Right in Front of Our Eyes
Rev. Mark Schaefer
Kay Spiritual Life Center
April 6, 2008
Acts 2:14a, 36-41; 1Peter 1:17-23; Luke 24:13-35
Acts 2:14a, 36-41
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.” And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added.1Peter 1:17-23
If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile. You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.
Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.Luke 24:13-35
Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.” Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.
As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.”
I. BEGINNING
So, imagine this: You’re talking with someone. And you start to tell them a story about someone you knew who did something interesting or amusing. And at the end of the story, the friend says, “Yeah, I know. That was me.” I don’t know if that’s ever happened to you. That’s definitely happened to me. In fact, I long before I met our campus rabbi (or before I thought I had), I had met him at a local synagogue. In fact, so clueless was I that it took me a while to realize that I had met him before. Until he said a certain turn of phrase that reminded me of our earlier conversation. Okay, in my defense, he didn’t always have the beard. But still.
There’s an embarrassment that sets in when you realize that the person you’re talking to is someone you should have known already.
II. THE TEXT
So, I get how those disciples in Emmaus must have felt. I mean, can you imagine? They’re walking a seven mile journey from Jerusalem to Emmaus and they encounter someone on the road who asks them what they’re talking about. And they’re talking about him. Only they don’t know that he’s the Jesus they’re talking about. It’s interesting the way Luke presents this story for us.
Because he has the disciples playing the role of the know it alls, and the unknown traveler as the unknowing one. Only, the reader knows that it’s really the other way around. And before too long, the disciples come to realize it too, since they are told in great detail how Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection was the fulfillment of the scriptures, and how all the law and the prophets testified to the things they had experienced.
They still don’t recognize him. Now, that may not be their fault. The text says that “their eyes were kept from recognizing him.” Whenever you see the passive voice in the scriptures, it very often implies God’s activity. So, perhaps our two disciple friends shouldn’t feel so bad about not recognizing Jesus. But still. They were his disciples. Not part of the Twelve, obviously, but in the expanded group, at least to the level that they were referred to as “disciples.”
When they get to Emmaus, Jesus appears to keep on walking and they invite him to stay with them and share a meal. The story continues:
So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight.
They finally have their eyes opened, and recognize Jesus for who he is, and then just as suddenly, he is gone. What must that have felt like? That sudden realization—that sudden recognition and then the sudden vanishing of the one they had recognized.
It has been pointed out that the term “recognition” is built on roots that mean “to know again”, it is a re-cognition—a coming to knowledge again. They had known Jesus, they were his disciples. Then they didn’t know Jesus. And then they re-knew him—they recognized him.
What was it that caused them not to know him?
III. EMMAUS
One interesting point in the story is that the disciples were heading to Emmaus. Scholars aren’t even sure where Emmaus was. Somewhere seven and a half miles from Jerusalem. Probably to the northwest, but they’re not sure.
Moreover, the reason for them going there is never explicitly given. Perhaps they lived there—it would explain them inviting Jesus to dinner. Perhaps they were just getting out of town after an exhausting and exhilarating week. There are a number of other reasons why they might have gone to Emmaus. But it is curious that they would be going there since in Luke’s gospel, all roads lead to Jerusalem. The disciples are headed from Jerusalem—they are headed in the wrong direction from the rest of Luke’s narrative.
Frederick Buechner, noted author and Presbyterian minister, had another interpretation about Emmaus. He wrote that Emmaus is where we go to hide, the place where we go to forget that the world is not full of miracles and wonders. It is the escape we take from the hard realities of the world. The disciples were headed toward Emmaus, toward the retreat from the trauma of the past week. [1]
Too often we seek to encounter God. We seek those glimpses of the divine. And what happens—we encounter a world that seems indifferent, a world that seems cruel and cold. A world that seems devoid of wonder and love. And so, we high-tail it out of Jerusalem and head down the road to Emmaus.
IV. RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR EYES
And yet, that’s where the two disciples encounter Jesus. Of course, they don’t know it at first. But that’s where it happens. In Emmaus of all places.
They discover that the Christ they had hoped for is right there in front of their eyes. That Christ is present in ways they had not expected. But it is Jesus who shows them where he can be encountered.
