commute

Luke 24:13-35

13 And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place. 15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them. 16 But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. 17 And He said to them, "What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?" And they stood still, looking sad. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, "Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?" 19 And He said to them, "What things?" And they said to Him, "The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, 20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him. 21 "But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened. 22 "But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive. 24 "Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see." 25 And He said to them, "O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 "Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?" 27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.
28 And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He were going farther. 29 But they urged Him, saying, "Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over." So He went in to stay with them. 30 When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. 32 They said to one another, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?" 33 And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them, 34 saying, "The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon." 35 They began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.

There is nothing that so typifies life in Midian than the commute. Everyone does it, no one really likes it. Sure, you get to catch up on sports radio, or your favorite morning radio team; but, there are just too many people in front of you...too many accidents...too much time "in-between things."

No one commutes like those near New York City. Anecdotally, I've found that most people who I know that work in New York (who don't live in NYC) commute around 90 minutes to, and 90 minutes from, work each day. That's three hours in a car, train, or waiting for either. That's a lot of hang time.

Here are some facts from Alan Pisarski's Commuting in America III study:

o More than 94 million commuters, 73 percent of all commuters, work within their county of residence, but that leaves more than 34 million who are exported each day from their home county to work, compared to an estimated 20 million in 1980, an 85 percent increase in that period, and more than 3 and a half times the number in 1960.

o Of the new workers added in the decade, 51 percent worked outside their home county, an extraordinary change.

o In Transit the vast majority of states had only limited swings of within one percentage point of their 1990 shares. There are only 10 states that exceed the national average transit share. There are two significant transit users; NY at 24 percent share and DC at 33 percent; otherwise the range in transit share operates between just below 10 percent (New Jersey) to below 1 percent (17 states).

A lot of people in Midian feel that commuting time is wasted time...time better spent with family, relaxing at home, even doing work. Add to that the frustrations of dealing with traffic, and you have a pretty nasty equation.

The two disciples walking to Emmaus were just trying to get home after the worst day in their lives. Their leader, Jesus had just been killed...the movement that He had started appeared to be at an end, and now they were left without a direction to go in their lives. They may have expected Jesus to start a new country; they may have been expecting some special bit of wisdom that would make their lives much easier; they may have been expecting Jesus to confound the local authorites and win back Jerusalem for the Jews.

They were not expecting Jesus to die....not like this...not crucified.

When another man joins them on the road, they are annoyed with him. He asks dumb questions and is forcing them to relive these horrible events. Can't he see that they are just trying to get home?

Of course, they are caught completely off guard when they find out that they have been walking with the Risen Lord. During their in-between time, their insignificant commute from a bad place to a place of rest, they happened upon the most important experience of their lives....and they almost missed it completely.

"Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?"

In hindsight, they realize the opportunity that almost went completely by them. Amidst their annoyance, their humdrum walk away from pain, they were reached by the Son of God, raised triumphantly from the dead.

We are no less human when we make the commute to and from Midian. Though our minds may tire of the "in-between" and the obstacles that keep us from going faster, we shouldn't forget that the Lord might be on the road with us, asking us to pay attention.