Road to Emmaus
Redefining Our Boundaries with the Risen Christ

Text: Luke 24:13-35

3rd Sunday of Easter

April 6, 2008

The story of the Road to Emmaus is one of the beautiful stories in the gospel of Luke.

Why is it beautiful? It is poetic…if I compare the story with a painting, it would be like a watercolor or some performance art with beautiful lights and fabrics with texture in it.

It has its own mystery, like walking through fog….

This story begins with the two disciples walking on the road with lots of vulnerability and sadness. They were on a journey, not even in the security of a house, but on a road where they could be exposed to danger yet very open to the man they met. They were that tender, so sad that no wall of defense stayed with them.

The big hope and expectation they had toward Jesus, had been completely crushed. There is a sense of fate in their attitude. They did not even blame the chief priest, but claim them as “our chief priests”. That expression conveys helplessness and sense of obedience to authority of the world around them, given to them.

The two disciples which Luke mentions in the story of Emmaus are not heroic figures among the disciples. They are not Peter or John…In fact this is the only story where they appear. (or in fact they may be among the extended group of Jesus’ followers in Jerusalem c.f Luke 23:49; Acts 1:15, 21:22) So it seems like they are very humble obscure figures, like our misty watercolor. Often in Luke, people of no great distinction happen to be God’s chosen—the shepherds who heard the birth of Messiah, Mary the peasant young girl who bear God’s child, Old Simeon, widow Anna who are the one able to recognize the baby as the savior of the world, various gentiles—good Samaritan—blind men, sinners…

Here again, to these two minor disciples, the Risen Christ appeared.

Historians are not clear where Emmaus is. It got lost in the history. That itself again is a foggy, mysterious experience…

We do not know why they were heading towards Emmaus either—whether that is their home or for some other reason…

So a commentator like Frederick Buechner calls Emmaus as “The place we go to in order to escape—like a bar or a movie, wherever it is we throw up our hands and say, ‘let the whole damned thing go hang. It makes no difference anyway.’ … Emmaus is whatever we do or wherever we go to make ourselves forget that the world holds nothing sacred: that even the wisest and bravest and loveliest decay and die; that even the noblest ideas that men have had—ideas about love and freedom and justice—have always in time been twisted by selfish men for selfish ends.”

While I quote Frederick Buechner and agree with him, still this famous theologian’s way of interpreting the story is very Northern European. His interpretation pictures a scene where the participants still have lots of energy and guts to throw around. It is like an election race that did not turn out the way we wanted.

In contrast what I saw from the two disciples has a flavor of Asian obedience to authority, whether that be good or bad … In that context complete defeat feels much different. When Buecher talks of escape, it has a tone of making an active choice, but the road to Emmaus is more passive, while at the same time receptive…receptive to the things that happen on the road as the two helpless men walk away from hope….

But the good news is that the Risen Christ appears and walks with these two helpless ones …and the Christ takes time, slowly walking and listening, questioning, letting them share their despair in their own terms. (isn’t it ironic? The risen Christ knew all about them and all of the scripture about him, yet pretend not to know, but then in the end, he opened the scripture which they are familiar with, yet not fully understanding and explained it to them…)

As the evening approached, he was about to leave, but the men who began their journey in despair had been transformed during this walk with a stranger and now their hearts were burning within them. So the ignited hearts insisted the stranger stay and have a meal with them. (stay with us for the night is coming….not just for you , but for us also….)

In that urging, Jesus stayed with them, gave thanks to God, blessed, and broke the bread and their eyes were opened….

In this story we see God’s grace coming during a crisis… We see hospitality to the strangers in a time of danger, but more than anything else…I am struck by something very simple, the importance of breaking bread. (particularly during the time of despair, helplessness.)

Christ walks with us, talks to us, questions us and explains things we do not yet understand in our and this steady presence of the Risen Christ got finally recognized by the vulnerable as the vulnerable, tender and open spirit break bread together.

I am sure there’s more than that, but we may not need to grasp everything, because Christ comes slowly. Our understanding of Easter comes slowly… (like walking in a misty or foggy road to Emmaus.) and even if Christ comes to these two, the next minute there will be another despair…but that’s Ok too…its all a process….and when we see the risen Christ, we go back to the people, with whom we served Christ, who are in despair as well, and share our risen Christ experience….the one who showed up to the despair on the road to Emmaus and the one who showed up to Peter, Mary and Thomas….

And as we share the stories, our life becomes more abundant, our risen Christ becomes more reality….the Bread rises and there are more things to share with more people…amen….


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