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Psalm 30:1-12 I will exalt you, O LORD, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. 2 O LORD my God, I called to you for help and you healed me. 3 O LORD, you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from going down into the pit. 4 Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; praise his holy name. 5 For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. 6 When I felt secure, I said, “I will never be shaken.” 7 O LORD, when you favored me, you made my mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed. 8 To you, O LORD, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy: 9 “What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down into the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness? 10 Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me; O LORD, be my help.” 11 You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, 12 that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.
Luke 24:13-32 13 Now on that same day two of them 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?”
Walking with Jesus
This morning let us use our God–given imagination to put ourselves in the place of those two disciples walking the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus. The distance is about seven miles so it’s a two to three hour walk. That’s enough time for a good, long conversation. We are disciples of Jesus. We knew Jesus was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. Today we are filled with sadness and our hearts are heavy as we walk along the road. We had hoped Jesus was the one who would redeem Israel but instead he was crucified and died. Some of the women said an angel at the tomb had said he was alive but how could that be? Some of the disciples went to see and the tomb was empty but they didn’t see Jesus.
We are going to Emmaus because there doesn’t seem to be any reason to stay in Jerusalem now that Jesus is dead. Our hopes had died with him. As we walk along the road we meet a stranger. He asks us what we are talking about as we walk. This shocks us, how can he not know about Jesus? We tell him all that has happened.
The stranger rebukes us and then beginning with Moses and all the prophets he explained that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and enter into his glory. He went through all of scripture and interpreted all the things about the Messiah in them. He was amazing, such knowledge! When it seemed he was going past our village we urged him to stay and eat with us. As the meal began he took the bread, blessed and broke it and gave it to us. Then our eyes were opened and we recognized him. Jesus, alive, here with us! But just as we recognized him he vanished.
Imagine the shock they must have felt when they recognized him. No wonder they ran back to Jerusalem to tell the other disciples about it. Using your imagination to put yourself in the shoes of a Biblical character, to imagine yourself walking with Jesus is a way of moving from mere words on paper to experiencing the Bible; it is a way many use to deepen their faith. We’ve done it with this episode this morning and I encourage you to try it in your daily devotions.
The meal began as an act of hospitality, an invitation to a stranger by those who prepared the table. It is the presence of Christ at a table opened to a stranger which transforms an ordinary supper into the sacrament. Christ is both guest and host in that he is the one who breaks the bread, blesses it and shares it with those at the table. It is through Jesus’ interpretation of scripture and this sacramental act of breaking the bread just as Jesus broke it on that Passover night that they recognize Jesus and experience him as their risen Lord. This is how we experience Christ today, through the Word of scripture read and preached and in the sacrament of communion. The living Christ is both the key to our understanding of scripture and the very present Lord who is revealed to us in the breaking of bread. His presence at the communion table makes all believers first-generation Christians.
Luke says their eyes were opened when Jesus broke the bread. Jesus is revealed in the sacrament He instituted, in the breaking of the bread we recognize and acknowledge our Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ is revealed in the sacramental meal we celebrate each month. In our communion service the invitation to the Lord’s table quotes from our scripture this morning. “According to Luke, when our risen Lord was at table with his disciples he took the bread, and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him.”
Follow the language here. Look at the verbs. He took…blessed…broke…gave. Theologian Henri Nouwen follows these actions in his book, “Life of the Beloved.” In it he compares what happens during communion with what happens to us in our Christian life. Jesus took the bread. He chose the loaf. The first step in the Christian life is to acknowledge that we are chosen by God. Just as Jesus picked up that loaf so has God picked us up out of the mire of our sin and chosen us to be His beloved son or daughter.
Second, as Jesus blessed the bread so are we blessed by God. He has provided for all our needs. After Jesus blessed the bread He broke it. We all live in a fallen world and we are all in some way broken. It may be physical disease or injury, an addiction. It may be emotional pain, loneliness or grief. It may be something we keep hidden so deep inside that no one else knows about it. It may be something that we are deeply ashamed of, whatever it is, whatever the cause we are broken human beings. We live in a world filled with sin and all of us are broken by it in some way. The way to healing our brokenness is to bring it to God for Him to bless. When we bring our pain to God, when we place it under His blessing then and only then will it be bearable. Nouwen tells us that, “great and heavy burdens become light and easy when they are lived in the light of the blessing…Just as bread needs to be broken to be given, so, too, do our lives.”
Purpose can come from our brokenness if we allow it. Jesus gave the blessed and broken bread. In the same manner we are to give of ourselves, broken as we are, for it is in our sharing of ourselves with the world, being witnesses to God’s goodness and mercy that we become disciples of Jesus.
