Walking
03/05/14 05:28
Determining distances for some biblical locations is a bit of a challenge. Where the actual locations of events are known it is sometimes as simple as measuring the distance between two known contemporary locations. In other cases, time has erased the landmarks and we don’t know the exact location of Biblical sites. In the case of the report near the end of the Gospel of Luke of two disciples walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus, we do, of course, know the location of Jerusalem. The location of Emmaus is a slightly different matter.
First of all, the story is only reported in Luke. Although a similar story is in the longer ending to Mark, it is widely accepted that the longer ending is a later addition derived from the gospel of Luke. There is also a reference to an Emmaus in 1 Maccabees, which would come from within a couple of centuries of the Gosspel story and therefore might represent a reference to the same town. Over the years, many sites have been suggested for a possible location of the town. The name Emmaus means warm springs, and there are several different areas with warm springs. One of the keys to the identification of the location is that the report in Luke gives the distance of the walk of the disciples. That, in turn, is a bit of a challenge, because the Greek text reports the distance in stadia (sometimes translated leagues) and there are different definitions of the length of a stadia. What we do know is that the disciples were walking a distance that could be covered in a single day and most scholars agree that the distance was somewhere between 10.4 and 12 km (roughly between 6 and 7 miles).
The distance isn’t excessive. There are plenty of people who have active jobs such as package delivery, some warehouse work, and the like where they walk that much each day. It is an easy day’s journey for backpackers except in the most rugged terrain.
I plan to walk about half that distance this morning. It will give me an opportunity to think more about the disciples’ experience. It is one of the keys to understanding resurrection. And resurrection is not an easy concept to grasp.
I will be walking with friends and fellow survivors of suicide in the annual Front Porch Coalition 5K walk and fun run. I’ll leave the running to others this year.It is a gentle and beautiful walk from Old Storybook Island to Canyon Lake Park and back. Some years I walk to the end of the path at Cleghorn Canyon adding another bit to the walk. It is an opportunity to talk with other survivors, to remember the ones who have died, and to raise a few dollars for suicide prevention. This is the 12th year of our local walk and I’ve participated every year, though a couple of years I didn’t walk. I prefer to walk over having other assignments, but volunteers are needed for all kinds of tasks.
If the two hours that I walk are typical, there will be approximately 10 deaths by suicide in the United States while I am walking. Each of those persons will leave behind devastating grief, stigma, and a host of unsolved questions for family members and friends. Each will represent another failure of our system of mental health care to deliver the care needed. Suicide is the fourth most common cause of death among U.S. adults, though you will find that statistic hard to find because it is often excluded from lists of causes of death. It is a public health issue that does not discriminate by age, gender, ethnicity or socio-economic status.
The annual walk, however, is not about wallowing in grief or dwelling in sadness. The event is filled with joyful reunions of friends, gentle conversation and a sense of having a good time. It is about hope that is stronger than grief, life that is stronger than death. We walk because we believe that we can make a difference. We walk because we believe that many suicides can be prevented.
It is very much like the walk of Jesus’ disciples. They started in the dark and gloomy thoughts of the death of Jesus, the rumors over the disappearance of his body, the devastation of lives torn asunder and dreams dashed. The future wasn’t working out the way they had imagined. They didn’t know what to do next, or where to turn. They were heading out of the city to get away from all that had happened, but the sadness of the previous days dominated their thought as they walked. You can tell it in their answer to Jesus’ question about their conversation.
Understanding resurrection does not come easily. A day of walking and talking and they were nearing their destination without recognition of the reality that was in their midst. It was only when they stopped walking and shared a meal that their eyes were opened and they recognized the risen Christ.
So we walk and then share light refreshments and conversation in the park. The distance between despair and hope is sometimes bigger than a physical obstacle.
In our life as a church, we travel through the 50 days of the season of Easter every year. It takes time and repetition for us to come to grips with a very complex and important reality of the nature of life. Love wins! Life is stronger than death. Death is not the end of the meaning, the purpose, or the dignity of human life. It is challenging to embrace fully the intellectual truth and emotional reality of resurrection. So we repeat the process every year.
