Sometimes we find ourselves
spending time with a stranger. Perhaps we are sitting next to a person that we
don't know on a plane or a train, or
we are both in a waiting area at a doctor's office or a hospital. In that space, we begin to talk and share our lives
in a way we might not do otherwise. We find a freedom to express our hurts to a
new acquaintance.
Our Gospel reading is such a
situation. Two friends are heading home
to Emmaus, a village probably a 2 hour
walk from Jerusalem. A third person
joins them and they tell him their
deepest sorrow. The events of the past
weekend have been so upsetting. Jesus has died on Friday, and their hearts are broken because his life is
over. It appears their dreams are gone too. The
stranger listens and then shares what he believes about how God is working
wondrously in spite of the world's history and heartaches.
When the two travelers arrive home, they offer hospitality and
invite their traveling companion to join them for the evening which he accepts. At the dinner table, when the
stranger blesses and breaks the bread, they see him in a new way: they discover
it is Christ who has walked with them
for those hours on the road!
This is a very intriguing
story, full of mystery and wonder. Their
conversation on the road centers all
upon Jesus, and yet they do not recognize that he is right there with them.
What keeps us from
recognizing God's presence? We can also talk about our beliefs of Jesus and yet
be so focused on the challenges and problems of our lives that we cannot see anything else. This story reminds us that in
spite of our worries , God is present and truly cares for us.
This is a prayer that I read
in a recent devotional and it speaks of
this lack of vision:
“Forgive
us when we see all the things in life that bring us to discouragement, but we
don't see that you are the one with us
providing us hope.”
As the disciples traveled
home to Emmaus, they were startled by
Christ's presence.
Christ does come in
unexpected ways in our daily
lives,surprising us even in times of grief and
disappointment.
Pastor Adam Hamilton wrote
about a couple in his church, George and Vicki.
It was the one year anniversary of when their son Travis
( a college student) had died in a car
accident. The morning of the
anniversary when they got up, they found that on their porch were dozens of red geraniums
with notes of hope brought by caring
friends, and neighbors, and by people they didn't know.
This was their reaction to
those gifts : “We felt God's love and the hope of the resurrection through our
friends and neighbors who remembered our son's death and showered us with
love.” It can give us joy to review
our days and in retrospect,see where God has been greatly present.
Christ is not limited by space or time or by
our expectations. Imagine all the ways that God is traveling with us even
though we are not aware.
Christ's love can also be
conveyed by a stranger. Pastor Betty Meadows took a break from her
Presbyterian pastorate and worked for three months as a waitress at a
Waffle House. In the midst of the eggs and grits, she discovered that “the risen Christ showed up every day.”
Over and over, she saw where kindness was
shown, and compassion was extended usually between strangers. On a summer holiday weekend, a family from
out of state had their van break down in the parking lot. No nearby garage was
open. One of the waitresses called her
boy friend ( who was a mechanic) and he
came and fixed the van. Only payment he
required was a cup of coffee. Pastor
Betty saw the living Christ in the face of the mechanic. In our interactions
with those we don't know, we may also become aware of God's mercy.
From this Emmaus story, we
see that Christ comes especially in the
breaking of the bread. When Jesus fed
many people on the the shores of the Sea of Galilee, and when he fed his
disciples at their last supper, he did these simple things: he took the bread,
he blessed it, he broke it and he shared it with all of them. Those were his actions that night sitting at
the table in Emmaus. Today, he meets us at the
table, and together we recognize his love for us through this powerful means of
grace.
Sarah Miles had no Christian
background or religious connections. She
had no need for God. At the age of 46, on a whim she walked into a church on a
Sunday morning and when invited to come to Communion, she went to the
table. Her life was drastically changed
by that action. (She shares her story in the book: “Take this Bread” ) She said her being was stirred by the One
whose name she had only used before when swearing. After Communion she felt
drawn to Jesus, drawn to receiving the bread of life and drawn to all the other
people around the table. She cannot
truly explain what happened to her but she met the living Lord at his
feast. Her life was redirected.
She realized her own spiritual hunger, and
knew that there were many others in need. Many people who needed groceries, who needed care, who needed
to find a place in this church. Over
time, she began a food pantry at the
church which now feeds hundreds of people a week. We are changed by being with Jesus ,by his presence.
The Emmaus story does not end at the table. The two travelers hurried
back to Jerusalem to share their good news that Jesus was alive. Their hearts had been warmed
and they wanted to encourage the hearts
of all those who were still grieving.
Walking on the road to
Emmaus will eventually lead us back to
Jerusalem, back to those who desperately need to hear words of hope.
Our eyes go from being closed
to being open.
Our eyes are opened not only
to the new life offered to us, but our
eyes are opened to the hurts around us and the love that we might offer.
If
you have been nourished by grace, if you have been put back together by love,
God calls you to do that for someone else.
May
you find the living Lord on Main St. ( even in the midst of the construction!),
on High St., on Memorial Drive, on your
road, in the face of your neighbor, and most of all within your own heart.
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