Recognizing the Risen Lord

PRELUDE

WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

OPENING PRAYER

Risen Lord Jesus, you walked with your disciples on the road, and though their eyes were closed to your presence, you opened the Scriptures and set their hearts ablaze. Come among us now, we pray. Open your Word to us, that we may understand; reveal yourself in the breaking of the bread, that we may truly see; and guide us by your Spirit into all truth, that our faith may be strengthened for the journey. Turn our confusion into clarity, our sorrow into joy, and our wandering into witness; through Jesus Christ, the Living One, who reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

*OPENING SONGS

THE APOSTLE’S CREED

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of the Father, and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic* church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

PRAYERS AND CONCERNS

Risen Lord Jesus, you come near to us even when we do not recognize you— walking beside us in our confusion, listening to our questions, and holding our lives within your grace.

We confess that we are often like those first disciples: slow to believe, quick to lose hope, and unsure of what you are doing among us. When our vision is clouded and our hearts are heavy, draw near to us once more.

Open the Scriptures to us, O Lord. Where your Word has grown familiar, make it alive again. Where we are confused, bring clarity. Where we are resistant, soften our hearts. Cause your truth to burn within us, that we may know you are speaking even now.

Reveal yourself to us in the breaking of the bread. As we come to your Table, meet us with your real presence and abundant grace. Feed us with the life of Christ, forgive our sins, strengthen our faith, and renew us in your love. Make this not only a remembrance, but a true sharing in your life.

Guide us, Holy Spirit, into all truth. When the way is unclear, lead us step by step. When we are weary on the journey, sustain us. When we are tempted to turn away, call us back. Form in us a living faith— a faith that trusts before it sees, and follows wherever Christ leads.

We pray for your Church, that we may be a people formed by Word and Table, a community where Christ is known, and where grace is freely given and received.

We pray for those who are walking through sorrow, for the sick and the grieving, for the anxious and the burdened. Draw near to them on their road, and let them know they are not alone.

And when our eyes are opened, O Lord, send us back into the world— to bear witness to your resurrection, to share your love, and to live as your people.

We ask all this in the name of Jesus Christ, the risen and living Lord, who walks with us, feeds us, leads us home, and teaches us to pray by saying,

Our Father, who art in heaven...

TITHES AND OFFERINGS

SONG OF PRAISE

DOXOLOGY

CHILDREN’S MESSAGE

GOSPEL LESSON - Luke 24:13-35

Luke 24:13–35 ESV

13 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up 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 happened. 22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even 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 him they did not see.” 25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. 28 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29 but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” 33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Introduction

The road to Emmaus is one of the most honest resurrection stories in all of Scripture.

These two disciples are not triumphant. They are not singing alleluias. They are not proclaiming victory.

They are leaving.

Leaving Jerusalem. Leaving hope. Leaving behind everything they thought God was doing.

They are walking away with heavy hearts, trying to make sense of a story that no longer makes sense.

And then—Jesus comes near.

Not in glory. Not in power. But as a stranger on the road.

He walks with them. He listens to them. He asks questions. He draws them out.

And the remarkable thing is this: They do not recognize him.

Which tells us something deeply important about the resurrection life.

Christ is present before he is recognized. Christ is at work before he is understood. Christ is walking with us even when we do not yet see him.

And in this story, we are given a pattern—a way of understanding how the risen Christ continues to meet his people.

Big Idea

Jesus walks with us even when we do not recognize him.

He is made known in Scripture opened, in bread broken, and in a journey shaped by grace.

1. The Risen Christ Opens the Scriptures

As they walk, Jesus begins to speak.

He does not immediately reveal himself. Instead, he interprets their story through the lens of Scripture. Beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he shows them that the Messiah must suffer and then enter into glory.

They had read these Scriptures before. They had heard them in the synagogue. But they had not understood them this way.

And this is not new.

In Nehemiah 8:8, when the people of God return from exile, we are told:

“So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.”

The Word of God must be opened.

It must be interpreted. It must be illuminated.

Because Scripture is not just information—it is a means of grace.

In the Wesleyan tradition, we believe that when Scripture is read, preached, and received, Christ himself is present through the Spirit, awakening, convicting, and transforming the heart.

This is why the disciples later say, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road?”

Their hearts were burning before their eyes were opened.

Something was already happening within them.

