The Jesus Who Stays
Acts 2:14, 22-33; 1 Peter 1:17-21; Luke 14:13-35
It was the same road, the same people — but the experience changed their direction and destination. It was the same road, the same seven miles between Jerusalem and Emmaus — but the speed of their return was different. It was the same road, the same two disciples — but there was something new and different about them.
On the way to Emmaus, they experienced sadness, disappointment and hopelessness. They whispered the hopes that had filled their hearts that maybe this Jesus was the Messiah that faithful Jews had been waiting for so long. They had hoped, and so they had followed. Then, paralyzed by terror, they had seen Jesus arrested; driven through the streets like a common criminal; crucified… along with all their hopes and dreams for the people Israel. Even the report of the women that Christ’s tomb was empty didn’t raise their spirits; it only confused them even more. And so, on that first day of the week, reeling from all that had happened, there was nothing left to do but go home. Those seven miles never seemed so long.
But the situation was different on their return to Jerusalem. The two felt overwhelming joy and hope. They had a clear focus and determination to tell what they had experienced. The two felt an urgency. There was no time to waste. And those seven miles were never traveled in such a short time.
What happened on that road? An apparent stranger accompanied them along the way. And he turned out to be their risen Lord, Jesus Christ. And Jesus transformed these two disheartened people into "burning hearts."
In today’s gospel, we are told the name of one of the Emmaus-bound travelers – Cleopas. And the other? Well, the other is you. Or me. Luke left a blank space for us to fill in our own names because today’s Gospel is meant to remind us that we too are on a journey, a journey on which we often carry disappointments, dashed hopes, crumbled plans, insecurities, sufferings and sorrows. And on that journey, Jesus also comes to meet us, walks with us, and stays with us. He is there, but he is not recognized. He is there, but we do not see him. In good times and bad, in wakeful awareness and sleepy dreams, in moments of defeat, in the thrill of victory, in the dark night of the soul and the mountaintop experience, in the everyday, ordinary, mundane, run-of-the-mill, and in the knock-your-socks-off, spectacular, momentous, takes-your-breath-away moments of our lives, God is here, in our midst. God is a present God, an immanent God, a mysterious God who lives simultaneously beyond us, around us, and within us.
But that’s the problem isn’t it? That which is always and everywhere present quickly slips beyond our awareness and just becomes the taken-for-granted background that we ignore as we live our lives. And so, Christ walks with us on the road or sits with us at the table, and we fail to recognize him.
How often are we are like those Emmaus-bound travelers? How often have we failed to recognize Christ when he knocks on our door or comes to us in his many different disguises? How often have we rejected his message because it seems too improbable or demanding? How often have we failed to see his hand at work in the events of our daily lives? How often have we willfully chosen to ignore his will for us? How often have we missed him because we failed to look beyond appearance, and failed to see his presence in bread and wine?
Our Gospel today presents to us four ways that we are called to recognize the Lord. The first way that God is present to the disciples in today's Gospel was in the community of believers. Our Gospel begins with the two disciples walking along the road. But they are not alone. Jesus once said, “When two or three are gathered in my name, I will be there with them.” And He was with them, and He is with us. God is present with us when we come together a thousand strong in this Church as well as when two or three of us get together to pray together. God is present when you help your children say their bedtime prayers. He is present when a family says grace before meals. He is present when a husband and wife say prayers together.
The second way that God is present to the disciples on the road to Emmaus was in the proclamation of scripture. Jesus explained to them the meaning of scripture. The Bible is the Word of God. Yet, the Word has become flesh in Jesus Christ. The thing that makes the Bible a mystical book is the presence of Jesus, the Word of God, presenting the truth of God in the hearts of those open to his word. All of us should have a Bible, place it in positions of honor within our homes, and should read from it often. It should be read with reverence, allowing the power beneath the words to enter our lives, to transform us, to pierce our hearts like that two edged sword that the author of the Letter to the Hebrews spoke of when he wrote: "Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart."
The third way that the disciples on the road to Emmaus met the Lord was when they shared the breaking of the bread with him. Using the same words as the Last Supper, Jesus broke the bread, gave it to them to eat, and they recognized his presence. We receive communion weekly, some even daily. Through our faith, we recognize Jesus present in this sacrament, strengthening us to proclaim his presence to the world just as the disciples at Emmaus were strengthened to run to Jerusalem and tell the disciples, "We have seen the Lord." There is no way that we could ever fathom the power of the Eucharist to help us to proclaim with our lives that Jesus is alive, risen from the dead, alive in our hearts.
And lastly, Jesus came to the two disciplines on the road to Emmaus as a stranger. Christ is found in the midst of everyday life. The sacred moments, the moments of miracle, are often everyday moments, the moments we often chalk up to "coincidence." But for the pure of heart, coincidence is merely when God chooses to remain anonymous. In every moment, God is here, loving us, shaping us, sanctifying us. Jesus often comes at the times, in the places, and in the guises which we least expect. He might appear to us in a friend who comes in the midst of our pain, and sits and listens; He might be the one who believes in us. He might be the person who offers the help or advice that we have been seeking. And he is in the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the sick, the prisoner, and all those who society tosses aside and considers the "least ones."
Easter is the reminder that Jesus stays, and Emmaus is the reminder that we miss it! He was with the disciples on the road, but they didn’t know it! It was only when they invited Jesus to stay that they began to see his presence in a new way. They made room in their lives for him to be recognized, to be more than a once-upon-a-time memory. They invited Jesus to stay with them. And that’s what we need to do, too! We need to do it every day! Do you see him?
