THE ROAD TO EMMAUS

 

Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.

 

He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”

 

They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that happened there in these days?”

 

“What things?” he asked.

 

“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.

“He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”

 

He said to them, “How foolish you are, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

 

As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly,

“Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.”

So he went to stay with them.

 

When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other,

 

“Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

 

They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying

“It is true! The Lord has risen and appeared to Simon.”

Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.

 

Luke 24:13-35 (NIV)

 

SOMETIMES THE PRESSURE GETS TOO MUCH + WE HAVE TO GET AWAY FROM THE CENTRE OF THINGS TO GET SOME TIME TO THINK

 

I don’t know about you, but I know there have been times in my life when I just wanted to get out of the stress and pressure of circumstances as quickly as possible and get some fresh air; to go somewhere quiet and give me a bit of time and space to think.

 

As we listen to this story we hear about two disciples trying to get out of Jerusalem quickly. They turn their backs on the community of disciples they had spent the last few years of their lives with and head out for the countryside. We get the sense that they too needed time to reflect on what had happened in the previous few days. Or maybe they were just scared, frightened of what the Pharisees might do to the disciples of the charismatic figure they had just murdered. Whatever their reasons they had decided to move away from the hotspot of pressure and give their selves some time to think.

 

JESUS’ DISCIPLES DIDN’T TRAVEL ALONE

 

It’s interesting because they didn’t travel alone. Jesus earlier in his ministry had sent the disciples out in twos and maybe these two had become friends during their preaching missions in Judea. But the significance is they weren’t on their own they went together with their spiritual friend. God didn’t intend for us to be alone, especially in times of crisis and trouble. We need our spiritual friends.

 

GOD CAME UP TO THEM WHEN THEY WERE MOST DISHEARTENED

 

 

‘Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognising him.’

 

How often in our bleak times, does Jesus walk beside us and yet we are kept from recognising him?

 In times of confusion God can seem very far away and yet perhaps that is the time when he is right beside us, but we can’t see him. I think this is a wonderful passage because it shows us that God is besides us when we are most downcast, when the situation seems impossible to overcome, then as we travel to escape the pressure Jesus comes and looks for us. Suddenly, we are not alone there is one more travelling with us.

 

LISTENING TO OTHER PEOPLE FIRST

 

What I love about this passage is that Jesus let’s the disciples tell their own story.

 

‘He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”

 

Does a man who is raised from the dead need to be told what his own disciples are talking about?

 Does a supernatural human who can disguise his appearance from his friends need to be filled in on the story? No, but Jesus asks the disciples to TELL…

 …their story,

…their worries,

…their confusion

 …and in doing so he brings out their mixture of faith and disappointment.

 He allows them to articulate their own pain.

 

So, often when we are in pain we need someone who will listen to our side of the story. We need someone who will listen TO US?! And that’s what Jesus does, he begins the healing process of storytelling by asking them to pour out their pain and that’s what they do. One of them says:

 

“He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.”

 

‘…but we had hoped…’

 

Those words echo so much pain and disappointment.

 They had hoped,

They had given their hearts and their souls to a man who they thought was destined to overturn the tables of injustice in the world and save God’s people Israel,

 …but how harshly they had been disappointed

 …and yet they were sure they hadn’t been deceived.

 

In our lives too WE can become tainted by disappointment and failure. The circumstances of life can press in on our precious faith and security until it breaks. Suddenly, what he had hoped for appears a cynical illusion and our hearts at one time filled with hope become clouded with pain and loss.

 

 

NEW STORIES OF HOPE

 And yet their shattering of dreams at the crucifixion was not all.

 There were also these new stories abounding…

…that the tomb was empty…

 

…sightings of angels…

 

…and claims that Jesus was alive.

 

 

How could this be true after all that had happened?

Were they now being asked to hope again? Hope against hope.

 

 

JESUS’ RESPONSE – SUFFERING WAS ALWAYS PART OF THE PLAN

 

Jesus’ response to the disciples seems a little harsh…but perhaps from his perspective he was just bursting at the seems to open their eyes to the good news of what had happened. I think Jesus was just longing to cry out: “Don’t you realise this is everything that was meant to happen?! The Messiah was meant to suffer before he would enter into glory!”

 

The disciples don’t understand – the circumstances of the world, the facts of what they saw have clouded their vision and the far off dreams of a place of future glory have perished in the storm. They don’t understand the story, so Jesus tells them the story again, this time taking it from the beginning.

 

‘And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.’

 

 

I don’t know about you, but that’s one story-time I would have loved to have listened in to. That’s one walk I would love to have been a part of. Perhaps when we get to heaven we’ll be able to hear that story again and find out just what the scriptures were saying about the Messiah from Jesus’ mouth, but for the moment we can only make an educated guess.

 

JESUS RE-TELLS THE JEWISH STORY OF IDENTITY

But what Jesus does is a skilful re-telling of the disciples’ basic story. They had the same Scriptures as Jesus, 

…they were Jews,

 …but they hadn’t grasped the meaning of what was going on.

