The Third Sunday of Easter, 05/04/2014

Sermon on Luke 24:13-35, by Brad Everett

Is this morning's gospel, two of Jesus' followers are heading to the village of Emmaus about 7 miles west of Jerusalem, later on the day of the Lord's resurrection. It was an overwhelming week, from Jesus' triumphal entry into the city just a week ago, followed by his betrayal, arrest, culminating in his crucifixion and burial. All which was enough for anyone to try and sort out, but it had become even more complicated just that morning, with strange news of the empty tomb and the angelic message that Jesus was alive.

So they walked and talked, filled with a mixture of sadness, grief and confusion, trying to make some kind of sense out of the seemingly mis-matched pieces of the last days.

It is at this point that the most important event in the story happened-as St. Luke wrote, "Jesus himself came near and went with them" (Luke 24:15). Jesus went to, and was with these whom he loved.

It's easy to get caught up in the remainder of that verse-where it says their eyes were kept from recognizing Jesus-because we know these people were upset, Jesus himself could see it in their faces and hear it in their voices, yet he kept them from recognizing him? It seems cruel and even hard-hearted.

Of course there is the reasoning that they needed to be kept in this state so they could better understand Jesus as he explained the Scriptures to them. Had he simply revealed his identity to them on the road, they would have been so overcome with excitement, that paying attention to anything Jesus said would have been a struggle.

‘But still...', we think. Jesus could see they were hurting-why couldn't he have done something to relieve their pain sooner?

We ask these kinds of questions because we can see ourselves in this story. We have found ourselves, or perhaps find ourselves, in situations where we have more questions than answers (or in those really rough times, we aren't even sure what questions to be asking). Very little seems to make sense and what we do understand only seems to cause more hurt and confusion. We empathize with these travellers, as we too have walked miles and talked for hours with others on our personal roads to Emmaus, endeavoring to wrestle some sense of order out of the seeming chaos of our lives. We feel bad for the individuals in today's gospel because we feel bad for ourselves. We wonder why Jesus didn't relieve their pain sooner, because we wonder why he doesn't relieve ours.

And as understandable as all these questions are, they overlook and fail to appreciate the central and unmistakable fact Jesus was there. Doing so, we run the risk of thinking that because Jesus doesn't act as we think he should, that then somehow is love and care for us is uncertain. When what it really means is just that Jesus is not living up to our misguided and fallen expectations-thanks be to God. Instead he will do as he will as the Son of God who so loved the world that he left the glory of heaven to become man, to enact the plan of salvation complete with his death, burial, descent into hell and now the resurrection-he will do this, as he does everything, all for love.

He was with them. He walked beside them, talked with them and while he may not have immediately given them what they might have wanted (or what we would have wanted), he provided them with all they needed-in this case a fuller understanding of the Scriptures so they could begin to comprehend the fullness of the mystery of what had happened and to prepare them for what was to come.

And when he knew the time was right, and only then, he took the bread, blessed and broke it and gave it to them, were their eyes opened to recognize their Lord.

Our reaction to Jesus in this story, and to how we perceive him to be acting (or not) in our lives should give us pause for thought.

We say we trust in God, we say our hope is in him, but is it really? Or perhaps is our hope placed in things other or alongside God? For example, when facing a trial do we have maybe 30% of our trust in God, 30 % in having the answers and information we think we need, 30% in our ability to manage the situation to the appropriate outcome and 10% in having whatever resources may be needed to do so. Perhaps the breakdown for everyone is a bit different, but the bottom line is that when we don't trust fully in God, we leave ourselves open to worry, fear and anxiety. Scripture is clear that the one who trusts fully in God has love, peace and grace. Of course none of us does this perfectly, but it helps to be aware that those negative emotions or stresses are an indicator that our hope may not be as completely in our Lord as we might think. And this gives us a chance to take another look at the situation.

We are not just called to trust in God as if it some kind of authoritarian demand for unquestioning obedience. Rather we are invited to trust. Invited to turn to Him and rest in His grace and mercy-to trust that His steadfast love will provide for our every need, in every circumstance, in according to His good and gracious will.

And this is why the most important event of the story happens in v. 15-Jesus was with them. Jesus' presence and provision wasn't dependent on their recognizing it-he was with them.

Just so is Jesus with each one of us-just as was promised when we were baptized into his body.

We may not always recognize his presence but he is still with us. We may not understand all that is going on in our lives, but he is still with us. We may not have everything we want or think we need, but he is still with us providing us with what we truly need.

Just as Jesus revealed himself to his followers in the breaking of the bread, when he and they were ready-so too we trust that Christ will reveal himself and his ways to us in the midst of our circumstances when he and we are ready.

Until then we hold tightly to his promise to never leave, nor forsake us. We cling to the promise of his steadfast love and his promise to come to us in the bread and the wine of Holy Communion. Here we have confirmation, visible and tangible to faith, that Jesus is beside us. He is speaking to us through the words of the liturgy and prayers. It may be the pastor's or assistants voice speaking but it is Jesus' words "the body of Christ for you", the blood of Christ for you", each phrase carrying the underlying message-"I am with you always".

This gospel story reminds us of a simple yet profound truth-Jesus doesn't promise us answers or solutions when we want them. Instead we are offered a much more blessed and certainly more needful gift-our Lord Jesus Christ himself. Thanks be to God.

Pr. Brad Everett
Strathmore, AB, Canada

E-Mail: everettsts@gmail.com

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