The Third Sunday of Easter ---- 26 April 2020

Luke 24:13-35

13 Now on that same day two [disciples] were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, ¹⁴ and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. ¹⁵ While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, ¹⁶ but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. ¹⁷ And he said to them, "What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?" They stood still, looking sad. ¹⁸ 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?" ¹⁹ 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, ²⁰ and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. ²¹ 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. ²² Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, ²³ 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. ²⁴ 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." ²⁵ Then he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! ²⁶ Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?" ²⁷ Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. ²⁸ As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. ²⁹ 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. ³⁰ When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. ³² 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?" ³³ That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. ³⁴ They were saying, "The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!" ³⁵ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

·         I’ve always enjoyed this passage and I have an unusual understanding of it. Just before my family and I moved to Ontario, we lived in… Emmaus, a town in Pennsylvania maybe twice the size of Aylmer. It was founded in the 1750’s by Christians of the Moravian Church. Anyway “the Road to Emmaus” is now full of car dealerships. There had been a great little place called Barney’s Diner, but it’s a used car lot now.

·         A number of theologians feel that this passage mirrors the early church’s worship service; Christians gather, hear the Word, break bread (which means Holy Communion), and go out to share Christ with other disciples and with the world. That does sound like the basics of a service of the Lord’s Supper to me.

·         Luke’s Gospel has Jesus doing two things an awful lot. One is traveling; even in today’s reading the disciples meet Jesus as they travel to Emmaus. The other is eating – whether that is part of the multiplication of loaves and fishes, of eating with “sinners and tax collectors” (which upset the righteous people a lot, who also called him a glutton and a drunkard) and then the Last Supper. Jesus even eats a piece of cooked fish when he meets his disciples after the Resurrection, to prove he’s not a ghost. The fellowship of table and food is important to Luke’s telling of the Good News.

·         The encounter on the road to Emmaus is a particular one. Jesus is unrecognized until we reach a certain point in the story. He explains the Scripture to the two disciples in the face of their amazement. When they gather at the table, it is Jesus who takes over the role of host as he takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to the two disciples. As one commentator put it, “But when Jesus does the most Jesus thing of all, everything changes.” When the Gospels say “break bread”, it’s more than just any old meal; it’s the meal we as Christians were told to do “in memory of me.” It’s only then that the disciples recognize him since he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread. Then he is gone, although their hearts burned within them.

·         With this reading, today would be the perfect time to celebrate the Lord’s Supper… and we can’t; at least not as we’d like to. So what’s next?

·         Where do we encounter Jesus when we can barely encounter anyone?

·         Let’s start where Luke starts: with the gathering of the community “on the road to Emmaus.” I don’t know who’s out there today, watching and praying with me, so this is as much gathering as we can do today. It will serve. “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” (Mt. 18:20)

·         Well, we can’t break bread either. However, we will… we will.

·         Luke has Cleopas and his companion listen to Jesus open the scripture to them to interpret the recent events. THAT we can do! Maybe our hearts will burn within us as we hear the Word.

·         Luke also tells us of the hospitality and openness of the disciples to the one they thought was a stranger. For good reason (probably safety), they invited him to stay and to eat with them. We may not be able to share a meal right now, but we can hope to and be ready to when we can.

·         It could be that the lesson we learn during this stressful time is to realize how hungry we are for the presence of our sisters and brothers in Christ. It might be the biggest revelation of all to find Jesus in the people around us.

·         The message today is that Jesus is present to us in whatever situation we find ourselves in. In hearing the Word, eating and drinking the Lord’s Supper and in our time of fellowship, we can find Jesus. In fact, he guarantees it. He will even surprise us as to where and when we’ll know his presence. In fact, I hope he does.

·         In feeding his disciples with the community, the Word, and the Bread, Jesus open their eyes to see that he’s been with them – and us – all along.