May 4, 2014
Undercover Boss - Road to Emmaus
- Luke 24:13-35
- Dr. Teri Thomas
This may be the third Sunday of Easter but it bears little resemblance to the previous two.
Flowers are gone. Plenty of room to park. No brass - no timpani - the choir shrunk.
No confirmation class filling the pews with their families and friends and mentors.
So we are back to the regular Sunday
back to the routine
back to our regular pews
back to the day in day out- same ol’ same ol’ Sunday
and all we want is just a glimpse
all we are really hoping for is a moment when we believe,
when we feel, when we know deep down that it is true.
We are here again, hoping for a moment,
a hint of hope, a glimpse of grace, a sign of life, some glimpse that Easter really happened.
The first Easter began without anyone even imagining they would catch a glimpse of anything.
On Sunday afternoon two dejected disciples are walking the dusty road home to Emmaus.
One was Cleopas, we don’t know about the other.
They are headed for Emmaus, we don’t know where that is.
So it could be anyone going anywhere
anyone
wanting to go back to the way life was before.
going to Emmaus just to get out of Jerusalem—
anyone
to try to bury their sadness in some different place,
somewhere the world might not feel so vicious,
somewhere away from the pain and struggle of Jerusalem.
Emmaus might just be wherever we go when the world lets us down.
Where we go to mourn
where we go to forget
where we go to seek solace
where we go when we are wrapped up in our own little world of sorrow or regret
That is where the two disciples were going.
Talking between themselves as they walk along the road.
So wrapped up in themselves they do not even hear his footsteps.
But he joins them on the road and asks what they have been talking about.
They can hardly believe it: "Where have you been? How can you not know what’s been going on?"
They explain to the uninformed stranger that a prophet has been executed.
They tell him about Jesus, how he had loved
what he had taught
and the disgraceful death of the one they had followed and trusted,
and then the weird story of the women who came back from the tomb,
a story they dismissed as an "idle tale."
their hope was crushed
their spirits shattered
Then it is Jesus’ turn to marvel at how they can be so completely uninformed.
He tells the stories of scripture
he lays it all out for them, and they do not get it.
When they arrive at the disciple’s home,
the etiquette of the day required the stranger be invited to stay.
The table is set and the meal is served.
Jesus breaks bread, blesses it, gives it to them,
and they open their eyes.
Finally they see that Jesus is with them
and in an instant he is gone.
Just a glimpse and he vanishes.
Back in Jerusalem all the disciples would come together again,
telling each other about how they had each seen Jesus again,
how they had just a glimpse of him with them
like it was before.
They gathered around a table to share bread and wine
and tell a story they would never get tired of telling.
And every time they got together
to eat bread, drink wine, and tell the story,
they would have a glimpse of Jesus with them again.
They wouldn’t be able to see him in the way they had before,
but they knew he was there.
We come to church every Sunday.
Some of us come feeling a little bruised and beaten up by the world.
Maybe we’ve had disagreements with co-workers or family, disappointments at home or work or school, small failures that feel like little deaths.
Or maybe we come in with the news of a troubling diagnosis,
or we’re dealing with an illness that has us weak and depleted.
Maybe we’re just plain exhausted,
dealing with the stress of keeping too many balls in the air,
worrying that they’ll all come down at the same time.
We come here for a glimpse of a savior
just a glimpse of the possibility of being transformed,
being made into brave new people by the presence of the risen Lord.
He comes unexpectedly out of nowhere.
We do not even hear his footsteps.
We don’t always recognize him as he comes along beside us.
But if we seek him with our hearts and souls, we may catch a glimpse.
God comes in a phrase in a hymn, a word from the scripture, a hope during a prayer,
God comes when the bread is broken and the cup is poured.
This Table is our Emmaus,
where we may come with our defeats and discouragements, our own failures or doubts.
This table is where we catch a glimpse
the place where we gather strength to travel into the world God loves
There many more journeys for us to make.
If we look with all of our being and imagination what we may see is God,
what we may hear is the faint sound of a voice somewhere deep within us
saying that there is a purpose in this life, in our lives,
whether we understand it completely or not.
Whether we see him or not, Christ walks with us
Christ joins us at this table, and gives us his life
so that we might share life together in his name.
If we catch a glimpse of that, it can turn us around forever.
Thanks be to God
Amen
Resources:
Catching a Glimpse, Brett Younger and Emmaus Revisited, Lisa Kenkeremath, Lectionary Homiletics 2011