Sunday, April 30, 2017

April 30, 2017 - Third Sunday of Easter - Jesus' Presence on the Road to Emmaus

Pastor Michelle preached in today's sermon that, while Luke the Evangelist reports the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus is a distance of seven miles, you and I know better. Though most of us have never been to Jerusalem, at one time or another, we’ve all walked that stretch of road to Emmaus, though we probably know it by a different name– A name like Death. Depression. Divorce. Abuse. Addiction. Alzheimer’s and that the distance is measured in tears because life is hard.

She preached about Christ as companion, in the role of a stranger explaining companion's root meaning:


The root meaning of the word “companion” is someone who shares bread with you: “com” means with, and “pan” means bread,  so “com”-“pan”ion!… To share bread—that is, to share a meal— with someone is an intimate thing.

As far as being present as a stranger she was straightforward in her comment:

God sends Christ to us in the form of a stranger – a stranger who helps us find a new way forward…

What Emmaus associates with for me is both profound and intimate. In many ways the story of the church after the physical life of Jesus is embodied in this account.

As Pastor Michelle pointed out we all face discouragement on life's road, not recognizing the companionship of Jesus directly except, perhaps temporarily, through word and sacrament. The Emmaus story approaches Christ's presence with a sense of wonder, respect and awe. The account alludes to the mysteries of Christian faith without attempting to fully understand or explain them.

God acts in this story the way God acts in most of our lives, behind the scenes, for a greater purpose (the divine passive). It is normally in reflecting back on what happened do you see how this behind the scenes work was inspired, as Pastor Michelle put it -

"The gritty grace of God that comes to meet us in the most surprising ways and in the most unexpected places: right in the very midst of the muck of our human existence… Speaking of God’s grace coming to us in surprising ways  and in unexpected places reminds me of how profoundly humbling and beautiful it can be when God turns the tables on us…."

Christ as stranger guiding the conversation is informative on how to deal with disappointment / despair and discover a new way forward. The two on the road, discussing what is happening, find as they recount the past events that have occurred up to moment (to answer Jesus' questions) it seems pointless to go over. Yet their hearts burn as Jesus illuminates what has happened.  

Profound dimensions present in this touching simple story.

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