April 6th, 2008 –Road to Emmaus and Recognizing Jesus in the Stranger
The gospel for the third Sunday of Easter is the celebrated account of the disciples of Emmaus ( Luke 24:13-35).
Two disciples go from Jerusalem after the death of Jesus and to the nearby village of Emmaus. Jesus joins them somewhere along their journey, walks and talks with them about the scriptures, but the disciples did not recognize him.
They were not looking for Jesus in the stranger. The two disciples were filled with their own thoughts and stories. We read “their faces were downcast “and “we hoped he would redeem Israel”.
Pastor Dayle preached about what changed when their eyes were open and they recognized Jesus when he broke bread. These disciples changed their destination and went back to Jerusalem instead of Emmaus.
Today we walk our own road to Emmaus. Jesus can walk and talk with us in many ways. Many times we may not see him filled with our own expectations and perceptions of who Jesus should be and the form Jesus should take in our lives. He can go past if we do not invite him in, and our eyes will remain closed.
Still Jesus walks with us, particularly when we feel hopeless. It can be a Resurrection moment when our eyes are open.
The Adult Education hour continued an Emmaus journey for some of us. Ruth shared a story about strength she felt from a member of the congregation. Larry was impressed that thiswas the story of followers like us and very few Bible stories are told from that perspective.
The gospel for the third Sunday of Easter is the celebrated account of the disciples of Emmaus ( Luke 24:13-35).
Two disciples go from Jerusalem after the death of Jesus and to the nearby village of Emmaus. Jesus joins them somewhere along their journey, walks and talks with them about the scriptures, but the disciples did not recognize him.
They were not looking for Jesus in the stranger. The two disciples were filled with their own thoughts and stories. We read “their faces were downcast “and “we hoped he would redeem Israel”.
Pastor Dayle preached about what changed when their eyes were open and they recognized Jesus when he broke bread. These disciples changed their destination and went back to Jerusalem instead of Emmaus.
Today we walk our own road to Emmaus. Jesus can walk and talk with us in many ways. Many times we may not see him filled with our own expectations and perceptions of who Jesus should be and the form Jesus should take in our lives. He can go past if we do not invite him in, and our eyes will remain closed.
Still Jesus walks with us, particularly when we feel hopeless. It can be a Resurrection moment when our eyes are open.
The Adult Education hour continued an Emmaus journey for some of us. Ruth shared a story about strength she felt from a member of the congregation. Larry was impressed that thiswas the story of followers like us and very few Bible stories are told from that perspective.
Linda was focused on Jesus being recognizable for an instant and then vanishing from sight. She talked about how important it was for her to act when the moment presented itself. Hesitate and the moment disappears. We talked about how icons can help us remember.
Later, Gretchen wrote me about the story of Emmaus was a strong statement about the hospitality theme the RIC team is currently focused on and how Come Let Us Worship God, the hymn that called us to worship, is an anthem for welcoming with its “Welcome everyone to the love of God".
posted by Gary at
9:54 AM
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