John Wesley believed deeply in this transforming power of the Word. He understood that God uses Scripture not merely to inform us, but to convey grace to us—to awaken faith where there was none, and to deepen faith where it already exists.

So often, we approach Scripture looking for answers. But in reality, Scripture is where Christ comes to meet us.

On the Emmaus road, Jesus is not simply explaining the Bible. He is revealing himself through it.

And the same is true for us.

Resurrection faith begins when Christ opens the Scriptures—not just to our minds, but to our hearts.

2. The Risen Christ Is Revealed in the Breaking of the Bread

But here is what is so striking: even after their hearts are burning— even after the Scriptures are opened— they still do not recognize him.

Understanding alone is not enough.

Recognition comes at the table.

When they reach their destination, they urge Jesus to stay. And when he sits with them, he takes bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them.

And suddenly—their eyes are opened.

They recognize him.

And in that very moment, he vanishes.

This is no accident. This is theology.

The risen Christ chooses to make himself known in the breaking of the bread.

And the apostle Paul helps us understand what is happening here. In 1 Corinthians 10:16, he writes:

“The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?”

This is not mere symbolism.

This is participation. This is communion. This is grace being given and received.

In the Wesleyan tradition, Holy Communion is not simply a memorial. It is a means of grace—a place where Christ is truly present and actively giving himself to his people.

John Wesley wrote in The Duty of Constant Communion:

“The grace of God given herein confirms to us the pardon of our sins, enables us to leave them, and to renew our souls in the image of God.”

Do you hear that?

At the Table, grace is not only remembered—it is given. It confirms forgiveness. It strengthens holiness. It renews the soul.

Wesley even went so far as to call Holy Communion a “converting ordinance.”

That means people may come to the Table without full faith—and there receive the grace that awakens faith.

Think about Emmaus.

The disciples do not recognize Jesus because they have reached perfect understanding. They recognize him because he gives himself to them.

He takes. He blesses. He breaks. He gives.

And in that giving, their eyes are opened.

This is the mystery of the Table.

Christ is both host and meal. He is both the one who invites and the one who gives himself.

Wesley pressed this point strongly when he asked:

“Why do you not communicate? You say, ‘I am unworthy.’ Then you are the more in need of it.”

The Table is not a reward for the righteous. It is nourishment for the hungry.

It is not for those who have it all together. It is for those who need grace.

And that means— it is for us.

At Emmaus, they recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread. And today, the risen Christ still makes himself known in the same way.

3. The Risen Christ Forms Faith Through the Journey

But perhaps the most surprising part of the story comes after.

After Jesus vanishes, the disciples turn to one another and say, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road?”

Only now do they understand what had been happening all along.

Faith had already been forming.

Before recognition. Before certainty. Before clarity.

Jesus had promised that this is how it would be. In John 16:13, he said:

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.”

Notice the language: guide.

Not download. Not instantly reveal. But guide—over time, along the way.

This is deeply Wesleyan.

John Wesley understood the Christian life as a journey of grace.

Prevenient grace draws us before we are aware. Justifying grace saves us when we trust Christ. Sanctifying grace continues to shape us into the image of Christ.

And through it all, the Spirit is guiding us—step by step.

The Emmaus road is a picture of that journey.

The disciples are confused—but not abandoned. They are uncertain—but not alone. They are slow to believe—but still accompanied by Christ.

And here is the good news:

Jesus does not wait until they understand to walk with them.

He walks with them into understanding.

And once they finally recognize him, everything changes.

They get up that very hour. They return to Jerusalem. They go back to the place they had been leaving.

Because encounter leads to mission.

When you recognize the risen Christ, you cannot keep walking away. You are turned around. You are sent back. You become a witness.

Conclusion

The story of Emmaus is not just about two disciples long ago.

It is about us.

Because we, too, have moments when we do not recognize Christ.

Moments when we are walking through confusion. Moments when hope feels distant. Moments when we are not sure what God is doing.

And yet— he is there.

Walking with us. Speaking to us. Opening the Scriptures. Meeting us at the Table. Guiding us by his Spirit into truth.

This is resurrection life.

Not just that Jesus was raised— but that he is present.

Present in the Word. Present in the Table. Present in the journey of grace.

So come to the Scriptures—expecting Christ to speak. Come to the Table—expecting Christ to give himself. And trust the journey—knowing the Spirit is guiding you.

Because even when you do not recognize him—

He is already walking with you.

Amen.

*SONG OF RESPONSE

BENEDICTION