That day two of the followers were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything. As they talked, Jesus came up and walked along with them; but they did not recognise him.
He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk?”
They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know what happened there in these last 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; we had hoped he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. What is more, it is the third day since this happened, and some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning, but didn’t find his body. They told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”
He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning the coming Messiah.
As they approached Emmaus, Jesus made as if to continue. But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay overnight. When he was at the table, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and shared it with 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 on the road and spoke of the Scriptures to us?”
They returned at once to Jerusalem, where they found the Eleven and those with them, saying, “It is true! Jesus has risen and has appeared to Simon.” Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how they recognised Jesus when he broke the bread.
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So there are two people walking slowly, back along the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus. They have walked this road many times before - always with a spring in their step and always anticipating either the celebrations in Jerusalem, or the return to their own home and their own bed.
This time is different. They went to Jerusalem for the Passover celebrations, and how that turned out. They had never seen Jesus really angry before, but when he ripped into the religious leaders in the temple, for selling animals for sacrifice at an exorbitant price, changing Roman coins into temple money and making a profit, literally taking whatever they could from the poorest people, and doing it on holy ground - well, frankly they were frightened. He was really, really angry. No one got hurt, of course. The animals were let loose, the money changers were on their knees chasing every denarius, and the religious leaders were more than offended 9even if they knew Jesus was right.) And then, following the Passover meal, the sudden arrest, the secret trial - the collusion to ensure Jesus was crucified. The whole thing was more than they could bear; all they could think of to do was get out of the city and head back to Emmaus. So they are not in Jerusalem when Jesus appears to the followers, and they know nothing of the sightings or stories of the resurrection.
And their spirits are gone. They walk slowly, sadly, holding on to each other - tears coming up time and time again as they remember something about him, some word or phrase, some teaching - the way he held his head, or how he sat when he was tired. Now that he is gone, they see no hope any more. Life has gone out of them too, and they feel like empty shells.
A stranger picks up with them along the road, and notices their grief - and begins to talk. Soon they are into discussion about Scriptures, and he talks with the knowledge and understanding of a rabbi.Their hearts burn within them, he knows and understands. Yet they do not really see him
As they reach their home in Emmaus, dark falls. Everyone knows the roads are dangerous after dark, especially for someone alone, so they persuade him to stay for a meal and overnight. They sit down to the table, light the ceremonial candles - and then he takes the bread and with the familiar words of blessing and breaking, suddenly their eyes are opened, and they *know* him. They recognise him.
Imagine if it were you. That kind of emptiness, numbness in your soul? Can you imagine being so crushed by despair and weighed down by hopelessness that your mind, your heart, your eyes of faith are closed, and there’s no possible way you’d recognize Jesus, even if he joined you on your journey?
And then you’re joined by a stranger. Your faith is shattered, and your hope is destroyed, and you have no future, so you don’t recognize who it is who has joined you. The stranger begins talking. Incredibly, he has no idea, what you’ve experienced. All of Jerusalem knows, but the stranger seems clueless. So you tell him about your heartache, and your shattered hopes, and your empty future, all because a dearest companion has died. The stranger starts talking about the Hebrew Scriptures, the only scriptures you would have known. He invites you to remember the stories about God– the suffering of people like Moses, and the prophets, and the mysterious suffering servant of Isaiah. “Hasn’t God brought victory and redemption through that suffering?” the stranger asks. “Couldn’t God do that again?”
There are all kinds of speculations about who this couple might have been. One we know was named Cleopas, but the other is a mystery. Some assume the second person was the wife of Cleopas, which would make sense. The unidentified traveller could also have been the son of Cleopas. The Church historian, Eusebius, tells us that Cleopas had a son named Simeon, also an eyewitness of Jesus. After James, the brother of Jesus was martyred, Simeon was elected the leader of the Church in Jerusalem. But here is a quote which I like, from a very old historian,
Epiphanius, the Bishop of Salamis, who wrote around the year 403:
"The learned cannot come to any agreement who the other disciple was. I will give you this counsel: Let each of you take his place. You are the unidentified traveller on the Road to Emmaus.”
You are the unidentified traveller with Cleopas. You are walking the road to Emmaus. In all of your *life*, you are walking the road to Emmaus, and Jesus walks with you. Did you know that the word companion comes from two Latin words “con” and “pan”, meaning *with bread*. A companion is someone with whom we will break and eat bread. So, a stranger sitting down to a table and engaging in the Hebrew ritual of bread-breaking is not by itself unusual - but the recognition of that stranger as the bread is broken is of total significance to Christian faith.
A companion is someone on the road with whom you will eat bread.
In the TV series “M*A*S*H,” Major Charles Winchester hid behind a snobbish and aloof shell in an effort to ward off the pain, emptiness, suffering and death that haunt him every day amid the horror of war. In despair at one point, Winchester leaves the operating room and goes to visit the wounded as they’re first brought to the unit for triage. He is called to the bedside of a dying soldier. The soldier says, “I can’t see anything. Hold my hand.” Winchester replies, “I am.” “I’m dying,” the soldier moans, and Winchester asks, “Can you see anything? Feel anything? I have to know.” The dying soldier simply says, “I smell bread.”[1] To the soldier, he is going home, where there is warmth and comfort, and the aroma of fresh bread in the oven.
Jesus gives us bread. And when he does, we are home. Companions, walking together, giving each other strength and courage, breaking bread at the table, and in that breaking, reminding each other that as Jesus joins us on the road, and comes into our home, our tables become the table of God, and Jesus becomes our host.
“Walking together”–did you know that’s the literal translation of one of those odd Greek words the church uses: “synod”. Walking together with. The late French philosopher Albert Camus, said this:
Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow.
Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead.
Walk beside me and be my friend.[2]
This inscription is found on the Plaque of The Church of the Manifestation at Emmaus:
Emmaus: The morning dawns.
Emmaus: All cares are banished.
Emmaus: Our hearts burn within us.
Emmaus: Our sorrows have vanished.
Emmaus: Jesus is here to break bread with us.
Rev. Frank Schaefer wrote this lovely prayer for the Emmaus Road:
Meet us, Lord, on the road to Emmaus, guide us on the path toward our destination,
and renew our strength as we continue to walk and commune with you.
Open our eyes, so we see the signs of your presence around us; open our hearts, so we may receive your peace and love; and empower us to pass on to others the grace you have shared with us so freely. Amen.
Walk beside me, be my companion on the way, break and share bread with me, and together we are nourished and strengthened. We no longer grieve, but celebrate new life. We are companions on the Way, with Jesus. Together, with bread.
(Sing “Stay with Us”)
Sources:
1. Sermon “We Are The Church—Walking Together!” Psalm 116:12-19, Luke 24:13-35 by Rev. Richard Thompson
[1].Brett Blair, ed., Sermon Illustrations for April 6, 2008, adapted from George Bass,
The Tree, the Tomb and the Trumpet: Sermons for Lent and Easter, CSS Publishing.
[2].Quoted in Brett Blair, ed., Sermon Illustrations for April 6, 2008.
2. Together with Bread, Sermon by Fran Ota, Easter 3 2005, Luke 24:13-35. Then at Trinity United Church, Newmarket, ON.
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epiphanius_of_Salamis
4. http://www.westegg.com/etymology/#companion
5. “Stay with Us”, by Very Rev. Walter Farquharson (words) and Ron Klusmeier (music). C. 1986.
6. Emmaus Road Prayer, by Rev. Frank Schaefer Easter 2011.
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