And I walk every year. I’ll keep doing it for as long as I am able. I dream of the day when we no longer need to raise funds for suicide awareness and prevention. I dream of a day when the number of families devastated by suicide is much smaller. But I also walk because once suicide has touched your life it is always a part of your story. You don’t get over the death of a loved one. You get through it. Sometimes that takes a lot of walking.
These days I look forward to the walk.
First of all, the story is only reported in Luke. Although a similar story is in the longer ending to Mark, it is widely accepted that the longer ending is a later addition derived from the gospel of Luke. There is also a reference to an Emmaus in 1 Maccabees, which would come from within a couple of centuries of the Gosspel story and therefore might represent a reference to the same town. Over the years, many sites have been suggested for a possible location of the town. The name Emmaus means warm springs, and there are several different areas with warm springs. One of the keys to the identification of the location is that the report in Luke gives the distance of the walk of the disciples. That, in turn, is a bit of a challenge, because the Greek text reports the distance in stadia (sometimes translated leagues) and there are different definitions of the length of a stadia. What we do know is that the disciples were walking a distance that could be covered in a single day and most scholars agree that the distance was somewhere between 10.4 and 12 km (roughly between 6 and 7 miles).
The distance isn’t excessive. There are plenty of people who have active jobs such as package delivery, some warehouse work, and the like where they walk that much each day. It is an easy day’s journey for backpackers except in the most rugged terrain.
I plan to walk about half that distance this morning. It will give me an opportunity to think more about the disciples’ experience. It is one of the keys to understanding resurrection. And resurrection is not an easy concept to grasp.
I will be walking with friends and fellow survivors of suicide in the annual Front Porch Coalition 5K walk and fun run. I’ll leave the running to others this year.It is a gentle and beautiful walk from Old Storybook Island to Canyon Lake Park and back. Some years I walk to the end of the path at Cleghorn Canyon adding another bit to the walk. It is an opportunity to talk with other survivors, to remember the ones who have died, and to raise a few dollars for suicide prevention. This is the 12th year of our local walk and I’ve participated every year, though a couple of years I didn’t walk. I prefer to walk over having other assignments, but volunteers are needed for all kinds of tasks.
If the two hours that I walk are typical, there will be approximately 10 deaths by suicide in the United States while I am walking. Each of those persons will leave behind devastating grief, stigma, and a host of unsolved questions for family members and friends. Each will represent another failure of our system of mental health care to deliver the care needed. Suicide is the fourth most common cause of death among U.S. adults, though you will find that statistic hard to find because it is often excluded from lists of causes of death. It is a public health issue that does not discriminate by age, gender, ethnicity or socio-economic status.
The annual walk, however, is not about wallowing in grief or dwelling in sadness. The event is filled with joyful reunions of friends, gentle conversation and a sense of having a good time. It is about hope that is stronger than grief, life that is stronger than death. We walk because we believe that we can make a difference. We walk because we believe that many suicides can be prevented.
It is very much like the walk of Jesus’ disciples. They started in the dark and gloomy thoughts of the death of Jesus, the rumors over the disappearance of his body, the devastation of lives torn asunder and dreams dashed. The future wasn’t working out the way they had imagined. They didn’t know what to do next, or where to turn. They were heading out of the city to get away from all that had happened, but the sadness of the previous days dominated their thought as they walked. You can tell it in their answer to Jesus’ question about their conversation.
Understanding resurrection does not come easily. A day of walking and talking and they were nearing their destination without recognition of the reality that was in their midst. It was only when they stopped walking and shared a meal that their eyes were opened and they recognized the risen Christ.
So we walk and then share light refreshments and conversation in the park. The distance between despair and hope is sometimes bigger than a physical obstacle.
In our life as a church, we travel through the 50 days of the season of Easter every year. It takes time and repetition for us to come to grips with a very complex and important reality of the nature of life. Love wins! Life is stronger than death. Death is not the end of the meaning, the purpose, or the dignity of human life. It is challenging to embrace fully the intellectual truth and emotional reality of resurrection. So we repeat the process every year.
And I walk every year. I’ll keep doing it for as long as I am able. I dream of the day when we no longer need to raise funds for suicide awareness and prevention. I dream of a day when the number of families devastated by suicide is much smaller. But I also walk because once suicide has touched your life it is always a part of your story. You don’t get over the death of a loved one. You get through it. Sometimes that takes a lot of walking.
These days I look forward to the walk.