Sermon from Sunday, May 8, 2011
Paradise Lutheran Church, Thomasville, PA.
Luke 24:13-35
Cleopas and his friend were heading north – about 7 miles northwest of Jerusalem to be exact – to the small insignificant town of Emmaus. Emmaus was known as the place of warm springs or hot baths. Maybe they could soak their troubles away. It was the 3rd day after the horrible crucifixion and they were filled with sadness and disappointment. Why did Jesus have to die? As they walked that dusty, stony parched road, that’s all they could talk about.
Why? Why did this have to happen? They asked each other. What are we going to do now? It doesn’t make any sense, especially today. Those women are delirious! Said one of them. I mean, I’d love nothing more than to believe Jesus is alive too. But, the tomb is empty? Empty? Where is Jesus’ body? And angels? Angels, Cleopas? Really? Don’t you think if Jesus was alive we’d see Him? I can’t take any more of this Cleopas! I just can’t take any more! Do you see Jesus?
And so they continued on their walk, feeling depressed and hopeless because things had not worked out according to their plans. But now someone joins them on their walk and asks why they are so upset. Really? They exclaim. Have you been in a cave or something that you don’t know what’s happened? (Well, actually he has been in a cave, but they didn’t recognize who they were talking to.) So Cleopas and his friend tell this apparent stranger all about Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion and about the empty tomb. They tell their story. And then the stranger tells them His story. He tells them why it was necessary for all these things to happen. It was necessary because God loved the world so much that God was not going to let sin and death destroy all people. Jesus died on the cross so all people could have eternal life. And while Jesus is talking to them they are captivated. The Scriptures come alive and they come alive. Their hearts are “on fire” with excitement and they don’t want it to end.
Haven’t you ever been in the company of a great story-teller? Someone who is so engaging that you cling to every word? I have and I was so captivated that I lost track of time. Or maybe it’s a movie that’s drawn you in and you’re on the edge of your seat. You planned to watch a few minutes and before you know it you’ve watched the whole movie because you just can’t tear yourself away. That’s the way it was with Cleopas and his friend. They were drawn in to the greatest story ever told and they had no idea what was happening. They were on the road to Emmaus trying to get away from their pain. All they could see were their troubles. They were trying to find some comfort, but Comfort found them – only they couldn’t see Him.
And here we are, the third Sunday after Easter and we’re walking our own road to Emmaus. Maybe we’re not headed toward an insignificant village on a dusty, stony road, but perhaps we’re trying to get away from our own kind of pain. We too have heard that the tomb is empty, but so are many of our hearts. We’re still dealing with illness, disease, broken marriages, poverty and death. The tomb is empty but so are the tables of many who have nothing to eat, or nowhere to live, or no one to call them friend. Maybe our hearts are burning, but they’re burning with anger or hatred or hunger. What kind of hunger? Is it a hunger for justice or a hunger for revenge? Is it a hunger for Jesus or a hunger for something else to satisfy our deepest desires? No one can satisfy our hunger but Jesus. Nothing can fill the void but God.
So how do we see Jesus through all of this suffering? Where is God in the midst of this turmoil and pain? If the tomb is empty, where – like the question of Cleopas and his friend – is Jesus? He’s right beside us only we don’t always recognize Him either. We too are lost in our own pain and inner dialogues that we can’t see who it is talking to us. We can’t hear God speaking to us because we don’t always want to hear what God is saying. We want God to make life easier even though God never promised us that life would be easy. What God has promised is that God will always be with us. And God is faithful to those promises.
There are many ways in which God comes to us and often it is through other people. Jesus comes to us on our journeys as well. We don’t have to go crazy looking for Him, He is right here with us. So often when I find myself feeling lost or alone Jesus walks up next to me by an unexpected phone call from a friend. Sometimes it’s an email, or a card in the mail, or a cashier at the store who is particularly helpful, or a smile from a stranger. Who knows how much gospel is exchanged between smiles. And sometimes it’s in the beauty of a song, or a poem, or laugher, or the open arms of a hug when there’s nothing words can say. God uses the ordinary to reveal the Divine.
The two on the road to Emmaus that day recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread and that is where we can find Him too. He is most present in the breaking of the bread. We come on Sunday mornings not to remember the Lord’s Supper, but to participate in it. Communion is not just ordinary bread and wine. It is significant. It is the true presence of Jesus Christ who suffered and died and rose for each one of us. When we hear the words The Body of Christ given for you and the Blood of Christ shed for you, they aren’t just words. Jesus is here. He is alive.
I’ll never forget one Sunday when a couple and their young son who were originally from India came to our church and when it was time for Communion they walked up to the front with no shoes. The next few Sundays I continued to pay attention and every time before they went up for Communion they took off their shoes. I was moved, because like Moses when he encountered God in the burning bush, they were acknowledging that this was Holy Ground. They recognized that Jesus was truly present in the bread and the wine. And every time we receive the bread and wine in Communion we are in the presence of the living God. Are our hearts not on fire too?
We don’t have to look for Jesus; Jesus comes to us. And because His Spirit dwells within us we can be that comfort to one another. We can be Christ for others. No one has to walk the difficult roads of life alone. Reach out and pray for one another. Share a word of hope and comfort. Step out of your comfort zone and get to know someone who is different from you and feels hopeless. Forgive one another and pray that your enemies will become friends. Turn around. Do you see Jesus?
