Week of May 4 (Easter 3)

Scripture: Luke 24:13-35– The Road to Emmaus
Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.
And he said to them, "What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?" They stood still, looking sad.Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, "Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?"
He asked them, "What things?" They replied, "The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him.But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place.Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning,and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive.Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him."
Then he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared!Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?"Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.
As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on.But they urged him strongly, saying, "Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over." So he went in to stay with them.When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight.
They said to each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?"That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together.They were saying, "The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!"Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Editor’s Note: Researching PWRDF’s history three years ago, I discovered many rich stories of people and places from throughout the world. Indeed, one could say that PWRDF’s “road to Emmaus” is now a journey that is 55-years long. In the words of Spanish poet, Antonio Machado, PWRDF staff and volunteers have sought to “to make the road by walking it.” And along the way we have been shaped, even re-directed along the road we have made through our encounters with partners in the Global South both overseas and here in Canada. In 1989 former PWRDF Director, Robin Gibson,[1] who at the time was the Asia Pacific Development Coordinator wrote “From Projects to Partnership (or some rambling thoughts after meetings in Ottawa).” Here is an excerpt from that challenging piece with questions that we continue to ask ourselves today:

PWRDF Story - From Projects to Partnerships by Robin Gibson, 1989

We find the word “partnership” much more frequently in our conversations when talking about international development.

But has the change of the words we use changed anything of how we relate or are partnerships really long term projects – a slightly revised mechanism for transferring our resources, solutions and skills to the third world?

We have come to acknowledge that it has been all too easy for projects to serve the needs of the North to dispense funds, alleviate our guilt but fail to serve the long term developmental needs of the South…

Much needs to happen if we are to change our mode from projects to partnership.

  1. …We have to unlearn patterns of relating on both sides… We have to share power and jointly take ownership for the problems that confront us…
  2. We have to change the understanding of our respective constituencies. We need to plan our development education so that “partnership” is understood not as a better way of us helping them but as a way of solving collective problems…
  3. We have to change our administrative structures to allow for partnership… The majority of Committee and staff time is still given over to project screening, reporting and allocations. There is little time for real strategizing about international structural injustices and setting goals for working towards some solutions with our partners in the South.

The full text of Robin’s “rambling thoughts” can be found by clicking here:

For Reflection: When on the road of your life journey have you encountered someone or something that has helped you to see the Divine, or simply to see in a new way? Think about what enabled that new “seeing.” Conversely, has there been an encounter in which you have been the one helping another to see in a new way?How did it impact, even change, your journey.

Concluding Prayer: Excerpt from “Becoming Human,” by Jean Vanier

“The word ‘accompaniment,’ like the word ‘companion,’ comes from the Latin words cum pane, which mean ‘with bread.’ It implies sharing together, eating together, nourishing each other, walking together. The one who accompanies is like a midwife, helping us to come to life, to live more fully. But the accompanier receives life also, and as people open up to each other, a communion of hearts develops between them. They do not clutch on to each other but give life to one another and call each other to greater freedom…

Accompaniment is at the heart of community life in l’Arche, but it is at the heart of all human growth. We human beings need to walk together, encouraging each other to continue the journey of growth and the struggle for liberation, and to break through the shell of egotism that engulfs us and prevents us from realizing our full humanity.”

Jean Vanier is a Canadian philosopher, theologian and founder of l’Arche, an international network of communities for people with intellectual disabilities. This excerpt comes from the 1998 Massey Lectures, “Becoming Human,” co-sponsored by Massey College, University of Toronto and CBC Radio and was first broadcast in November 1998 as part of CBC Radio’s Ideas series. The lectures were subsequently published under the same title by the CBC and House of Anansi Press Ltd., Toronto. The book can be ordered on line.

There is much by and about Jean Vanier on Youtube. Here is one short clip from an interview, titled “Becoming Human”:

[1] Robin Gibson was the Director of PWRDF from 1993 to 1998. Born in Uganda, he lived and worked in many different communities throughout the world, joining PWRDF in 1987 as Asia-Pacific Development Coordinator. Robin was a man of passion and empathy, who worked to make the world more just and caring. Robin died peacefully in his home, December 27, 1998 after a four-year fight with cancer. He was 45.