The Adventurous Lectionary – Third Sunday of Easter – April 30, 2017

The Adventurous Lectionary – Third Sunday of Easter – April 30, 2017 April 23, 2017

The Adventurous Lectionary – Third Sunday of Easter – April 30, 2017

Bruce Epperly
Luke 24:13-35

Today’s reading highlights the Emmaus Walk. It could be titled, “Let’s Go For a Walk.” Or, “Walking with Jesus.” Jesus doesn’t come to us “in the garden” but on the highway, the seven mile stretch from Jerusalem to Emmaus, and in our own daily journeys.

Today’s Easter reading is about embodied movement. Resurrection moved the cells as well as the soul of Jesus, and the cells and souls of his followers. They went from the tomb and upper room out into the world, not always knowing where they were going, but trusting God’s Spirit to guide the way. Resurrection still gets us out of our comfort zones and calls us to the open road, spiritually, ethically, and sometimes physically.

I love to walk. Each morning, and virtually every day of the year at sunrise, I walk from the church I pastor, South Congregational Church, in Centerville, MA, to the Craigville Conference Center, and back. This two mile walk takes me past a river, wetlands, and the Craigville beaches. I spend the walk observing the world around me and my own inner thoughts. I often use the time for intercessory prayer and personal centering, taking in God’s energy of love and sharing it with others. Sometimes, in the afternoon I take a second walk with my wife and Labradoodle puppy, alternating solitude with companionship in the course of the day. In recognition of my love for walking, one of my friends sent me a paperweight that proclaims, solvitur ambulando, “it will be solved in the walking.”

Moving and eating is at the heart of this reading and our lives. A walk and a meal can transform your life, and that’s what happened in the encounter of Jesus with two of his earliest followers. Trudging down the road, two utterly confused followers are joined by a third man. Their world has been turned upside down by the events of the past week: celebration, conflict, violence, and death, and now the possibility that their martyred spiritual leader has come back to life. Resurrection is just as unsettling as crucifixion. It doesn’t fit into any rational world view, including the theology of resurrection of the first century Jewish people. They could imagine a resurrection of all humanity at the end of history, but not the resurrection of a solitary individual.

But, they walk the seven miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus, first sharing their common grief, and then entering into a strange conversation with their unexpected companion, who unfolds the story of salvation through resurrection to them. Somehow, they cannot recognize their companion as the teacher and healer Jesus. Perhaps, it is a bit of divine magic allowing them to gently adapt to a new way of seeing; perhaps, it is the highly energetic body of their companion that both reveals and conceals Jesus’ identity.

Confused and grief stricken, the two men nevertheless reach out to the stranger. They invite him to supper. While we don’t know the menu, we do know that as the meal ended, they come to know his identity as the Risen Jesus in the breaking of the bread. Their hospitality leads to a theophany, an encounter with the Risen Jesus, who is known in the simple Eucharistic acts of praying and eating.

Movement and meal lead to revelation, and then Jesus is gone, vanishing from their sight, but leaving them with warmed hearts, lively spirits, and energetic bodies. They are so energized that they walk seven miles back to Jerusalem to share their good news that Jesus is risen and on the road.

After breaking the bread, Jesus vanished from their sight. He may have needed to be on the move as well. God is not static, imprisoned by yesterday’s revelations and the church’s creeds and scriptures. God is alive and on the move, doing new things and sharing new insights with other pilgrims on the journey.

While you may choose to highly the readings from Acts and I Peter as well, there is a tendency in these readings to move from experience to doctrine, and forget the personal, relational, and dynamic nature of resurrection and revelation. Yes, Christ has risen, but the resurrection calls for a personal response. The resurrection is not an abstract doctrine but a lived reality, discovered on the road with Jesus.

We are on the road as well. Many of our churches are uncertain about their destinations and worried about the future. We can relate to the Emmaus story. We have heard the good news but wonder how it will be embodied in our congregations at this point in their histories. We really don’t know exactly where Emmaus is located. Several possibilities have been surfaced, but perhaps vagueness is a virtue. In not localizing Emmaus, we can open to the possibility that Emmaus is everywhere. Wherever we are on the road and at every mealtime, Jesus comes to us, filled with energy and possibility, and the joy of resurrection. We can have new life, and we can be born again, right now at any venue. Let’s keep moving, and chart new adventures, because Jesus walks beside us on the road.


Browse Our Archives