Road to Emmaus
Tonight we have heard the somewhat mysterious account of the disciples on the Road to Emmaus – there they met Jesus, but we are told they were prevented from knowing who he was.
But there was something about this stranger that they walked with – something they couldn’t quite put their finger on – a kind of heartburn !
There is a well known joke, that is always worth hearing which I think makes the point of what an encounter with Jesus can do to us. A burglar was stalking around the living-room of the house he's just broken into. He jumped with fright when he suddenly heard a voice behind him saying "Beware, Jesus is watching you"
He turned around, swung the beam of his flashlight in to the direction the voice came from and saw what had spoken - a parrot. The bird repeated "Beware, Jesus is watching you"
The burglar walked up to the cage and asked "And what may your name be? The parrot answered "Coco"? The burglar sniggered and said "I've always found that a very stupid name for a parrot." The parrot answers "Maybe, but not half as silly as Jesus is for a pitbull terrier, and I would remind you that Jesus is watching you !"
On a much more serious note. Jesus does know us, and we know Him and can recognise Him. The reading this evening from the gospel of Luke spoke of knowledge, it spoke of experiencing Jesus with us, and it spoke of recognising Jesus at work.
In one reading there is so much to think about, but this evening I want to think of just 3.
The first point I want to make is that Jesus knows us, and He understands us. Jesus knows what we need, sometimes before we do, He knows what we need when we may not even realise it ourselves.
We only know the name of one of the two disciples in the reading, and his name was Cleopas. In the gospel of John there is a Clopas mentioned who was married to a Mary. It could be that the two walking in the reading that we have heard this evening were in fact husband and wife. This is quite a comforting thought, that when people journey together in any human relationship Jesus is with them.
Jesus knew the right questions to ask so that the two would open up to Him and talk of how they felt. The fact that they admitted they were followers of Jesus was a very brave move, after all Jesus had been killed as a common criminal, as a trouble maker. To be known as His followers would not necessarily have been a good thing ! However even to a complete stranger the two were prepared to be open. Maybe because they were so upset they were happy to talk, or maybe they felt comfortable enough in the presence of this stranger. We can not be sure, but the one thing we can know, is that Jesus understood the two, He knew they had a need to talk.
Jesus also showed in his questioning and discussion that He knew they needed help to understand what had gone on. They admitted that they looked to Jesus as someone great, they admitted that they thought He would be the one to redeem Israel.
Jesus however, knew that what they needed to know and here was that rather than God redeeming Israel from the suffering they were encountering, He would have to bring redemption through suffering. Basically, He needed to help them realise that, Yes God did suffer and had suffered, but this was all a part of the plan of redemption. Jesus suffered by taking our sins upon Him, but with the resurrection this meant that He was even greater than people had thought !
Jesus knew what the two needed, and He knows what we need. Jesus looking right into our souls means that He knows what we need before we even ask Him. Knowing us so well, He knows all about us, which means we can and should turn to Him always. He is the one who truly understands us.
The second point is that the two experienced Jesus with them. They had experienced it before, and although they did not recognise Jesus now, they felt comfortable enough to talk to this stranger, they felt comfortable enough to talk in a very personal way with Him.
The two even had this strange sensation of their hearts burning whilst they walked with Him. Jesus came alongside them in their despair and helped them to see the ways that things really were and the hope that they could have; that somehow everything was not just going to be ok again, it was going to be even better than before.
Jesus walks alongside us, as we encounter Him in our lives maybe through something that someone says to us, maybe through something we read or see - Jesus is alongside us. In all our stages of life Jesus is right there. Sometimes we may have a strange sensation, a knowledge that He is right by us, other times He may seem very far away, but in all of these times we can know that Jesus is with us.
The third point is about experiencing the work of Jesus. The two recognised Jesus finally through the act of breaking bread. Something helped them in that situation to realise who this stranger was.
However, although they had seen Jesus breaking bread before, this time they were seeing Him in a new light - this new light being the joy and love of knowing that Jesus had indeed gone through death but had come back, thereby showing them that He was God, He was powerful and nothing that had got in the way of them enjoying His love before would ever do so again.
This time they could see that Jesus was triumphant, and in this, they were seeing the beginning of a new age. Every time that they broke bread together as a community of believers would remind them of Jesus’ promise to always be with them and not just this, but it would remind them that they had a task.
