Do we notice?

 Today, in this Easter season, we continue to celebrate the risen Christ with us always… This morning we have heard the Emmaus road account (Luke 24:13-35). It is filled with all kinds of questions about why the 2 people couldn’t see Jesus for who he was, but to concentrate too much on that question is to ignore perhaps the main thrust of the account, and that is to question our own ability to view and walk with the Risen Lord Jesus, and as we continue this Easter season, it’s as good a time as any to do that. 

On the Emmaus Road, why these 2 followers couldn’t recognise Jesus is a mystery. We are told that their eyes were kept from recognising him… Perhaps they were too overcome by grief to even consider the possibility that the rumours they had heard of his resurrection were true… perhaps all hope had been taken out of them as they watched Jesus dying on the cross… Perhaps they were just distracted by the pressures of every day life… whatever the reason they couldn’t see Jesus. 

And this is perhaps a picture we can recognise in ourselves, because we can be easily distracted by all manner of simple things. Perhaps it’s being busy, or not busy enough, perhaps it’s by bearing grudges against others, or failing to see the possibilities in our own lives, perhaps it’s a pre-occupation with getting Church things right as opposed to focusing on getting to know God right ! Perhaps it’s worries about the state of the church rather than expressing the joys of an Easter faith ! 

It’s all too easy to be distracted and fail to see Jesus alongside us… And this was the experience for these two disciples that day. But as they walked they talked about their passion for Jesus, about their hopes, about the possibilities that he had opened up for them. And they talked of how all this seemed to end at the cross, but now was there maybe a glimmer of hope ? 

And Jesus was there to remind them of the things that they knew but were ignoring – the teaching of Moses and the prophets – was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer before entering into glory?? 

And the 2 followers were clearly captivated. They knew something was happening as they listened to this man on their journey, and they urged him to come and stay with them. He did, and as he shared the meal with them, he broke the bread, blessed it and gave it to them, and their eyes were opened, and they recognised him…. 

In sharing a meal together with his followers, Jesus was recognised, and then he vanished. He went and they went off to tell others that they had seen the risen Jesus. They recognised him and they told others ! 

Easter is a wonderful season in the Church calendar. It is about new life, about new hopes, fresh starts. It is about love and forgiveness, and immeasurable mercy and grace. It is about celebrating rebirth… But all of these things are just a start, a foretaste of new and exciting adventures ahead. We are in the period between resurrection and Pentecost – the day when the Holy Spirit was given to the early Church. 

And we must be careful that we don’t get stuck here. It’s very easy to carry on our Christian lives rejoicing in the joy of resurrection, celebrating the great feasts, and yet forget that these are only small parts of our overall lives, and we are challenged to do and enjoy more, so much more ! 

Easter challenges us to go out and live the resurrection message of hope and rebirth, and fresh starts, and we do those things secure and firm in the knowledge of the strength of the Holy Spirit with us… We celebrate Easter but we journey on through Pentecost and through the times of growth and change in our lives and in the Church and in the world, and through the times of pain for us and for others, through the times of joy, through the times of excitement.., and we keep journeying with Christ at our side.

The Church is a group of people committed to knowing Jesus better and helping others to get to know him better. A hugely important part of this message in the gospel today is the fellowship that was being enjoyed as Jesus became known, and it is a fellowship we must all be aware of. As we break bread today in the service, as we share the bread and wine, we are sharing a meal with family, and with Christ at the head of our table.

That is the privilege that Jesus has given us. That is the special place we have been given within his kingdom. A place at his table…  

And so the message of this account for us today is to look for Jesus, to recognise him all around us in the lonely, the lost, the disadvantaged, as well as the comfortable and the powerful, and to be ready to greet him with hospitality, to invite him in to share our lives… 

Jesus was frustrated as he walked with his followers. That is clear from his tone as he told them about the teaching of Moses and the prophets, but he didn’t let that affect how he treated them. He welcomed them back, he accepted their invitation for food and there they saw him clearly….  

I’m a Liverpool football supporter and the song ‘You’ll never walk alone’ is powerful for that reason alone, but the words are actually really helpful as we’re reminded that we are never walking alone in our journey through life. Whether we recognise him or not, God walks with us. He walks with our joys and with our sadness and worries and he walks with us as we tell others about him… 

As we celebrate Easter we are reminded once again that this is too important a message to keep to ourselves – it’s a message of good news for everyone and we have been appointed as ambassadors of this faith, a great responsibility but a massive privilege! 

God walks with us, but God also strengthens us to be bearers of good news if we trust him – bearers of hope for the world, bearers of light in our communities.  As churches we need to grow. We need to grow for all kinds of practical reasons – very simply, there aren’t enough people coming and that causes all manner of problems ! 

But there’s something far more important about why we need people to be coming to our churches and that is because we are called to be sharing a vibrant, an exciting, a life transforming message for people everywhere. A message that is as relevant as it has ever been. A message that awakened the two followers of Jesus when they recognised him. A message that changed the early disciples from being terrified and hiding in an upper room to going out courageously speaking of new life.  A message that has continued to change lives ever since, and still can today… 

As churches, we surely need to reclaim that confidence and creativity to live the gospel message and invite others to witness it too… Remember, we are never walking alone in what we do… 

There will be times of doubt in our lives, there will times when we are distracted, or simply not looking out for him. There will be times when we struggle to feel his presence, or when we’re afraid of inviting a friend to something, or sharing our faith, but he will never turn away from us, and he will never refuse our invitation to play a bigger part in our lives. 

And so, wherever we are on our Emmaus Road journey we hold out our hands to Jesus, and ask him to walk with us more closely as we seek to follow his will for our lives, and join in with his wonderful work in the world today. AMEN