April 6 - A Mysterious Stranger
on the Road
Luke 24:13-35
If the story ended at the empty tomb, we
wouldn’t be here in church today.
In the days of His earthly
ministry, when the disciples wanted to be in Jesus presence, they went to where ever he was. If they wanted to learn from Him, they went and listened to him teach.
But Jesus is risen. How do we find him - and listen to Him now?
Today’s gospel is one instance of how Jesus guided His disciples from the “then” – before the resurrection
– to the “now” of after.
It is one of the events that provide a bridge from then to now – the transition from the days when Jesus walked with his disciples -
to the days after the resurrection, when the risen Christ would be present
in new ways - present through His Word and Spirit - present in the breaking of
the bread, Holy Communion.
On the afternoon of that first Easter day, two disciples, who were not
of the twelve, were going to a village called Emmaus. They had heard the report of the women who
had found the empty tomb, but these guys did not believe that Jesus was alive.
Apparently they had concluded
that the situation was now hopeless – their leader was gone. So they left the other disciples and started the long journey home. They had given up.
At this moment of despair –
of hopelessness – a stranger
joins them on the road. He asked what
they were discussing in such somber terms -–and they tell him the story. They even report the women’s early morning
visit to the tomb and how Peter and another disciple had run to the tomb, found
it empty – but they had not see the Lord.
To which the stranger responds “Oh how foolish you are and how slow of heart to believe…” Luke 24:25
I wonder if there aren’t times when Jesus would say those exact same words to us when we face what we think
is a hopeless situation -
“Oh how foolish you are and slow to believe…”
If only you would turn to me – and trust me – then you would find hope.
The stranger studies the
scripture with them. He teaches
using passages from the Bible.
Later, they conclude "Were
not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while
he was opening the scriptures to
us?" 24:32
Again, Christ is teaching them. But now, he uses the words of scripture to instruct them.
“He opened
their minds so they could understand the scriptures” 24:45
As they went over familiar passages, their minds were opened to new meaning.
Christ speaks through
the words of scripture.
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Years ago back in
I was curious, so the next time I went, I stood near the place where
the gospel was read. At the conclusion,
as the choir sang, I also went up, and the priest whispered to each one of us
“Christ is among us”
“Christ is among us”
The risen Christ is present - His Spirit is among us – as we listen to
His Word – that he might open our minds to understand the scriptures as He did
for those two disciples.
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As we listen to or study them the Bible, we can listen for his voice speaking to our
hearts and minds. Christ is among
us. His Spirit will ‘open’ our minds so that we can grow in understanding and His Spirit works within us to apply
those words to our lives today.
Which is why we can all study the same lesson, and each take away a different message – because Christ has a different message for each of us and can use the
scriptures to speak to us individually.
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After the
disciples had talked with the stranger about those bible passages, they invited
Him to a meal together. The guest became the host.
He accepts their hospitality,
and at table, takes the bread and blesses it, breaks the bread and gives it to
them -- actions recall both the
miraculous feeding of the five thousand and also the last supper.
Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized
Him. It
was another meal with Jesus.
The fellowship of Jesus with His disciples will continue, but in a new way.
The Lord had been made known to them in the
breaking of the bread. Luke 24:35
As we
gather in worship and, in obedience to his command, we take bread
and bless it, break the bread and share it, the Lord
is present among us.
On that day on the road to Emmaus, he went from guest to host, so now Christ
is the host at this meal, the Lord’s Supper, nourishing us with the bread
of heaven, food for our souls. In
Holy Communion, Christ comes to draw us
closer to Him.
At the beginning of the
reading, the two disciples were walking in the wrong direction - away from the fellowship of believers in
But after their
encounter with Jesus they headed back into community, and rejoin the fellowship of
disciples.
Like them, when we are
discouraged and disappointed, we may stop
being part of the fellowship, the church. But we are likely to miss Jesus when we withdraw
from the strength found with other believers, and become preoccupied
with our problems.
We draw closer to the Lord by participating in the fellowship of His
followers. Sharing our stories of faith. Hearing His Word as it comes to us from and through our brothers and
sisters.
That brings us
closer to the Lord.
In offering hospitality to a stranger
those disciples encountered the
risen Lord. Sometimes the Lord may even send a stranger to us to bring us a
message which can produce new hope.
Professor Patrick Keifert told this story
from his time as a parish pastor in
He stopped at a MacDonalds, and sat by
himself with his Big Mac, fries and a coke.
He saw a man walking down the aisle toward him – a poorly dressed man
who was not carrying a tray of food.
Pastor Pat was in clerical attire, so he figured the guy was going to
ask him for money. His first thought was
did he have some change or would he have to go into his wallet.
Pat tried to avoid looking up, concentrating on his fries, but to his
disappointment, the man sat down at his table, directly opposite him. It had been a bad day in a discouraging week
and now an uninvited stranger would tell him some story to get a handout.
But the man simply asked “How’s it going Father?”
“This hasn’t been a great day.”
“Having a rough time, Father?”
“Yeah…”
“Father, let me ask you a question: Do you really
believe in the resurrection – believe that Jesus rose from the dead?’
Pat was caught of guard and hesitated, then said: “Well, I haven’t
thought much about that recently, but I suppose I do – at least on my good
days.”
The stranger looked him straight in the eyes and said: “I thought
so” – shook his head, implying that Pat’s weak faith was the real problem –
then got up and was gone.
Pat Keifert believes that stranger brought a
message from the Lord. It was Jesus speaking
to him, correcting him, and calling him back to faith. Like those discouraged disciples on the road
to Emmaus, Pat needed to have his eyes opened to the presence and power of God.
As those two disciples on the road to Emmaus did not initially recognize the risen
Lord’s presence in the stranger, so disciples of today may not always discern his presence.
But the risen Christ journeys with His disciples,
even though we may not
recognize him.
There are times when God feels
far away - --
-- times when I despair
about the same questions
that plague most of us.
But the faith is not about me -
what I think, what I can believe.
The faith is about Jesus -- His promise and His presence
and His purpose.
A faith that simply
trusts His promise to be present among us.
It is with the eyes of faith
that we come to know His
presence in Holy Communion.
The ears of faith that
hear His voice speaking to us
personally through a passage of scripture.
It is with hands of
faith that we reach out and join
with brothers and sisters in fellowship and thus touch
Christ.
Alleluia.
Christ is risen
And he is known to us in the breaking of bread.