Give and receive witness to the truth of Jesus Christ: Those are two key messages in today’s readings. 

Near my hometown are the remains of an old route the locals unofficially call the Road to Nowhere. It used to be a paved road to somewhere, obviously; but as civilization would have it, new thoroughfares proved more useful and the old route was not upgraded, fell into disuse, and was eventually abandoned altogether.

That same day two of them were walking to the village Emmaus, about seven miles out of Jerusalem. They were deep in conversation, going over all these things that had happened. In the middle of their talk and questions, Jesus came up and walked along with them. But they were not able to recognize who he was.

Last year, I spent some time at our local art museum to view an exhibit of the paintings of artist Summer Wheat. This artist was new to me but I was drawn to the exhibit that features strong female figures in roles as hunters, beekeepers, and fishers.

I heard a story once of a little girl who was lost in the woods. She wandered around looking for the family she had been separated from, but she soon grew hungry and tired and lay down and fell asleep. All through the night her parents searched for her, anxious for her safety.

Years ago, managers at a small firm planned to honor someone whom they felt had served the community exceptionally well in the previous year. They planned to invite the person to lunch, offer him or her a lovely plaque, generate a little good will, and call it a day.

It was not going to be an easy day. Just two weeks earlier the family had gathered with profound sadness to bury my mother. We all knew she was the glue that held us together.

Our journey of salvation through this unusual season of Easter continues with faith that God will never abandon us.

In faith, there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don’t.