Reality is Not Neat

The Text: Encountering Christ

ON THE ROAD 4-6-08

We hear the story. Dreams had been put to death.

Cleopas and companion walk away after crucifixion.

Today we hear of those two travelers on the road from Jerusalem to a nearby town called Emmaus. We don’t know much about them except that they had been followers of Jesus. It was now the afternoon of the third day after their hopes and dreams had been put to death, and buried in a tomb. It was the afternoon of the first Easter bit there was no joy and celebration, no Alleluia’s being sung.

They walk in disappointment.

They walk away from death—disappointed, defeated.

They walked along disappointed, defeated and devastated, because they thought their life with Jesus was over. But as they walked along that road Cleopas and his unnamed companion were joined by another.

Unknowingly accompanied by Christ.

The risen Lord joins the travelers on the road, but, they don’t recognize him yet. He asks them what they have been talking about. And we get this picture of the two of them telling Jesus the story of his own life, ministry, suffering and death. "We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel," they tell him.

He asks them what they have been talking about. And we get this picture of the two of them telling Jesus the story of his own life, ministry, suffering and death. "We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel," they tell him.

Clearly, these two travelers on the road have lost their faith and their hope. The crucifixion was very real for them. Jesus had been hauled before the courts, condemned to death and executed. They felt like it was the killing of a dream they had counted on.

Jesus starts to reveal himself.

Then Jesus began to lead the conversation as they continued to walk and talk. He interpreted his life and ministry, his death and his rising from suffering in the light of the scriptures. But they still didn’t quite get it, not yet. As they arrive at their destination in Emmaus, it is almost evening.

Cleopas and his unnamed companion invite Jesus to stay with them, to share a meal with them. Finally, in the breaking of the bread, the lights come on. They recognize that the stranger who walked with them and talked with them on the road was really no stranger but the crucified and now risen, Lord Jesus.

It’s a new day for them and for the world.

Reflecting on Emmaus

As we reflect today about that walk to Emmaus, we are reminded that we are all travelers. We are on the way from one place to another.

In ancient times, one school of Greek philosophy defined life as movement. To live was to move. When you think about it, life really does involve movement.

There is physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual movement in our lives, from infancy to adulthood. Luke reminds us today that Christians are a people "on the move," travelling the road of life, travelling our Emmaus road. That may be why, in the book of Acts, Luke calls Christians people of "the Way" to symbolize the fact that we haven't reached our final destination yet. We are still travelers.

On our own Emmaus Journey

Each one of us here today is on a kind of Emmaus road journey. Like Cleopas and friend, we travel through all of the different stages of the journey. We move from deep sorrow and grief to doubt, despair and disappointment.

Yes, and sometimes we fail to recognize the living Lord even though he walks beside us on our Emmaus road.

We sometimes forget that he is right there with us through all that life may bring.

We sometimes fail to see or hear him speaking with us through the lives of others.

Sometimes our fears and doubts keep us from knowing who walks with us on the road.

Yet, Christ's presence stays with us and leads us through every stage of our Emmaus road journey. No matter how hopeless, alone or abandoned or confused we may be--no matter how angry or hurt or helpless we may feel; Jesus refuses to give up on us. That is the message of Emmaus for us.

Christ’s love always seeks to be with us, behind us, beside us, above us, and ahead of us. He pursues us as a loving father or mother pursues their child. Then, one day, often much to our shock and amazement, he opens our eyes, our minds, our hearts, our lives, so that we too are able to see him. Our journey down an Emmaus road leads us into a new-found joy, hope and confidence in Christ, in ourselves, in others.

As we reach this stage on our Emmaus road journey, we come to a second theme of Luke’s Gospel.

The first was the reminder that we are all travelers on a journey and that Jesus walks with us on that journey.

The second is that Jesus meets us through the sharing of a meal.

It’s at the table, in today’s gospel reading, where the presence of the living Christ, finally dawns on those two travelers. Some scholars like to argue about whether or not this meal Jesus shared with these two was the sacrament of Holy Communion. But that's not the point! What Luke is trying to tell us is that whenever or wherever we share a meal with others there is a sacramental aspect to the meal because Jesus is present.

The great theologian, Jurgen Moltmann observed: "When, in the worship service of the Latin American base communities, the names of the dead, of the disappeared, and of the martyrs are called, then the whole congregation shouts, "Presente!" They are present in the communion of Christ."

So, too, Jesus is present in our lives and along the roads we travel even though we do not see him. He makes his presence known in all kinds of ways. One of those ways, one very special way, is "in the breaking of the bread." As we come to receive the bread and wine of Holy Communion today, we are met by our living Lord.

He comes to make his presence known.

“I am with you,” is his message.

And he gives us the gift of himself.

He assures us of his love.

He grants us the forgiveness of all our sins.

He gives us hope for today and for all our tomorrows.

Jesus meets us on the road wherever it is we happen to be along that road today; whatever concerns we have right now, whatever joys or sorrows. Wherever we are he comes to meet us and make his presence known, to assure us we are loved, forgiven, and set free to really live.

There’s a famous quote by C.S. Lewis in his book, ‘Mere Christianity’ that applies well to how Christ meets us on our own roads to Emmaus. He writes, “Reality is not neat, not obvious, not what you expect.”

You see, the reality of Christ is that he shows up when we do not expect him in ways that we often cannot understand. Jesus meets us on the road wherever it is we happen to be along that road today; whatever concerns we have right now, whatever joys or sorrows.

And the beauty of this Road to Emmaus is that we are reminded that Christ’s presence doesn’t depend on our own ability to believe or understand. Christ doesn’t just show up when it makes sense to us or when we are looking for that extra boost of divine reassurance.

Jesus meets us on the road wherever it is we happen to be along that road today; whatever concerns we have right now, whatever joys or sorrows. Wherever we are he comes to meet us and make his presence known, to assure us we are loved, forgiven, and set free to really live.

If scripture teaches us anything about what to expect from God, it is that we can expect that God works through messy, mysterious, astonishingly unexpected ways.

Wherever and whenever we are Christ comes to meet us. And, in his time, he make his presence known, to assure us we are loved--that we are forgiven--that we are set free to really live.

Then he sends us on our way as people who have met the living Lord and have experienced his presence in our lives. He wants us to make his living presence known to others whom we will meet along the roads we travel. He calls us to share the love, the joy, the peace.

On the Road

"I believe that although the two disciples did not recognize Jesus on the road to Emmaus, Jesus recognized them, that he saw them as if they were the only two people in the world. And I believe that the reason why the resurrection is more than just an extraordinary event that took place some two thousand years ago and then was over and done with is that, even as I speak these words and you listen to them, he also sees each of us like that." - Frederick Buechner

As you travel through the roads of life, remember that Christ is present with you through all of the ups and downs, twists and turns, detours and roadblocks. Therefore, I say to you: Live, for God breathed you into life. Move, for God set you into motion. Love, for God first loved you. And see the world around you, for God sees you.