Heavy-Hearted

 

Daily Office Reading 7-7-21 (Year One)

Luke 24:12-35

²⁵ He said to them, “Foolish people! So unwilling to put your trust in everything the prophets spoke! (CJB)

The word “unwilling” is actually the phrase “slow (or heavy) of heart” in the Greek. Also, a possible translation of “put your trust in” is “to be entrusted with”. The Orthodox Jewish Bible uses the word “emunah.” ("Emunah" is also a Hebrew word with the meaning 'faith'; however, it is important to note that in Western culture, the concept of faith generally places the action upon the subject rather than its object, as in 'faith in God'. This is passive by nature. In Hebrew culture, it is action oriented involving active support, and places the action upon the object, as in 'support God.’—Wikipedia)

My amalgamation of all the different translations came out like this:

“He said, “You poor knuckleheads! Too heavy-hearted to be entrusted with everything the prophets said!”

They were sad and heavy-hearted— “They stood still, looking dejected.”

So, this guy that met them on the road wasn’t being mean. It was more along the lines of:

“Aw, buddy! Your brain’s all clogged up. You’re so down-in-the-dumps that you’ve forgotten how to get on with things. You’ve forgotten all the stuff that you know perfectly well; you’ve lost your trust in all the things you know are absolutely reliable. Hang in there!

 

I know it’s a bit trite, but that’s a good message!

My brain gets clogged up all the time, too.

I get down-in-the-dumps,

 and start imagining that nothing is ever going to go right again.

I forget all the things that I’ve never doubted, and never will.

I forget that I have a choice with chance-met strangers on the road—

When they make a show of heading off down the road without me,

I can shrug and let them go,

or,

at the end of the day,

I can invite them to stay with me,

and not take no for an answer.