Luke 24:13-35 NRSVUE
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?” 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.
It’s hard when things break, but God is revealed in the breaking.. of bread, of systems, of our certainties, of our expectations.
This story is often called “the walk to Emmaus,” because they met Jesus while walking to the town of Emmaus. There were more disciples than just the 12 BIG NAME disciples, and some of these folks were not there when Jesus appeared in the upper room after the women saw him at the Tomb.
And then as now, people don’t always believe women.
Especially when what women have to say is… unexpected.
Cleopas and his buddy were pretty shaken up because none of what happened was what they expected.
Take a look at verse 19.
Cleopas and his buddy, like a lot of followers of Jesus, thought that Jesus was a mighty prophet who was going to redeem Israel.
Which meant many things to many people.
For some that meant that Jesus would replace the House of Herod as the vassal King of Judea, under Roman rule.
For others that meant that Jesus would make Israel Great Again – that is- restore Israel to the former glory of the kingdom of David and Solomon. This idea ties into the title, Messiah – which means “anointed one” – because prophets, judges and kings were anointed with holy oil at the beginning of their service.
For yet others, they thought Jesus was Elijah returned, or the next Great Prophet – again an anointed position. A Great Prophet who would lead the people back into God’s favor and as King Solomon proclaimed at the dedication of the Temple, in 2 Chronicles 7:14:
14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
So they expected Jesus, as prophet or king to lead them into a season of redemption for Israel.
They didn’t expect Jesus to change the system, to disrupt the system, to tear the old system apart!
…they expected Jesus to get on top of the old system and make it work for them.
So they were flummoxed!
How was Jesus going to be the Anointed One – the Messiah – if he was dead! Like 3 days ago dead!
They wanted to believe the women, but people don’t just rise from the dead!
And how does Jesus restart his political campaign after having been crucified???
They were wondering, how does any of this even work???!!!
We’re so used to the Easter story, that it’s easy for us to forget how ridiculous it really is.
I met a person at seminary who told me about his first Good Friday service.
He said, “Wait, what??!! Jesus died? Nobody told me that Jesus died! How did he become the leader of Christianity if he died??!!!”
His reaction made me think about how wild our sacred story really is.
And how reasonable the Disciple’s expectations were.
They grew up their whole lives learning about Great Prophets and Great Kings and the Temple covenant, and how when the Kings of Israel and Judea sinned against the poor and the vulnerable, God sent prophets to get them back on the right track. And when the Kings humbled themselves, and prayed and sought to follow God again, then God forgave them and healed the land of Israel.
That was the story they grew up with.
That’s what they expected.
That’s how the system worked.
They were expecting Jesus to rise to the top of that system and then Israel would be redeemed – “re” as in, made as great as before.
They knew that their leaders had sinned by failing to give justice to the poor – the widows and orphans and strangers who suffered under the corrupt leadership of the Herodians and the Chief Priests.
They knew that Herod the Great had invited Roman governance against the advice of the prophets.
They knew that their system of governance and religion – because there was no such thing as separation of church and state in the first century – They knew that their system was not working.
They just didn’t realize that all systems work perfectly to produce the results they produce.
Systems often contain policies and practices that allow for certain people – usually rich and powerful people – to get away with things that poor and powerless people get punished for.
And the unchecked power of the Judean theocracy and the money driven Roman Empire were both designed to benefit the powerful over the vulnerable.
Yet the disciples still believed in a system that had allowed King after King and priest after priest to get away with injustice and oppression.
They still believed, because they thought if they just had the right guy at the top, then the system could work for them.
They still believed because they had no idea that another system was possible.
Israel’s and Rome’s systems were already broken…
And it’s hard when things break, and we often feel helpless and don’t know what to do…
…but sometimes God is revealed in the breaking… of bread, of systems, of our certainties, of our expectations of what is possible.
Back to the story….
I love that Jesus lets them talk.
Jesus knows better than they do what is happening, but Jesus lets them talk it out.
