Years ago, my dad had a saying that went like this: “You look like you just lost your last friend.”  Now, I never actually lost my last friend, but I’m sure I looked that way sometimes while growing up, especially during the teen years!  In Luke 24, the two travelers that walked along the Emmaus road probably looked just like that.  Take a moment to read their story in Luke 24:13-35.  In fact, that’s exactly what they told the “Stranger” who walked with them.  They believed that they had just lost their best, although maybe not their last, friend.  Not just their best friend, but their hope of a Redeemer.  In their minds, Jesus was dead.  It was all over.  Their despair is seen in the words of verse 21 when they woefully stated, “We trusted that it had been He which should have redeemed Israel….”  Notice the past tenses: “trusted,” “had been,” “should have.”  It seems all their hopes died when Jesus did, in spite of the women’s reports of the empty tomb.  Then, using the Scriptures, this “Stranger” began to teach them all about their Messiah.  Perhaps wanting to hear more, the travelers invited the “Stranger” to stop and have supper with them.  The thanks was given for the food, and suddenly their eyes were opened and, as verse 31 says, “they knew Him.”  Suddenly, everything changed!  And just as suddenly, Jesus vanished.  They excitedly rushed back to Jerusalem, found the disciples, and together they all rejoiced in the news, “The Lord is risen indeed!”  Hope was reborn.  Joy was rekindled.  Faith was renewed.  As you look in the mirror today, do you see someone who, in the words of my dad, looks as if he’s just lost his last friend?  Hear the words that rang from the lips of those gathered on that Resurrection Sunday: “The Lord is risen indeed!”  Let the glorious truth of our Savior’s resurrection peel away the veil of despair, lift the load of depression, and wipe away the muck and mire of discouragement.  Let it replace all that with the hope and joy of faithfully serving your risen Lord.  You haven’t lost that Friend – He’s with you always and coming one day to receive you to Himself!