Walking in the Dark
Dear Sutton and Savannah,
I wish I had been a better example of how to pay attention to the emotions and feelings of life. I am far more adept at the language of logic, but that language is woefully inadequate when it comes to expressing the breadth and depth of the human experience. Your (and my) emotions provide the color and texture to life. Both the highs and the lows are fertile ground for growth and insight. My journey to listen to my emotions has been a lot longer than the 7-mile trip from Jerusalem to Emmaus. I hope you can take a more efficient route.
-Dad
Inside Out Lectionary Letters
Year A - 3rd Sunday of Easter (Texts, Art, Hymns)
Readings for Sunday, April 19, 2026
Acts 2:14a, 36-41 / Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19 / 1 Peter 1:17-23 / Luke 24:13-35
Summary of Luke 24:13-35
Cleopas and his companion are on a 7-mile walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus, probably about 2 hours. There is a lot to talk about given the events in Jerusalem of the last three days. Along the way they are joined by a stranger, whom they do not recognize.
Scripture as a Mirror of the Soul
There are many emotions found in this passage. The text says specifically that Cleopas and his friend are sad. It also indicates there is confusion around how to understand the recent events. Their conversation with the stranger they meet (Jesus) implies that they were curious about all he was explaining. They exhibited great kindness and generosity when they invited him to stay with them for the night. Finally, they were so energized by what happened that they walked (or ran) back 7 miles to Jerusalem, likely in the dark, to tell the others what they had experienced.
Our thoughts and decisions can certainly influence our emotions, but often emotions seem to arise out of the unconscious without invitation and without warning. Sadness or grief can envelope us before we realize what is happening. Fear or anger can erupt as fast as the endocrine system can pump adrenaline into our blood vessels. Whether it is a fast reaction to a startling event, or a slow burn that drains our energy, emotions can hold us hostage, or keep us buoyant.
The inner journey invites us to pay attention to our emotions; not to deny them, discipline them, ignore them, or give them free rein, but to listen to them. Emotional mindfulness is essential to inner work.
Many of us are clueless when asked the question, “How are you feeling?” Or, “What are you feeling?” It seems like a foreign language; inaccessible and undefined. Or we might be the opposite, and feel overwhelmed by our emotions. Both are okay. We have a divine companion, on the journey with us, who patiently travels in whatever direction we are going, and teaches us.
The disciples on the road to Emmaus were figuratively traveling from what they once believed to be true, to the unknown of what the future holds. They are trying to reconcile a story that no longer makes sense. The mental structure they had created, had collapsed. Sometimes we walk in confusion, we speak from disappointment, and only later do we see that something was unfolding within us all along.
The invitation is not to force understanding, but to remain present, with our emotions, on the journey—to stay open to the possibility that even in disorientation, something is being re-formed.