The Oasis - May 1, 2019
Author: Rev. Dan Hollis
May 01, 2019
by Pastor Dan Hollis
As windy as it can get here on the seacoast, we can’t actually see the wind. We can see the leaves move and we can feel it on our faces and we can hear it whistling around outside the house, but we can’t see the wind itself. Air is invisible.
And even as we enter into spring and we have more and more days above 50 degrees, we can’t see sunshine either. We can see everything else because of the sunshine, and (don’t try this at home) we can see the sun itself if we look up and don’t think too hard about how fast it’s cooking our retinas, and we can feel its warmth on our skin… but photons are microscopic and way too fast to look at. They’re literally the fastest thing there is.
We can’t see love either. We can see its effects, and if we’re open to it we can feel it warm our hearts… but there are plenty of people who don’t believe it exists. Or who don’t believe they deserve it. Or don’t know how to give it. Or don’t think they’ll ever know what it feels like. But it’s real.
A life of faith is all about engaging with things that you can’t look directly at. A life of faith is about building a relationship with something that isn’t a straight line. And a life of faith takes understanding that there are many different ways to get there, and what worked for one person may not work for you. There are a lot of ways to experience wind, to know that sunlight exists, and to harvest love.
Perhaps you have eyes to see and a heart that’s willing to believe the unbelievable. Or perhaps you can hear the promises of Scripture, that Christ is truly risen and the Holy Spirit walks among us, and that message alone is enough to open your eyes. Or perhaps you need to be in community with others who have encountered the presence of God, and it’s theirspirits that fill your heart with the truth. Or perhaps, like doubting Thomas, you can’t have faith in something until you can reach out and touch it.
Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. Luke 24:13-16
We are all of us on the road to Emmaus. Every human on this earth walks with the presence of God right under our noses. What is it that will set myheart alight, or yourheart alight, or theirheart alight? What is it that makes people open their eyes to the love of God? I’m not talking about just belief, I’m talking about faith. Faith is passion, faith is relationship, faith is trust.
As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. Luke 24:28-31
Song I’m listening to these days: “Mr. Blue Sky,” by Electric Light Orchestra
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