NL 340: The Road to Emmaus - Luke 24:13-35

image: “Road to Emmaus” by Fritz von Uhde Wikimedia Commons

April 11, 2021

Luke 24:13-35

Initial Thoughts

  • Unnamed apostle, Cleopas and another

    • Are we the unnamed apostle?

    • How do we experience the risen Christ?

    • general themes of post-resurrection

      • familiar yet mystery

      • known yet unknown

Bible Study

  • In Luke, everything happens on Easter Sunday- the resurrection and the post resurrection appearances

  • “Their eyes were kept from recognizing him” - perhaps their grief has clouded their vision, perhaps the ministry of Jesus to restore sight to the blind did not end with his death, perhaps they cannot see God where they don’t expect her to be.

    • First the could not hear the words of the women, now they cannot see Jesus

  • Journey- not understanding

    • How many of us get stuck in Good Friday of depression and grief or Holy Saturday of waiting and hopelessness, never making it to Sunday.

    • Trying to make sense of the death without accepting the crucifixion - one cannot be understood without the other

  • Cleopas recounts the life and death of Jesus

    • “Cleopas is an unidentified follower, who may be a woman.” (Amy-Jill Levine, The Jewish Annotated New Testament, p. 166)

    • What would you include in your telling? What would you leave out?

    • They begin as blind, and end with sight.

    • Blind even though they know the story

  • “We had hoped” - saddest sentence of the passage.

    • What had they hoped for? For the political liberation of Israel? For the violent overthrow of Rome? For a return to the Davidic Kingdom (a Kingdom marked by abuses of power and the enslavement of indigenous peoples)?

    • Had they hoped to “Make Israel great again? Or to Make Israel first?

    • Perhaps it’s time to reexamine and reorient our hopes

  • Jesus disappoints

    • When people don’t live up to our “hopes” and expectations we become disappointed- everyone disappoints. Parents disappoint children and vice versa, pastor’s disappoint their congregations and vice versa, spouses disappoint and vice versa- the question is what do we do with that disappointment?

    • Perhaps there is a freedom in the ability to be honest with Jesus about their disappointment and that honestly allows them to see Jesus as he truly is, not as who they hoped he would be

  • Jesus’ response

    • He opened the Scriptures to them - but even that is not enough.

    • “Knowing of Jesus” and “experiencing Jesus” are two different things

  • Table sharing

    • The scriptures only make sense in the community- the open hospitality, the broken bread, the shared table

    • Eucharistic: took, blessed, broke, gave- Last Supper, Feeding the multitudes, etc

    • They recognize Jesus in the living like Jesus: radical hospitality and table sharing

    • Was Jesus truly present with them or was Jesus present in the fellowship of opening their hearts and homes to another

    • It was not in the talking or discussing, but doing  the ministry of Jesus was Jesus was revealed in their midst

    • Experiencing the risen Christ does not come at the end of a lesson, no matter how well planned, or even a sermon, no matter how well delivered. There is something about faith that is “made known” outside the normal ways of knowing. It is in the breaking of bread that the disciples finally “see.”

    • “The Word of God is not mere words, nor even ideas. It is always an action in which someone acts in self-revelation and self-giving. The Word of God is this Someone the Christ, the living Word of God.” Louis Bouyer, quoted in Justo Gonzalez, Luke, p.279

    • “Revelation is connected with the breaking of bread in a fellowship meal; faith comes through revelation, not Bible study or logic or even a vision of Jesus.” ( Amy-Jill Levine, The Jewish Annotated New Testament, p. 166)

    • “The ‘recognition’ scene (anagnorisis) was conventional in Greek and Roman literature as were sudden appearances and disappearances of the (presumed) dead (e.g. Plutarch describes how the [dead] Romulus appeared to a friend outside the city of Rome, announced, ‘I am your propitious deity, Quirinius’ and disappeared.” (parenthesis and brackets are the author’s original, Amy-Jill Levine, The Jewish Annotated New Testament, p. 166)

  • Jesus leaves

    • Doesn’t just leave - disappears - further adding to the mysterious nature of the Resurrection (appears in locked rooms, etc.)

    • Once again we are left- but not the same, we are transformed.

    • Jesus’ advent in our lives, like resurrection transforms us, it is not simple a redo or an undo, but a complete change.

    • Even though the day was almost over, they ran back to the disciples “right then”

      • This would be a dangerous journey to do at night

    • “The church is composed of those who have been led beyond disbelief to faith by the gracious revelation of God. Their repeated telling of and listening to the foundational story empowers them in anticipation of their mission to all the nations.” (Charles Cousar, Texts for Preaching, Year A. p. 281)

    • “Christ “vanished out of their sight” as an indication that visible apprehension could not sustain enduring faith; holy presence would remain, but not in the form they had known.” Marshall, M. T. (2010). Theological Perspective on Luke 24:13–35. Feasting on the Word: Year A Vol. 2, p. 420). Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

  • The disciples become apostles

    • They return to Jerusalem to share the good news, not only that Christ has risen, but they Christ is still with them in the breaking of the bread

    • This good news is the foundation of the new community - one that was fractured by crucifixion will be resurrected.

Thoughts and Questions

  • Field of Dreams - when Annie is debating with the school board about the banning of Terrance Mann’s books. She argues that the books are about love, peace, and understanding, and says to the indignant woman, “If you had experienced just a little bit of the sixties, I think you’d understand.” Woman replies, “I experienced the sixties.” Annie: “No, I think you had two fifties and moved right into the seventies”

    • What is the difference between knowing Jesus and experiencing Jesus?

  • Article on HuffPost that we talked about: People Disguised As Homeless Ignored By Loved Ones On Street In Stunning Social Experiment

  • How do we reveal the presence of Jesus in our midst?

  • Do we allow ourselves to be changed by the risen Christ or do we return to business as usual?

  • Are we just talking about Jesus in church or are we being Christ/doing the work of Christ?

  • Blog post from Robb - Walk of Shame, Interrupted.

Year 3Eric FistlerLukeComment