Year
A, Easter 3
This is a perplexing story. In some
ways, I felt as though I was unraveling a mystery as I studied it…or at least
trying to. One of the many mysteries of
this story is why the two followers of Jesus did not recognize Jesus when he
appeared to them. Was he wearing a
disguise…speaking in a funny accent? How
is it that two people who had known him so well could perceive him as a stranger? Of course this is not the only time when
Jesus is not recognized after his resurrection.
Mary thought that Jesus was a gardener.
My theory which I shared with you on Easter is that she was not able to
recognize Jesus because she was blinded by her own expectations. She was
looking for him in the wrong place…in the tomb.
That is not where you find the risen Christ. I think part of the reason these two
followers of Jesus did not recognize the risen Christ was because they were
moving in the wrong direction. Instead
of looking in the wrong place like Mary was, they had stopped looking at all.
When Jesus first appeared to them,
they were leaving Jerusalem…the place where Jesus was crucified. They were leaving even though there were
rumors that Jesus was alive again. You would think that if there was even a
chance that Jesus was alive again, even a crazy rumor, they would have stuck
around to see what all the fuss was about.
Why were they leaving the holy city?
When they told this stranger who ended up being Jesus what had happened,
they said, “But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.” We had hoped.
They stopped hoping, even though they
had heard him talk about his resurrection before he died, even though they had
heard from people that he was back, risen from the dead. But this was not how it was supposed to
be. He was crucified by the Romans and
Israel was not redeemed. If anything, things were worse than before. Things had not turned out as they hoped and
because of that they did not even recognize Jesus.
Yet in just a few short hours, Jesus
reawakened their hope. He didn’t do it
with a spectacular light show. The
clouds did not break allowing rays of light to rest upon his head. There was no voice from heaven. All of these things had happened before while
he was still alive, but not this time.
This time Jesus simply walked with them and listened to their grief and
their fear. He talked to them about the
Bible, the Hebrew Scriptures…which is the place where they had first learned to
hope.
Yet their hope was still dead…at least
it was dormant. They still could not
see. So he sat down and ate with them
because they begged him to stay. Even
though they did not recognize him as the Christ, they saw something in him that
made them need his presence. There were
still walls around their heart, but the walls were beginning to crumble. The scales were falling from their eyes. And
then he broke bread with them. Finally
they saw and believed.
Well, duh…I mean how obvious can you be?
Wouldn’t we all see Jesus if he broke bread with us? It’s such an obvious allusion to the Last Supper. But wait, these two were not with Jesus at
the Last Supper. These two were not one
of the 12 apostles. They had not read the
Gospels because the Gospels has not yet been written. When I see this scene in my head I imagine
Jesus breaking bread and then winking at the television audience—now they are
going to get it! It was not as obvious as it seems to us. They were not at the last supper. This was not an obvious hint. Something else opened their eyes. Their
hearts that were so closed off because hope had died, their hearts finally
opened.
And I am not sure why. But I believe it’s because like so many of
us, faith took time. When all hope is
lost when hope has literally died on a cross, it’s going to take some
persistence. They had built walls around
their hearts to protect themselves and it was going to take time for those
walls to come down. Jesus was going to
have to do more than just preach a good sermon for them. He was going to have to stay a little while,
sit with them and share a meal. You
know, sometimes I think that if I can preach a good enough sermon, I can break
through to someone who has lost faith.
And I know how that sounds, I know it is only God who can make such a
difference, but I believe that my sermons come from God, at least the times
when God can break through my walls.
You see we all have these walls
around our hearts. Some of us have been
building them for years and years…some perhaps have temporary walls that go up
occasionally when we need them, or think we do. Our walls are as unique as each
of us. Cleopas and his nameless friend
had walls too. And I suspect that the
walls were always there. The hope they
had while Jesus was alive was probably a little fragile. Hope can be a fragile thing, which is why we
protect it with walls.
One of the many interesting things
about this story is that Jesus doesn’t just stop them on the road to Emmaus,
make himself known, give them a pep talk and tell them it is time to turn
around. He could have. He could have done something dramatic,
perhaps even forced them to see. But he
didn’t. He knew they had to come to this
a little more slowly. So he walked with them, even when they going the wrong
way. He stayed with them, even though
they were still blind to his presence.
Jesus’ love for us is persistent. It is relentless. Even when we are not persistent in our faith,
even when we are moving in the completely wrong direction, Jesus never gives up
on us. Jesus knows that no matter how
thick—how sturdy our walls are, they ultimately crumble in his divine
presence. And when we veer off course
again…which we will, Jesus will always be there to guide us back.
Jill and Casey- I would tell you
that your journey is just beginning, but I won’t. In some ways it is true, but you both have
already had profound experiences and challenges in your faith journey. You will have more. One of my favorite parts of this ceremony is
the charge to the young people (your peers) and the congregation. In this service, like in baptism, we agree to
support you in your faith. There will be
times when you need that support. There
will be times when you will be a support to others. One of things that the two people on the road
to Emmaus discovered was the importance of sharing their faith and their doubt
with one another. I think that trip
would have been much harder if they were alone.
Jesus came to both of them. I hope you know that church is a place where
you do not have to be perfect. You can have doubts and questions and you can
share those doubts. We are companions on this journey together. Wherever you may go, whatever you may do,
remember this, you are always welcome here. Nothing can change that. (That goes for the rest of your too.)
(The last part of this sermon was written specifically for our Rite 13 Celebration.)
No comments:
Post a Comment