First, he recites the whole salvation history of Israel. Starting with Moses and going through the prophets—he recounts the saving deeds of God and shows how all of history pointed to the presence of Christ in our midst.
And of course, the most obvious way the disciples see Christ is present in the table fellowship. Jesus does not celebrate the Eucharist with them, but the language that is used to describe how he shares a meal with them does evoke the meal. Jesus takes, blesses, breaks, and gives. The same pattern as in the last supper.
But it is not the last supper. It is a simple ordinary meal with a couple of disciples in Emmaus. And it is in the breaking of the bread in table fellowship that Christ is known.
It reminds us that there we can find sacredness in every moment. Right in the ordinary times of our lives as a community. In the breaking of the bread—not only of the Eucharist which we will celebrate in a few moments—but of the chicken tenders and fries that we share at the tavern after worship. When we come together as a community and share in pizzas or Chinese food or whatever we do, in that table fellowship we encounter Christ. What the disciples in Emmaus learn is that we encounter Christ in the ordinary means of fellowship and community.
V. END
Should they not have been embarrassed with the realization that the one they were discussing had been in front of them all the time: right in front of their eyes? Should they not have been embarrassed to know that Jesus would be encountered in the ordinary, in the mundane? Ought they not have been mortified with embarrassment? Wouldn’t you have been?
And yet that is not the disciples’ response, because Christ does not seek their shame, but seeks to reveal himself to them. Their embarrassment is overcome by the love and grace of Christ. A grace that helps the disciples to see Christ’s presence in their midst.
But that’s about us, we who would call ourselves disciples. But what about the rest of the world. What about those who were not looking for Christ in the first place? Where do they encounter Jesus?
One commentator points out that Luke’s presentation of the story of the Road to Emmaus has a very Aristotelian angle. Aristotle believed that recognition could come from visual cues, or even from reason. But the best kind of recognition was “that which arises from actions alone.” [2]
As I think on this, I am reminded of a movie that came out a few years ago called The Miracle Maker. It was a claymation animated telling of the Gospel story, starring Ralph Feinnes as Jesus, and was actually quite nicely done. Throughout the whole movie, whenever Jesus gave thanks for the bread, he would hold it high over his head and say, “Blessed are you O Lord Our God, Ruler of the Universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.” When the film shows the story we read tonight, it is as Jesus holds the bread high over his head that they at last recognize him. It was a very nice touch in the film.
The disciples recognize Christ through his actions. And the world recognizes Christ through ours. And once again, Jesus has shown the way.
When we share a meal with a stranger—the way the disciples did with the one they did not recognize, we invite Christ into our presence, and become Christ for those with whom we share.
When we engage in acts of hospitality, when we create cultures of inclusion and acceptance we invite Christ into our hearts and help those whom we welcome to do the same.
The story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus remind us of something else: the experience of God is not for us alone. Luke tells us that “at that same hour they got up” and went to Jerusalem to find the Eleven. Let’s understand: this was Easter Sunday. They walked 7 miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus—already having been aware that the women and the disciples had encountered the empty tomb. At sundown they had dinner with Jesus and when they realized it was him, they went back to Jerusalem to tell the others.
It is the same with us. We encounter Christ in our midst all the time—we merely need to have our eyes opened to see it. And once we encounter God’s presence in our midst, we like the disciples in Emmaus, are called to share that experience with others.
Not in an unwelcome way, of course. Christ does not force himself on anyone—he was prepared to keep on walking past Emmaus, the disciples invited him in. Likewise, we do not force ourselves on others, but we do share.
How can we not?
We have been walking on the road to Emmaus. Seeking to get some rest from a harsh and difficult world. We wondered about some of the things we have heard, wondering about the stories that we have received about God’s victories. And there, right in front of our eyes, while engaged in the ordinary, in the simple, in the shared experiences of normal life, there we encounter Christ. There it is we experience the risen Christ in simple but powerful ways. So, at this very hour, we get up. And we go to Jerusalem, and then to all the world to share what we have experienced, to be Christ for the world, right in front of their eyes.
[1] NIB vol. IX,p. 482.
[2] Aristotle, quoted in NIB vol. IX, p. 479.
