Restructuring imagination

Ben Green | Luke 24:13-35 

‘Jesus of Nazareth... was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body.’

It's natural, if difficult, to refer to someone who has just died in the past tense. For these two disciples, walking to Emmaus, hope had died too. The stranger who walked with them transformed their way of thinking and opened their eyes to see what was really true: that Jesus, and hope, were alive forever.

Ben was speaking in a short service on the morning of the Birmingham Half-Marathon which we then went out in the street to support. The recording begins with the reading from Bobbie Frere.

An edited video recording of the Sunday service can be viewed on YouTube.