When I was young I enjoyed reading the ‘Where’s Wally’ books. On each page you were presented a picture filled with people and the challenge was to find the character, Wally, in his distinctive striped clothing. It would often take me quite some time before I recognised where Wally was in any given situation.

The reading that we have today, taken from Luke’s Gospel, concerns two disciples who are leaving Jerusalem on the road to Emmaus. Despite hearing of the resurrection, they do not yet believe that Jesus has risen. In their fear and uncertainty a man draws near and accompanies them. They enter into conversation and as they do the disciple’s hearts begin to burn within them as the man explains how all the events that had occurred, from Moses to Christ, related to God promises and purposes. After inviting the man to join them for dinner and then sharing in bread and wine, their eyes are opened, and they realise the man they have been talking to and are breaking bread with is the risen Jesus. Then when Jesus disappears they head back to Jerusalem to tell the apostles what had happened. Their sorrow and fear had been replaced by joy and wonder through their encounter with the Risen Christ.

In this Easter season you may also find yourself in a place of fear and sorrow. Yet this passage reminds us that whatever we are experiencing we have Jesus present with us. Accompanying us on the journey and encouraging us with his Word, through the constant presence of the Holy Spirit.

In the passage, the disciples do not recognise Jesus on the road, but they find that their hearts were burning inside them when they spoke to him. This reminds me of the experience of Revd John Wesley, the Anglican Minister who founded the Methodist movement, who himself had his heart ‘strangely warmed’ when listening to Luther’s preface to Paul’s Letter to the Romans. In hearing and knowing what God had done for him in Christ, taking his sin away and offering him new life, Wesley was encouraged and renewed. His heart-warming experience commenced a new chapter in his life and ministry, in which he sought to spread the Gospel and scriptural holiness throughout the land.

We too need to have our hearts ‘strangely warmed’ by the presence of Christ that is offered to us through God’s Holy Spirit. We need encouragement in our lives of discipleship so that our fear and sorrow can be relieved by God’s joy and the assurance of his love and forgiveness. We also need God’s Word and Spirit to equip and enable us to share the good news with those around us so others will come to know the living presence of God in Christ and the Spirit.

We can encounter Jesus in many different ways: In prayer, worship and fellowship together, through scripture, and the sacraments. Jesus tells his disciples that they will encounter him when they help those who are the least amongst them and are in need (Matthew 25:34-40) through works of mercy. In all of these things the Holy Spirit is present with us and revealing Christ to us.

As a child I enjoyed reading the ‘Where’s Wally’ books and searching for him. Our calling as Christians is to follow Jesus, which involves recognising where he is and where he is leading us. So let us pray that we will continue to encounter the living God and that we might depend on Christ for our hope, love, and joy this Eastertide as he encourages and guides us. For Christ is alive and he is with us. Amen.