 

DISCIPLES HAD A DIFFERENT STORY OF TRIUMPH WITHOUT SUFFERING

They had a different story – of triumph for Jesus and defeat for Israel’s enemies – a story that had disintegrated under the pressures of reality. They had the same scriptures, but a different story…

 

 JESUS’ STORY HEALS

BUT Jesus speaks his healing words again softening their hearts, touching their souls and renewing their hope. In the light of Jesus’ story suddenly the facts began to make sense, gradually their vision began to return, reframed and re-orientated and the hope of their hearts was rekindled.

 

WE TOO CAN HAVE THE WRONG STORY

 So often, our stories also collapse. 

 Under the weight of demands and pressures from the world around us, from work, from family and church and sometimes from our own internal pressures to try and secure ourselves a happy future our understanding of the world around us begins to crack.

 In this moment,

 …being a good person doesn’t equal having a happy life.

 In these situations

 …attending church faithfully doesn’t equal spiritual satisfaction.

 Reading the Bible doesn’t seem to help against the pressures we face at work or with study.

 

The old stories no longer work and we can’t find the answer on our own.

 

 WE NEED GOD’S SPIRIT

 It is at these times that we need God’s spirit,

 …Jesus’ voice…

…or perhaps just the voice of an unknown stranger or friend to retell the stories we believe in.

 To take us back to the beginning,

…to reassess the facts

…and to tell the story once again with a different meaning,

 …without the simplistic equations and by doing so give us hope to live again.

 

Sam’s Speech – The Great Stories

 In the film production of The Lord of the Rings there is a touching scene where the hero Frodo Baggins is just about to give up. All around him is bloodshed and war and the powers of evil appear to be overwhelming. Still a long way from the end of their mission and in the heat of the battle, Frodo is overwhelmed by the enormity of the task that lies before him. Losing sight of his own hope and innocence he begins to despair. Having lost hope the powerful attraction of the ring tempts Frodo to abuse its powers and there by give in to the powers of evil. However, Frodo has not travelled alone.

 

 Frodo has a travelling companion and even though evil is all around, his friend is right beside him.

 In a daring leap of courage and bravery Samwise Baggins wrestles Frodo out of the path of danger, risking his own life in doing so. At the last moment Frodo wakes from his stupor and cries out:

 

 Frodo: “I can’t do this, Sam”

 

And Sam, like Jesus, begins to retell Frodo the story. He uses his words to restore hope.

 

Sam: “I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here, but we are.

It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo, the ones that really  mattered – full of darkness and danger they were and sometimes you didn’t want to know the end because how could the end be happy. How could the world go back to how it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come and when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you that meant something, even if you were too small to understand why.  But I think Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now.

Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t they kept going because they were holding on to something.”

 

Frodo: “What are holding onto Sam?”

 

Sam: “That there’s something good in this world Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.”                                                       

 

SAM, LIKE JESUS, TELLS THE BIGGER STORY

 Like, Jesus and the despairing disciples, Sam tells Frodo that they are part of a story that is much bigger than the small stories of peace and safety without risk they had believed in before they started their journey of discovery. There is RISK and PAIN in this bigger epic, but there is also hope – hope of a world worth fighting for. There is faith that there is still something good in this world.

 

 

THE JOURNEY, THE COMPANY + THE STORIES LED TO RENEWED SENSITIVITY + HOPE

 

On the road to Emmaus, the disciples had begun to reawaken to the hope that the crucifixion was not the end of the Messiah. Evening was approaching and they wanted their new found travelling companion to stay with them. Perhaps, they were concerned for his safety. Perhaps, they just longed to spend some more time with this mysterious stranger who had given new hope to their lives on just a few miles walk. Whatever the reason, they asked him to stay with him. The feelings of affection for this man were already kindled……even, if his appearance was, as yet, hidden from them.

 

The rest of the story, we know.     

 

When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.

 

In an instant, over a rustic meal the disciples’ eyes were opened and the man they had travelled with they suddenly recognized and he disappears.

 

We can only imagine what feelings they had at that time, but I find their response illuminating.

 

‘“Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”’ 

 

The one thing that validated their visionary revelation was the ‘burning of their hearts as he talked’.

 2000 years later,  

…in a different society,

 …in a very different world,

 …visions of Jesus are pretty rare to come by – not impossible, but rare.

 But I love the fact that the disciples could recognise Jesus not just by his face, but by his words. ‘Were not our hearts burning within us…?’ The power of God’s love for us today is often carried to us in words, in stories, words that set our hearts on fire. We are a long way away from the times of Jesus’ life on earth, but the stories of his life still have the power to deeply affect us. These are the stories that we the church tell to encourage each other on the journey. As travellers on a long and sometimes demanding and difficult journey – may we make the time to listen to the stories of old.

May we travel together as companions who need each other

 

…may we have time to listen to each other as friends because every one has a story to tell

 …and may we encourage one another so the burning words of God’s story stir our hearts to hope and love again. So, that when we are ready to get out, to give up…

  …we become transformed to turn around and set off, back to our community and tell them the good news that we have experienced;

 …that Jesus is not dead, but alive…

 

because we met him travelling on the road.

 

 

 

 

by David L Fletcher