"Emmaus Road"

I’ve been in three situations in the past week when the story of Jesus meeting the disciples on the Road to Emmaus came up, so I’ve been starting to pay attention!

As Rev. Jackson preached last Sunday, that Road to Emmaus is a difficult road that many of us find ourselves on. The road of hopes disappointed. The road of depression. The road of defeat and retreat. Cleopas and his companion are on their way out of Jerusalem. They had hoped Jesus would be the one to redeem Israel, but he had died instead.

How many times in life have you hoped Jesus would do something only to be disappointed? In reflecting on this passage again this week I had to admit to myself that I don’t really want a God who dies on crosses, I want a God who wins. I want a God who gets stuff done. I want a God who answers prayers every time and on time. I had hoped Jesus would answer that prayer. I had hoped Jesus would intervene in that person’s life. I had hoped… There’s such deep heartache in that verse, and it’s heartache that we all know.

But what I was also reminded of this week is how ironic it is that Cleopas is complaining about this to the risen Jesus. He is so blinded by what he thought should happen, what he wanted to happen, what he assumed needed to happen, that he doesn’t see the one who has conquered sin and death walking with him on his road of dashed dreams. And, as is his way, Jesus gently directs him back to the Scriptures, then gathers him around a table to feed and nourish him with Jesus’ own body and blood. It’s only after all this is done that Cleopas realizes Jesus has been with him all along and runs back to Jerusalem to tell the other disciples.

Here's the last takeaway: that last part is just as important as all the others. If you aren’t on the Road to Emmaus, there is someone very close to you who is. I believe that Jesus is walking right there with you, whether or not you can see him right now, and one of the most powerful things we can do to help one another is to run back and tell the others every time Jesus shows up.

I know that you’ve seen Jesus. I know that he’s with you. I know that he’s enough. What are the stories you can tell to give witness to that reality? Who is it who needs you to tell them? The stories don’t need to be monumental or miraculous. They can be small and ordinary—those stories are all the better for helping others see Jesus in the small and ordinary parts of their lives!

So, I’ll go first. I was off last Sunday, but snuck into the sanctuary a few minutes late for worship anyway. I went quietly to the balcony and sat all the way in the back. As I sat there, entering into our worship together, I was struck that this is the Body of Christ. This was a holy gathering. Jesus is in you and was with us. What a remarkable thing that people gather to worship Jesus and earnestly seek him! There are 100 other ways you could analyze what happened during that hour of worship—sociologically, psychologically, anthropologically, commercially—but I recognized Jesus’ presence as his Body gathered.

Where have you seen him?

In Christ,

Pastor Andy