Luke 24:13-35
The Lenten season is in the rearview mirror, and Easter decorations have been stored for another year. It is easy to move from one season to another without fully processing what has just passed. As a therapist I practice a form of therapy called Lifespan Integration. It is a therapy that works to build new neuropathways for those who have experienced trauma. What strikes me about that work is how the brain continues to process the session for 18-24 hours after the session. Sometimes, the greatest insights happen during this period of time. It reminds me of the narrative of the Road to Emmaus . . . two travelers trying to make sense of what they had witnessed in Jerusalem. After spending the day with the risen Jesus, the experience exploded into new meaning – an afterglow.
I remember traveling to the Holy Land 45 years ago. The experiences over those two weeks filled my mind in a way that was overwhelming. Bethlehem, Caesarea, Gethsemane, Calvary, the Church of the Scourging, time on the Sea of Galilee, site of the Sermon on the Mount, and the Garden Tomb flooded my brain with so many images. I was a relatively new Christian and didn’t have the knowledge of Scripture to put it all together. Our spiritual guide was a Messianic Jew, having come to know Jesus as his Messiah as an adult. He was an incredible teacher, who brought deep teachings each evening and during the day as we stopped at various sites. One of the teachings was about the Holiest of Holies in the temple. His invitation at the end of that message was to enter the Holiest of Holies. (Think Heb. 10:19-22 — Heb 10:19-23 — Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” ESV)
The group I traveled with was a charismatic Christian group and the leader’s invitation was about seeking to speak in tongues. That was totally outside my understanding, as I had been saved and nurtured in a Baptist tradition. We left Tel Aviv on Palm Sunday as multitudes of pilgrims entered Jerusalem for Holy Week.
I continued to ponder the concept of entering the Holiest of Holies for the next few weeks after Easter – the afterglow continued. One Friday I became angry with God and lashed out at Him, launching the darkest weekend of my young Christian experience. By Sunday I was totally broken, and I asked one of my Christian brothers to pray with me. Through sobs of brokenness, I confessed my sin and sought His forgiveness. I then told God I wanted to enter the Holiest of Holies – I wanted the intimacy that could only be found there. I became fully surrendered to God that night. That doesn’t mean I never sinned again, but when I did, I sought to get back in the right relationship as soon as I could. Twenty-two years later, I began to fellowship with the Church of the Nazarene. It was then that I became familiar with the doctrine of Entire Sanctification – a second work of grace. In a workshop at District Assembly, I heard a General Superintendent speak on the doctrine and I realized that I had, through the work of the Holy Spirit, experienced it so many years earlier.
Some of my greatest spiritual experiences in life have come during the afterglows. I pray that as we move into a new season, that you have had the opportunity to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit during the events of Easter. I pray that He has placed thoughts into your mind that you can’t set aside. I pray that you experience an afterglow that will change you forever.
Be Blessed!!
Pastor Doug
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