The Walk to Emmaus
George Gallop did a poll that said
84% of people who never go to church believe Jesus rose from the dead. But many
people, and perhaps some of you in this room, may wonder, “So what? It happened
2,000 years ago. Does it really matter? Is it relevant to my life?” The answer
is “YES.”
Today’s scripture tells us why the resurrection of Jesus is so important and how we can also live the resurrection in everyday life. In today’s story we meet two disciples of Jesus, Cleopas and perhaps his wife, who were heading home in Emmaus after a traumatic weekend. As they walked along for about two hours (seven miles), they were talking about everything that had happened that week – Jesus’ suffering, his death, and even his resurrection. But the news about Jesus’ resurrection itself (vv. 23-24) didn’t affect their lives. They still looked sad when Jesus camp up and join the conversation. And they couldn’t recognize Jesus because they were overcome with anxiety, grief, and fear. But later, their hearts were burning and they returned to Jerusalem with new hope. Something happened somewhere in the between. I believe that something is the resurrection meal written in verse 30:
When he (Jesus)
was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke
it, and gave it to them.
Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. Took, blessed, broke, gave – these four verbs summarize the life of Jesus and also the pattern for our lives.
Life of Jesus
Took. God took Jesus. When
Jesus was born and presented in the temple, Simeon praised God, “My eyes have
seen your salvation!” (Luke 2:30). When John the Baptist saw Jesus, he
cried out, “Look! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
(John 1:29). Indeed, Jesus took our sins and brought himself to God. And God
took Jesus.
Blessed. God blessed Jesus. When Jesus was about to start his ministry and baptized, coming up from the water, there was a voice from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matt 3:17). When the time drew near for him to go to Jerusalem, Jesus took Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain. Before them he was transfigured. Suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (Matt 17:5). Jesus is God’s Messiah – God’s anointed one, blessed one.
Broke. But then Jesus was broken, his blood poured out. Even though Jesus is God’s blessed one, he was broken and became a curse for us on the cross (Gal 3:13). Prophet Isaiah proclaims this wonderful truth this way: “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Is 53:5, NIV). Again Paul declares, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2Co 5:21, NIV). Jesus was broken so we could be made whole.
Gave. God took Jesus, blessed Jesus, broke Jesus. There is more! “God raised him up and put an end to suffering of death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power” (Acts 2:24). Christ is risen from the dead. And he has become the firstfruits of those who have died (1 Co 15:20). Jesus has become the pioneer of our salvation (Heb 2:10), the trailblazer of the abundant life, eternal life, resurrection life. And he says to us today, “I am the bread of life. Come and eat my flesh and drink my blood. Come and follow the path that I have set before you.” (cf. John 6:35-59)
The Pattern for Our Lives[i]
So the pattern for the Christian
life, the resurrection life is in these four verbs: take, bless, break, give. First, Jesus takes what we bring to him – our bread, our fish, our sins, our
fear, our strength, our weakness, our hunger, our thirst, whatever we are, just
as we are. Most of all we bring ourselves to Jesus. And he takes us.
Jesus then blesses and gives thanks for what we bring. He doesn’t criticize or condemn or reject our offering. Jesus welcomes us just as we are. He loves us not because we did something good or impressive for him. He just loves us even before we commit our lives to him. When Israel, God’s people, was still in their sins, God said to them through Prophet Zephaniah, “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing” (3:17). Our giving does not change God; it changes us. Jesus gives thanks for who we are in our bringing.
Jesus breaks what we bring to him. Even though Jesus welcomes us just as we are, once we ourselves are in Jesus’ hand, we are not permitted to remain the same. Our pride is crucified, our self-sufficiency is broken, our selfishness is pruned. In Jesus’ hand we experience some kind of death.
Then Jesus gives back what we are and who we are. But it is no longer what we brought. It’s new creation, new life, new power, new hope, new bread that can feed many others.
Living the Resurrection
Jesus Christ is risen from the
dead. His resurrection matters because through
his resurrection Jesus has become the trailblazer of our salvation. Now we
can follow the path that he has set before us. Now we can live the resurrection
in everyday life: take, bless, break,
give.
Let me give you an illustration of what it looks like to live the resurrection. When Martin Luther King Jr. became a part of leadership of the Montgomery bus protest, he began to receive threatening phone calls and letters. Late one night Dr. King received another house bombing threat phone call. He could not sleep. He was concerned about his wife and little ones. He was overcome with worry and fear. He was ready to give up. When his courage had almost gone, Dr. King determined to take his problems to God. He prayed, “I am here taking a stand for what I believe is right. But now I am afraid… I am at the end of my powers. I have nothing left. I’ve come to the point where I can’t face it alone.” At that moment he experienced the presence of God. And he heard the quiet assurance of the risen Christ, saying, “Stand up for righteousness, stand up for truth. God will be at your side forever.”[ii] The outer situation remained the same, but one thing changed. The presence of the risen Christ became a reality for him. His fears were gone. He was ready to face anything. Three nights later, his home was bombed. But strangely enough, he was peaceful. God gave him a new strength and trust.
At our table the risen Christ is present among us as host today. Come to Jesus today and at every table. Bring yourselves – your doubt, your anxiety, your frustration, your sorrow, uncertainty for the future, fear of illness, or dying or death, whatever you are. Bring it here to him and trust him. And Jesus will take it – take you, bless you, break you (the old self), and give you new life. And you will say, “I no longer live, but the risen Christ lives in me!” (Gal 2:20) Amen.
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