This task being to share with the world all the good things that they had seen, all the wonderful things they now knew, that God had indeed had a plan of salvation, and that God did indeed have a way and still has a way of making things ok in the end. AMEN
But there was something about this stranger that they walked with – something they couldn’t quite put their finger on – a kind of heartburn !
There is a well known joke, that is always worth hearing which I think makes the point of what an encounter with Jesus can do to us. A burglar was stalking around the living-room of the house he's just broken into. He jumped with fright when he suddenly heard a voice behind him saying "Beware, Jesus is watching you"
He turned around, swung the beam of his flashlight in to the direction the voice came from and saw what had spoken - a parrot. The bird repeated "Beware, Jesus is watching you"
The burglar walked up to the cage and asked "And what may your name be? The parrot answered "Coco"? The burglar sniggered and said "I've always found that a very stupid name for a parrot." The parrot answers "Maybe, but not half as silly as Jesus is for a pitbull terrier, and I would remind you that Jesus is watching you !"
On a much more serious note. Jesus does know us, and we know Him and can recognise Him. The reading this evening from the gospel of Luke spoke of knowledge, it spoke of experiencing Jesus with us, and it spoke of recognising Jesus at work.
In one reading there is so much to think about, but this evening I want to think of just 3.
The first point I want to make is that Jesus knows us, and He understands us. Jesus knows what we need, sometimes before we do, He knows what we need when we may not even realise it ourselves.
We only know the name of one of the two disciples in the reading, and his name was Cleopas. In the gospel of John there is a Clopas mentioned who was married to a Mary. It could be that the two walking in the reading that we have heard this evening were in fact husband and wife. This is quite a comforting thought, that when people journey together in any human relationship Jesus is with them.
Jesus knew the right questions to ask so that the two would open up to Him and talk of how they felt. The fact that they admitted they were followers of Jesus was a very brave move, after all Jesus had been killed as a common criminal, as a trouble maker. To be known as His followers would not necessarily have been a good thing ! However even to a complete stranger the two were prepared to be open. Maybe because they were so upset they were happy to talk, or maybe they felt comfortable enough in the presence of this stranger. We can not be sure, but the one thing we can know, is that Jesus understood the two, He knew they had a need to talk.
Jesus also showed in his questioning and discussion that He knew they needed help to understand what had gone on. They admitted that they looked to Jesus as someone great, they admitted that they thought He would be the one to redeem Israel.
Jesus however, knew that what they needed to know and here was that rather than God redeeming Israel from the suffering they were encountering, He would have to bring redemption through suffering. Basically, He needed to help them realise that, Yes God did suffer and had suffered, but this was all a part of the plan of redemption. Jesus suffered by taking our sins upon Him, but with the resurrection this meant that He was even greater than people had thought !
Jesus knew what the two needed, and He knows what we need. Jesus looking right into our souls means that He knows what we need before we even ask Him. Knowing us so well, He knows all about us, which means we can and should turn to Him always. He is the one who truly understands us.
The second point is that the two experienced Jesus with them. They had experienced it before, and although they did not recognise Jesus now, they felt comfortable enough to talk to this stranger, they felt comfortable enough to talk in a very personal way with Him.
The two even had this strange sensation of their hearts burning whilst they walked with Him. Jesus came alongside them in their despair and helped them to see the ways that things really were and the hope that they could have; that somehow everything was not just going to be ok again, it was going to be even better than before.
Jesus walks alongside us, as we encounter Him in our lives maybe through something that someone says to us, maybe through something we read or see - Jesus is alongside us. In all our stages of life Jesus is right there. Sometimes we may have a strange sensation, a knowledge that He is right by us, other times He may seem very far away, but in all of these times we can know that Jesus is with us.
The third point is about experiencing the work of Jesus. The two recognised Jesus finally through the act of breaking bread. Something helped them in that situation to realise who this stranger was.
However, although they had seen Jesus breaking bread before, this time they were seeing Him in a new light - this new light being the joy and love of knowing that Jesus had indeed gone through death but had come back, thereby showing them that He was God, He was powerful and nothing that had got in the way of them enjoying His love before would ever do so again.
This time they could see that Jesus was triumphant, and in this, they were seeing the beginning of a new age. Every time that they broke bread together as a community of believers would remind them of Jesus’ promise to always be with them and not just this, but it would remind them that they had a task.
This task being to share with the world all the good things that they had seen, all the wonderful things they now knew, that God had indeed had a plan of salvation, and that God did indeed have a way and still has a way of making things ok in the end. AMEN
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