Luke
24:13-35 (NRSVue)
13 Now on
that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven
miles[a] 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.[b] 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,[c] 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.[d] 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[e] 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[f] 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.
Reflection
Jesus was there the entire time; the pastor
just could not see him.
We were sitting together at a conference dinner table with a smooth, black tablecloth, with fancy cloth napkins that were previously wrapped around the silver, and with the glow of a candle in the center. It was nice. But the twisting pain of my fellow pastor’s heart was not as nice.
“I don’t think I believe anything I say anymore. After she died, the words that come out of my mouth just seem so dead and hollow.”
The pastor’s wife had died months before.
“I don’t believe a word of what comes out of my own mouth. ‘God is good. God is so caring.’ What a bunch of bologna!”
He did not say “bologna.”
“I don’t think I love God anymore. I don’t even know if God is even there. I preach because I need the check, my kids need the check, but I don’t believe a word of what I say. How could I believe any of this after she was stolen from me?”
I sat there and listened. I knew that Jesus was right there, sitting with us, embracing him while he suffered. Psalm 38:18 kept singing in my head, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (NRSVue, Psalm 38:18).
But I did not quote it. I chose to believe for him, like those friends who carried their paralyzed companion to Jesus for healing. Jesus said that it was the friend’s belief that healed that guy. So, I said nothing. I just listened and carried him in my silent prayers to Jesus to find some healing.
How would interrupting him with cheap biblical platitudes change his suffering? He would not have believed me if I reminded him that Jesus was there with him. No, Jesus needed to show himself. He was there; and the poor pastor needed Jesus to just show himself. But, even if he did, even if Jesus pulled up a chair and took a seat right next to us, would the poor pastor have believed?
I was not so sure. After-all, I know the story of the “Road to Emmaus” very well. In the story, there are two disciples who are walking the seven-mile stretch between Jerusalem and Emmaus, and on that journey, they are similarly distressed over the grizzly death of their teacher, their Messiah, who they had hoped would be the one to redeem Israel. Instead, as the disciples say in their own words, “our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him” (Luke 24:20).
The two disciples say these very words to a stranger, a foreigner according to the Greek, who joins them on their walk. The foreigner joins them on their painful journey back home. The two are carrying their travel bags filled with sorrow and survivor’s guilt. As they travel, they recount the sad story, again and again, of how the one they had hoped would be the Messiah was now dead. The hope they had for their people’s salvation was dead. The teacher they loved was dead. The one who had loved and healed them was dead. Jesus was dead.
They share their pain with the foreigner. They share the story of Jesus with the foreigner, sharing that Jesus “was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people” (Luke 24:19). They also share how, three days now after his crucifixion, they heard stories from some women about the empty tomb and a “vision of angels who said that he was alive” (Luke 24:23). The tomb was indeed empty, but no one saw Jesus. He was not there.
They are distraught. They are grief stricken. They are confused. They “had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel” (Luke 24:21).
“We had hoped…” they say. “We had hoped.”
I cannot tell you how often grief is filled with the words, “We had hoped…” “We had hoped that he would live long enough to see his grandchildren.” “We had hoped that she would live long enough to graduate.” “We had hoped that he could have made it through the addiction.” “We had hoped that she would have the chance to become a dancer.” “We had hoped that he could at least see his first birthday.” “We had hoped to talk with her at least one more time.” There is just so much pain suspended in the words: “We had hoped.”
As they carry the weight of their loss, and as they struggle to hold onto the shards of their broken dreams, these two disciples of Jesus Christ are unable to see that the stranger walking with them is Jesus.
The pastor had hoped that he would have many, many more years with his wife. The pastor had hoped that Jesus would heal his wife. The pastor had hoped for a miracle like in the days of Jesus’ ministry where he reached out a hand, touched, and healed.
“We had hoped.”
The pastor and the disciples were both carrying heavy loads, and their heavy loads of grief just did not allow them to see. Now, both the pastor and the disciples still carried the stories of Jesus with them and shared those stories. They shared the stories of love. They were doing the right thing…but they just could not see. And all while they were carrying that heavy load, Jesus was there. He was there the entire time.
I just want to point out that these disciples were quite the opposite of no faith, weak people, who lacked devotion and moral character. They did not lack faith. They were simply “slow of heart to believe.” They just could not see Jesus. In fact, I would argue that these two disciples were titans of bearing heavy burdens, carrying the weight of grief and broken dreams, yet still holding close the story of Jesus and sharing that story. Grief is not weakness and struggle is not a lack of moral character.
And none of that means that God has left you. Jesus is there the whole time! I do not know who needs to hear this, but you need to know that Jesus is there the entire time for you as well. The only problem is that, like the disciples, sometimes we just cannot see Jesus. So, how do we see that Jesus is with us? How do we see that Jesus is here, present in our struggles and present in our lives?
Jesus does not exactly keep the answer a secret, and that is a good thing. The Bible reads:
“Beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. 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. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him” (Luke 24:27-31).
How do we see Jesus? What do we do when we are exhausted from carrying the unbearable weight of the world? We allow Jesus to open the scriptures to us. We allow Jesus to feed us at his table. We allow Jesus to use his words and his meal to open our eyes to his presence.
Jesus is here after-all. Jesus was present with the disciples, and Jesus is present with us through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was and is present the entire time.
And that is why we call it grace. The disciples do not need to prove anything for Jesus to arrive. The disciples do not need to have rock-solid faith. The disciples do not need to find the secret to opening their minds and their eyes. The disciples do not need to do anything but look and see, because when Jesus wants to be seen, he will be seen. Jesus was there with those disciples the entire time, and that is grace.
“I once saw Jesus in a piece of toast,” I told the grieving pastor when he stopped sharing his grief and just stared straight ahead. “The Bible tells us that Jesus was with the disciples the entire time on the road to Emmaus, but they didn’t see him until Jesus broke bread. Well, I’m just saying that I saw Jesus with me one morning as a child while staring at my toast. Right there in the browned parts of the bread was Jesus’ face. He was right there in front of me on my plate. I told my mom, ‘I see Jesus on my toast!’ and she told me, ‘Good. Now eat him quick, because you need to get out to the bus.’”
My story was not profound, but it broke the tension. What was profound was what happened next. The table beside us got up to leave, and a man walked over with a basket and said, “You look like someone who could use more bread? We had plenty” and he set the basket of bread down in front of the pastor. The pastor began to weep. Jesus was there with him, in the breaking of the bread. Jesus was there the entire time.
Jesus is with you the entire time. You are a people filled with the Lord’s presence and the Lord’s grace. You do not need to work for it, but you do get to live in it.
You do get to be the people of God who celebrate the joy of the Lord, even while still disbelieving sometimes, just like the disciples…just like the pastor. You do get to be the people of God who literally walk with your Lord everywhere you go. Who else gets to say that? Who else gets to walk everyday with the redeemer of the entire universe?
Blessed are you who suddenly see that Jesus walks with you every step of the way!
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