in Jerusalem. They knew what had happened. They likely saw the bloody body of Jesus. The may have helped bring him down from the cross. They knew he was dead.
They have lost a friend. They have lost a leader. They have lost a teacher and a revolutionary. At this point they may feel that they have lost everything except their own life – and that is even questionable. If the Jews and the Romans were willing to kill Jesus, his followers can't be far behind.
In fact, the road that they are walking is a rough and dangerous road that winds through the hills. I have been told that there are many places where someone looking to do them harm could have hidden.

Can you imagine their surprise when they have been walking by themselves for an hour or more and suddenly they are not alone? Maybe they thought Jesus had come from a side trail or had been resting behind a rock and they didn't see him enter the trail. Maybe he had been behind them all along and they didn't realize it until he caught up with them. Who knows what they thought, but I would definitely think they were alarmed when this stranger was suddenly with them.

Why would they not recognize Jesus? Some say it was because they had been walking into the setting sun. Others because Jesus' appearance had been altered from the resurrection. I don't know, maybe they were followers of Jesus that hadn't seen him closely for a while. Maybe they wouldn't recognize him because the last time they saw him some three days before he was so badly beaten that he scarcely resembled a human. Why they didn't recognize him, we don't know. But what we do know is that Jesus came into the midst of two of his followers who were hurting and brought them solace. Jesus still brings us solace through his presence.

I have heard well wishing people tell grieving family members that God needed their loved one more than they did, or that God always picks the best roses first. Each phrase is intended to offer comfort and show care, but what they end up doing is making people question why God would “need” their loved one or “take” the one they care so much about.

I don't think that God “takes” or “needs” any of our loved ones. What I know is that God is with us when it happens. Just as he did that day on the road to Emmaus, Jesus comes along side us as we grieve, as we hurt, as we cry. Jesus isn't the picker of young roses, but the maker of footprints in the sand as he carries us through the tough times of our life.

These disciples had lost their way. They had missed the story of what Jesus had done for them and were going home with only half the truth and all the grief. But Jesus comes to them and begins to teach them. He begins with the Moses and the Prophets and then the rest of the Scriptures as he teaches them why Christ had to suffer and how the Scriptures had predicted it all along.

Not only does Jesus bring us Solace through his presence, he brings us solace through his teaching. Psalm 119 tells us that we are to “hide God's word in our heart that we may not sin” and that “God's word is a lamp unto our feet and a light to our path.” We can't receive this Solace, this peace, this comfort if we do not study the Word of God. What, or who is this Word? Jn 1:1 - In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God... Jn 1:14 - And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus is the Word. The Word of comfort, the Word of peace, the Word of Solace.
When was the last time you sat down with others and had a conversation about the the Word? When was the last time you studied a lesson and then got together with other believers to study it together? When was the last time you spent time alone in the Bible? We can not receive the solace of Jesus through his teaching if we are not willing to study the Word incarnate.

These disciples walked with Jesus and learned from him and their hearts began to be warmed and they couldn't get enough. Jesus had made his point without them even realizing who he was and he was going to continue walking off into the sunset but they begged him to stay – As if to tell us, that once you begin to receive Jesus' teaching you can't get enough of it.
Jesus enters their house and sits at the table with them. A common table. A regular meal of hospitality, yet, when he broke bread with them they realized who they were with. Maybe it was the way he broke the bread and it reminded them of when he had broken the bread and fish for the 5000. Maybe it was the prayer he prayed. Maybe it was the similarity to the last meal that they had heard about from the 11 remaining disciples that were with Jesus the night he was betrayed. What ever it was they found solace in the meal that was shared.

Today, some of us are are grieving the loss of a friend, a relationship, a family member. Some of us continue to grieve a loss from 5, 10, 20, or even 50 years ago. It may have been a death, or it may have been something else – a friendship that was interrupted or a marriage that was broken. Our grief is OK. Our grief is normal. Our grief is acceptable. But for some of us we need to find solace in that grief. Some of us need to move beyond that grief because it is hampering our relationships today. Some of us need to see past the grief because it is blocking our relationship with our family, our friends, and more importantly, our Lord.

You don't have to hang on to that pain any more. Jesus can take that pain from you and comfort you. Jesus will walk with you through the pain and on to the other side. Through the word of God you can be comforted as you study. As we are told in Revelation we only have to open the door and Jesus will come in and dine with you and comfort you. We bread bread together, we fellowship together and offer one another peace as we come together as the Body of Christ – the holy Church of God.

It's time... Let go of the pain. Let go of the grief. Let God have it all, so that through God you can be all you were created to be.