| This week's thinking bit... |
|
|
|
The road to Emmaus 3rd Sunday in Easter : 10th April 2005 Acts 2.14a, 36-41 | 1 Peter 1.17-23 | Luke 24.13-35 Today the gospel set for us is one of my favourite stories - it’s a classic short story and speaks of how Jesus takes two wavering disciples by surprise - but not by shouting at them, or telling them off, but by allowing them to work it out for themselves... There are 3 moments on the road:
And this lead to action - to them doing something - they became missionaries as they rushed off to tell others the news. This story is unique to Luke, and has all sorts of Lucan themes: journeying together; eyes being opened; hospitality - the idea yet again of Jesus and food! And the implied contrast between men and women. Parallel structure
The two disciples have abandoned the way of Jesus: he didn’t meet their expectations - they are walking away from Jerusalem. They are disillusioned. Yet they do so with sadness - hoping Jesus might have been who they suspected - the Messiah. Again another Lucan theme: the men’s infidelity is contrasted with the women’s faithfulness - the women go to the tomb, they see the evidence of the resurrection and go tell others - the women are faithful and believe: the men don’t! The men are walking towards the sunset. Their direction changed at the end of the story and they became those who walked towards the sunrise! What helps to open the disciples’ eyes is not cold theology, or even the words or witness of others - BUT in the hospitality shown to a stranger. Food-inspired flash of inspiration!
We know that a good meal can be hugely sacramental: restorative, deepening relationships, giving new focus and confidence, gaining understanding... all these things can happen round the meal table. Jesus told his disciples at the Last Supper that he would not share food with his disciples until God’s Kingdom came (Luke 22.16, 18). And here he was, sharing food with his disciples - so God’s kingdom has indeed come.
The story shows us the way in
which God deals with us, and therefore how we should deal with others: God
respects our freedom of choice, God moves to walk beside us, not coercing us
but challenging and teaching us. God listens to us. God’s plan of love is in
the scriptures for us; and as we understand, as we get excited about our
faith so we’ll find it natural to tell others, to invite others along, to
share something of what we’ve found. BUT our pattern has always to be the
risen Christ, and where better to start that pattern than from this story of
the Road to Emmaus...
Picture Credits on this page Carl Bloch, 1834-1890 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The
story has a classic parallel structure: to start with the disciples depart
from Jerusalem: at the end they return to Jerusalem. Jesus joins them and
they don’t recognise him: at the meal table they recognise him and he
vanishes from them.
Certainly
other things played a part, but for these two disciples the penny dropping
moment was a Eucharistic one - a thanksgiving meal. God’s kingdom has come
in Jesus' sharing of food with others - especially the wounded,
disappointed, the bruised.
Yes,
Jesus is undoubtedly to be found around the communion table, the altar; but
he is also to be found around the dinning table.