Let’s talk a bit about what it means to be a disciple. Many think only the original twelve were disciples. If you look it up in the dictionary though you will find that a disciple is one who follows and assists in spreading the doctrines of another. In the Christian faith we are talking about accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and assisting in the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We are all disciples of Jesus. What is necessary to be a disciple is not so much to believe the doctrines of the Presbyterian Church but to meet Jesus. In faith, we move from belief in a doctrine to knowledge of a person, from head knowledge to heart knowledge. Ultimate truth is found in a person and his name is Jesus. In His resurrection, Jesus moves our faith into the present tense.
Do you remember back in the 1990s when everyone was wearing the bracelets with WWJD on them? It stood for, “What would Jesus do?” and we were to pause before acting and consider what Jesus would do in a similar situation if He were here. It’s a good idea but inaccurate theologically because Jesus is here with us, in the present. The question is better put, “What is Jesus doing, right here, right now.” And a better question is, “and how can I join him?” Jesus has risen, yes, and the King is with us. How do we respond to him?
The two disciples on the road to Emmaus understand by remembrance. “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened the scriptures to us?” Sometimes an event is understood best when it is remembered rather than when it is anticipated or lived through. Have you ever experienced a time when you understood something better after it happened than in the middle of it? I know I can think back on my years of raising children and I understand some of the interactions and problems far more clearly now than I did at the time. As they say, hindsight is always 20/20! This is why we remember and celebrate the Lord’s Supper each month. We need reminding that Jesus is risen, He is Lord of all.
Disciples witness to what they have seen and heard. The first thing they did after Jesus disappeared was to return to Jerusalem and tell the other disciples. Having been turned from sadness and despair, their excitement in recognizing Jesus leads them to share their joy with their brothers and sisters and move them also out of hopelessness and grief. The message that creates a believing community needs to be heard again and again by that community. That’s why you come to hear me preach each week. This repetition is to confirm, encourage and deepen faith.
So how do we recognize Jesus as we travel our own road to Emmaus? We can find the answer in these verses. First, we recognize Him by knowing the Bible. Jesus used the scripture to trace back through all the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah and showed the two on the road how all the prophecies pointed to Him. God will help us as we read our Bibles; He will give us wisdom and insight. God is always with us through the Holy Spirit which indwells us. The whole reason for scripture is to point to God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In addition to knowing the Bible, we must spend time with Jesus. All the book knowledge in the world is no substitute for spending time with God. Note that the two travelers made time for Jesus. Luke says they urged Him strongly to stay with them. If they had not urged Him we are left to assume He would have gone on. Jesus does not force Himself on us. We need to set aside time every day, we need to urge Jesus to come and stay with us as those two travelers did.
Second, we experience Jesus in fellowship, here in our church family. Jesus has promised that wherever two or three are gathered together in His name, there is He in their midst. The Bible has only one account of Jesus appearing to a single person, Mary Magdelene at the tomb. All the other accounts are to twos and threes, all the gathered disciples and other groups. Yes, Jesus is able to manifest Himself to an individual but it happens far more often among believers who share their faith and break bread together as we do every time we take communion. Next week, when we take communion spend a silent moment seeking the presence of Jesus in that sacred time.
Third, if we want to recognize Jesus on our own Emmaus Road we need a heightened awareness. We need to live every day expecting Jesus to reveal Himself to us; we need to expect the unexpected. We need to be open to new experiences. Psychologists tell us that we don’t believe what we see; we see what we believe. Do you understand the difference? Our brains are wired to make patterns and interpretations out of what we see therefore we only see what we expect. But if we open ourselves up, if we ask Jesus to reveal Himself to us, we will see Him for He is truly here. As Jesus explained the scripture to the two travelers on the road he rebukes them first because the trouble is in their hearts not in their understanding. It is only when their hearts are right that they can see Him for who He truly is.
I have known people who live with this type of heightened awareness. I have known people who have had amazing experiences of Jesus’ presence. In some cases these experiences sustained them through hard times in their lives. In other cases, it turned their lives around and they found themselves dedicating their lives to Jesus and living to spread the gospel. You never know what might happen if you but open yourself to Jesus.
Listen to a description of John Wesley’s experience. “I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation, and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins—even mine—and saved me from the law of sin and death.” Wesley describes his experience as his heart strangely warmed. This experience changed his life and he went on to found the Methodist denomination. This type of experience is possible for any of us, just ask Jesus to reveal Himself to you, you may be surprised at the result!
The two disciples discovered a burning heart comes only by walking with Jesus—or rather by inviting him to walk with you. The miracle came only after they chose to show hospitality, and when they finally recognized him they realized their true destination. Have you considered the possibility that your next interruption might be God wanting to hang out with you? Let us all make time in our daily schedules to include the possibility of a welcome interruption from Jesus?