I love the passages relating to Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances—there is a certain relief in having the crucifixion over and knowing that everything Jesus said would happen came to pass…not that we didn’t believe Him before Easter Sunday, but…let’s face it, the whole “rising after three days thing” was a little unsettling until we saw it for ourselves. The Jesus we encounter in these appearances is a very focused Jesus—points us directly to what happens next. Our story today actually picks up on the evening of Easter, but it is a wonderful story, one which requires our attention even a week later.
Two of Jesus’ followers are walking home; they are hopeless, drowning in despair. They talk intently to each other, trying in vain to make the events of the last 3 days make sense. They had put so much hope into this Jesus. They believed that He was who He said He was and here they are—broken, desolate, almost weak with disappointment. Ever been there? I have and it’s a place I never chose to go—but life has a way of throwing us curves, catching us off balance and it is easier than I would like to admit to find ourselves in that place of deep pain and sorrow.
Well, here they are limping along when, all of a sudden, a stranger appears. He asks them to tell him what they are talking about. They can’t believe that there is anyone who has not heard the news; but they recount the story of Jesus’ trial and death. They admit their confusion at the events of the morning—all they really know is that Jesus’ body wasn’t where it was supposed to be—they’ve heard rumors, but it is all just empty talk to them. Jesus then chastises them, calls them ‘slow’ and ‘thick’. Jesus asks, “Why can’t you just believe?” I can well imagine several points in my life when Jesus must have been asking, “Why can’t you just believe?” Jesus gives these two travelers a history lesson they won’t soon forget. Using the many prophecies which foretold of his birth, life, death and resurrection, he teaches them how God’s word was fulfilled in front of them. Still, they do not understand who He is…Not until they sit and eat with Him are their eyes opened. And just as quickly, He is gone.
What does this story say to us? It is so easy for us to view these disciples as not really very bright, to condemn them for failing to keep the faith in the wake of what seemed like defeat, and to judge them for not believing and not remembering everything that Jesus told them was going to happen to Him and to them. But this is hardly fair to them and it limits what we can learn as we approach the appearances of Jesus with fresh eyes this year.
Ultimately, the story about the disciples on the road to Emmaus is about the ability to grasp the moments when God is present in a very real way—not only as they are happening, but also as we reflect upon them after the fact and seek to grow from our encounters with God. Jesus comes as the resurrected Christ to these two hopeless individuals and challenges them to learn from what he has to show them. It does not matter to Jesus that they don’t know who He is at the time, He knows that God will use what He has revealed to them in God’s own way and God’s own time. This is as true for us today as it was for these disciples.
Do we not routinely do the same things as these disciples did? Things get desperately hard; we don’t understand what God is doing, we just can’t find the “feeling” we once had and God seems very far away. It is not possible for God to seem any farther away than it felt for these two disciples in the wake of the death of their friend and teacher—the very man who told them of wonderful things to come, of promises of eternal life, of the in-breaking of God’s reign on this earth. And yet, for them, when this man died, all of these hopes and dreams died with him. And into their pain and despair comes this same Jesus. How is it that they were unable to recognize Him? They did not recognize Him because they did not expect to see Him. With the death of their hopes and dreams, went their ability to trust that God was alive and working even in ways they could not see or understand. And so, Jesus, walked with them for miles without them knowing who He was. Amazing!
They do, of course, eventually come to realize who He is—after He breaks bread with them. And just as quickly as He appeared on the road He is gone; but they have been transformed. Their recognition that they have walked and talked and dined with Jesus has changed their lives forever. And then they realize that somewhere deep inside, their hearts were burning as He spoke with them. Isn’t it interesting that they were able to reflect back and acknowledge, that in spite of the pain, something in them (their hearts!) burned with the knowledge that this person was God to them in their lives at that moment. This causes me to wonder—how can we recognize the ‘burning in our hearts’ that tells us we are in the presence of God, sooner rather than later. Imagine how different the conversation might have been had they recognized Jesus at the outset. Instead of listening to Him lovingly lecturing them on what He had already taught them, they could have spent their day in adoration and gratitude to this man who had suffered and died for their salvation.
I can tell you of many people who have been God in my life—and, on rare occasions, I have known that I was in the presence of a messenger from God as they were speaking. But, most of the time, I am no brighter than these disciples and things have to play out in my life before I realize the role that person or situation played in my life. But because I have come to know the difference between being consciously in the presence of God and being in the presence of God and only later grasping the significance, it causes me to want to find ways to expect God to break into my life. If the disciples on that road had been looking for Jesus, they would have seen Him right from the start.
And so, we as followers of this Jesus of Nazareth, seek ways to be aware of and alive to the workings of God’s Spirit in our world, in our time. What would happen if we starting looking for the presence of God in every conversation that we have? This is not to say that every conversation we have is necessarily of God, but in order not to miss a single one, should we not tolerate that possibility in each one? What if I said, when someone challenges me or seems to put a roadblock in my way—God, I’m open if You want to use this person in my life. How different would our experiences be if we allowed God to enter into every one?
And what would happen if we starting looking for God in every sunset, every sunrise, every ocean and mountain—what if we said, “Ah, this is beautiful, God, I’m open to feeling the enormity of gratitude that I have for Your gifts right here, right now. Imagine entering, at God’s invitation, the blessed place of presence, leading us to give voice to our grateful hearts.
And what would happen if we started looking for God in every moment of pain, or isolation, or confusion—what if we said, “I don’t like this God, I don’t like it one bit, but I’m open to feeling You take me into Your loving arms and teaching me more about faith and believing and trusting in You than I’ve ever had the opportunity to learn before”. I believe that God will honor every single time we do this, because God loves us as a mother loves her child. And so, unlike the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we walk through life expectantly, heads up, scouting for God’s in-breaking into our lives.
We gladly pray with eyes wide open:
God, wake us up to see You down every street, up every alley of our walks with You.
God, shake us up, and give us an excited expectancy that You will speak to us through people we wouldn’t have chosen and situations that seemed inconsequential in times past.
God, quake in us, and send us on our way to celebrate Your presence with hearts made new by the power of the resurrection of Jesus, Your Son. Amen and Amen.
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