Have you ever been disappointed, had your dreams crushed, or seen your expectations unfulfilled?  We all have.  Those moments are painful, and they tempt us to cynicism.  They teach us to refuse to hope so that we will never open our hearts to being wounded that way again.

On the road to Emmaus, two disciples were heartbroken with disappointment because of Jesus's crucifixion.  They did not recognize the risen Jesus when he joined them along the road and began to question them about the reason for their sadness.  They replied, "Are you the only one who hasn't heard?  WE HAD HOPED he would be the one to redeem Israel."

How many times have we said, "We had hoped...".  Easter tells us that we can hope again.  It tells us that Jesus is with us, so even our greatest disappointments contain seeds of a new day and new possibilities.

May our eyes, like the eyes of the two blessed friends, be opened to Christ with us so that our sadness might be overcome with joy and we might live out the hope of Easter!

Your affectionate friend and brother,

Pastor Nathan