Returned to Jerusalem with great joy

In my first short story, I wrote about returning to my childhood town and the memories it evoked. I dealt with the joy I felt on returning to the small church on the hill, being towed on the crossbar of my uncle’s Humber bicycle, walking up Quarry Street pass the men making steelpans on the sidewalk.

I remembered that story when I read the line from this week’s Gospel Luke 24:46-53 ‘And they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy…’ Like the disciples, I had left that town in embarrassment. But on that day I returned with joy.

Luke described the earlier mood, when the disciples left Jerusalem on the road to Emmaus - they stood still, looking sad, their eyes downcast. Now they were returning with great joy.

Isn’t it amazing how our feelings can change after an encounter with Jesus Christ despite circumstances and surroundings remaining the same. That contrast between sadness and joy speaks deeply to me. It is the joy that comes from knowing Jesus Christ intimately and realizing he knows me and loves me.

And He has a plan for me, one that exceeds my greatest hopes. As I look back on my life I can see moments when His hands gently led me off in a different direction than I was traveling.

Those detours didn’t make sense at the time—sometimes they felt like setbacks or even failures. But in hindsight, I see them now as graces in disguise, invitations to trust more deeply. The road I thought I should be on wasn’t always the one that would bring me closer to Him.

And yet, even in my confusion or resistance, He remained patient, quietly guiding me. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, I didn’t always recognize Him walking beside me. But now, as I reflect, I can say with confidence: my heart was burning within me all along.

Maybe we are at such crossroads at present. I know I am. It is a time when we silent our mind, still ourselves and connect with His Spirit deep within, seeking discernment.