Jesus is so much better than I am.
I know that I should let people just talk it through, but I always want to jump to the solution.
Anybody else have that impulse to jump to solutions, when we really should be listening?
Jesus lets them talk it through, because Jesus knows that they need to.
And they are so…up in their heads about what has happened – that they don’t even notice that Jesus is right next to them.
Even when Jesus is explaining everything to them as only Jesus could, in verses 25 – 27, they are still so up in their heads that they are not taking in anything around them.
Until Jesus blessed the bread, broke it and shared it with them.
Then they were able to see Jesus.
It’s hard when things break, but God is revealed in the breaking.. of bread, of systems, of our certainties, of our expectations.
All human systems are flawed and eventually break.
Because all humans are flawed and breakable.
Friends, this is a hard time to be alive.
Because it feels like all our systems are breaking.
Our system of doing church is broken – people don’t participate the way they used to.
Our system of government feels broken, but honestly it’s doing exactly what it was designed to do — it’s just that an increasing number of people are no longer willing to accept that liberty and justice has always been for some and not for all.
Our culture – our rules of social interaction – are shifting and we cannot agree on what our morals and values are, or even what politeness looks like these days.
Our social safety net is broken – COVID was an apocalypse for our social safety net and the number of people who are food insecure, who are housing insecure, who are health care insecure, and who are insecurely employed, has risen every dang month since 2020.
But the Greek work apocalypse that we use to mean disaster,
originally meant something else.
Apocalypse meant, “God sighting.”
Or the in-breaking of God into our ordinary lives.
God is revealed in the breaking.
Jesus told the people on Palm Sunday that not a stone would remain on another stone – that God was Breaking the Temple System. In the year 69, the Romans leveled the Temple, ending the system of sacrificing and the priesthood.
Jesus broke their expectations of his role as the anointed one, by dying.
But Jesus had already begun to create a new system at the Last Supper that he reminded them of at Emmaus – a system not of putting “our guy” on top of the old system, but a system of gathering with whomever comes and breaking bread.
A system that is about beloved community who share power with every blessed and broken member, not a system ruled by special men who hold power over its members. Although us church people do have a tendency to look for leaders to tell us what to do, which is part of why our church systems are breaking.
It’s hard when things break, but God is revealed in the breaking.. of bread, of systems, of our certainties, of our expectations.
Communion
…so let us come to the table where God is revealed in the breaking of bread.
When they came to Emmaus, it was evening and the day was almost over, so they asked the stranger to stay with them and share a meal, because Jesus had taught them to practice hospitality to strangers, in the tradition of Abraham.
When the supper was ended, because in that time, sometimes your bread was your plate, or your bread was your spoon, for wiping up the last remains of your meal – so when the supper was ended Jesus took the bread, he blessed it….
He broke it
And he gave it to them
And they finally saw past their expectations and their worries and their fears and they saw Jesus.
They saw Jesus, giving them the bread, just like he had at the Passover supper in the upper room.
And when they could finally see clearly.
Jesus disappeared.
Because now they were ready to follow Jesus into the new way that Jesus taught us.
The text doesn’t say so,
But I bet when they got over their surprise at Jesus vanishing…
They took the cup and blessed it and they shared it in remembrance of Jesus.
And so we continue to do so today.
Let us pray…
This table is Jesus’ table.
A table that is open to all.
Open to doubters and dreamers, and people blinded by our own expectations.
Open to all the beloveds gay and straight and Christian and something else, and undecided.
This is Jesus’ table and Jesus said everyone is invited, so you are too.
But no one is required.
You don’t have to take communion, you’re just welcome to.
We have gluten free and glutenous bread, and we use alcohol free grape juice. Come forward, down the middle, take a piece of bread, and a little cup, then place your empty cup in the trays at the side on your way back down the sides to your seat.
You can kneel up front before you return to your seat if that is meaningful for you.
Or somebody can bring communion to you.
Come – the table is prepared.
