Meditation: A Place to Belong
A guided meditation based on Luke 24:13-35
I invite you to ponder the journey to Emmaus.
Two lovers of God wondering if all their hopes were lost.
They believed Jesus would put everything right and transform their world:
transform it from a place of oppression and violence into one of liberation and peace,
a place where they could truly belong as God’s people.
They were lost, dismayed, downtrodden…
Their hopes dashed as they came to terms with Jesus’ death.
But they’d missed something. They’d missed a deeper meaning.
They’d allowed their own views to cloud their judgement of what God was up to –
and missed the depth of the intricate picture painted by Scripture.
God’s presence alongside them in the risen Christ brought a new light,
a deeper understanding of what God was up to,
and they had to let go of their own desires to understand just what God’s will was in that place.
As they sat there with this stranger and he broke bread,
the realization came that this was God speaking to them,
that all hope was not lost,
but in the midst of what they thought was terrible,
God was up to something unimaginable,
and in that moment,
in the resurrection faith,
they discovered their place to belong in the people of God.
Where is your place to belong in the resurrection faith?
Where do you feel your heart burn with joy?
In what ways do you feel loved and affirmed among other believers?
How can you help others feel a sense of belonging as they experience the joy of God’s love in your company?
© Gary Hopkins 2022
Originally written for the Methodist Church’s Easter CD 2022
Hymn: When hopes are dashed and all seems lost
When hopes are dashed and all seems lost
in emptiness and silent prayer,
the love of God delights to prove
the possible in sheer despair.
And when the world still crucifies
through selfish acts of hate and greed,
the resurrection light of Christ
seeks to renew in love and deed.
The hand of love that reaches out,
in tender care of human pain,
speaks of the cosmic love of God,
which no confinement could contain.
For when the love of God is glimpsed,
and whispers through each broken place,
an empty tomb is found again
and Jesus lives in time and space.
© Gary Hopkins 2010
Metre: 88 88 (Long Metre)
Suggested tune: O Waly Waly
Poem: The Tomb
The tomb. Open. Empty. Still.
The rush of heart. Beating. Pained.
Where is he? Where is my Lord?
This isn’t how it was supposed to be.
Death lingers. Silence deafens.
What now? No Jesus. No hope.
The sun creeps. Shining. Glowing.
Light beams. Blinding. Warming.
The tomb emblazed. Jesus gone.
A bird calls. Silence breaks.
A tender song. Stillness pierced.
The world awakes. No Jesus. No point.
A voice startles. “Why sorrow?”
That voice. Can it be? Is it?
A tear falls. Love envelops. It’s him. It’s my Lord.
Joy rises. Hope returns. Life begins.
The possibilities. The future.
A fresh start. Another chance. A new way.
© Gary Hopkins 2010
