Emily Schaming
Woody Allen once said, "Our civilization stands at the crossroads. Down one road is despondency and despair. Down the other road is total annihilation. I hope we'll take the right road." The road away from Jerusalem, the road to Emmaus. For Cleopas and his travelling companion, it must have seemed like there was no longer a true path. The man who had told them that he was the Way was gone. Jerusalem was dangerous for anyone who had been associated with this executed criminal. The disciples are frightened and dismayed that their own religious leaders would have handed Jesus to the Romans when they were convinced he was the Messiah.
What happens when a dream dies?
There is a famous Buddhist story about a woman whose precious only son had died. The woman was so full of grief that she insisted on carrying her son's body everywhere with her. She was completely absorbed in her suffering and sadness. The wise man in her village suggested that she go to the Buddha to ask him for help. She went to him and asked how she could bring her son back to life. He told her to go to every house in her village and collect a mustard seed from each family that had not experienced the grief of a loss. Filled with hope, she set out on her task and a few days later she came back to the Buddha, empty-handed and smiling. She had not collected a single seed and had gone and buried her son.
Sometimes when a dream dies, it does so only to allow a greater dream to be born in its place. A plant withers and dies and drops a seed into the ground, only to see a rejuvenated plant grow in its place. Sometimes we do need to give up on certain dreams that we have, because they're not in God's will for us. However, if we do have to give up on a dream, we shouldn't lose hope, because God has an even greater dream in store for us.
The disciples in the story are like the woman, so blinded by grief and focussed on the sufferings of Jesus that they do not recognize the truth of Jesus' presence. They are dismayed by the suffering that their Messiah endured and unable to get past the horrible reality of his death.
But Jesus goes further than simply pointing out that suffering is a part of life, as the woman in the story learned. The disciples had been sure that they were counting on a God above matter, a God who does not, cannot and will not suffer. The Messiah should come with power, force, death, and vengeance. Instead Jesus tells the disciples that the focus of the scriptures is on a suffering Christ. The scriptures certainly do not shy away from the subject - Moses and David, Isaiah and Malachi, Jeremiah and Ruth all speak of God's anointed one - of God's suffering servant. When we do not understand that 'the Christ must suffer', when we are afraid to speak of a God who suffers with us in love, when we refuse to suffer and most especially when we ignore the pain of others, we remain like the disciples, unable to see God at work. God did not raise Jesus from the dead so that we could go on doing the things that brought about his death. God brought him back so that people like you and I would put a stop to whatever it is in us that makes us want to harm any one of our brothers and sisters. He suffered so that we would prevent suffering.
But even though these teachings on the road were meaningful to the disciples, they still did not recognize Jesus.
A Flash of Recognition
Charlie Chaplin once entered a Charlie Chaplin Look-Alike Contest in Monte Carlo. He placed third. How could this audience, obviously fans, have the real thing right in front of them and not even recognize him? It seems kind of strange that the disciples don't recognize Jesus, but it is comforting at the same time.
The Emmaus story feels honest, true and instructive for us in this age in which we seek to know and live in Christian faith. It is a very human story. We are met by the Risen Christ and in the midst of the craziness of the world we are able to admit that we don't know what the heck is going on. We have not got it all figured out, and the truth is we are powerless in our lack of understanding, both of God's grace and the machinations of evil in our time. We are secretly a little relieved that disciples- who had met Jesus in person- were not able to recognize him. At the same time this is a humbling idea. It is hard for us to deal with the fact that we are merely human.
Alexander the Great's father Phillip employed two men whose sole responsibility was to address him twice each day. Their morning duty was to say, "Philip, remember that you are but a man." And in the evening to ask, "Philip, have you remembered that you are but a man?"
We too, are just men and women. But that does not mean we cannot participate in the miracle of recognition that follows the journey to Emmaus. If we are as unperceptive as the disciples, we can also share their joy when they come to understand the reality of the resurrection.
The travelling disciples invite the stranger to stay with them and share a meal. Jesus breaks bread and the disciples suddenly know who this man whose words 'burned like a fire within them' on the road really is.
To eat a meal with someone - to have a person into your house and to sit at table with them, is a great compliment. It is an act of profound intimacy, an act of trust, of friendship. It was in that act that the two men, - whose minds were clouded by anxiety and grief as they walked from Jerusalem to Emmaus had their eyes opened, that they recognized the stranger. In the act of sharing the bread, he was no longer a stranger, but a dear friend. Jesus takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it and gives it to them. This fourfold action is a physical reminder of Jesus' life. It is his life that God chooses to take, bless, break and give. This self-giving of the Creator of the universe, for humans and our salvation, ought to astonish us. In hospitality, blessing, and sharing we too may meet the risen Christ. Through actions of the meal, the dream of the Messiah is restored to the men, they may believe even more than they did before Jesus' death. Filled with joy and excitement they set out to return to Jerusalem to give witness to the disciples and to bring them much needed assurance.
And so after a very short stay in Emmaus, the disciples are back on the road again. I wonder what the journey back was like? Willy Nelson's well known road trip favourite says, "I can't wait to get on the road again. Goin' places that I've never been." Most of us take the same routes regularly in our lives. We commute back and forth to work or school on the same bus route or down the same highway. Have you ever noticed the difference when you walk down a road that you usually drive? It isn't the same at all. The terrain is totally different. There are hills that have gone unnoticed, puddles to walk around (or through), a little coffee shop you never knew was there. Outside the cocoon of the bus or car, the world comes to life, the scent of a neighbour's lovely garden, the vastness of the sky, the sounds of children racing home from school. The disciples have taken the Emmaus road before, but without the knowledge of Jesus' resurrection. They are still on the road, but this time they are going places they have never been. They are able to see everything as never before. Their world, their Lord, has come back to life.
We never had the privilege of meeting Jesus in person before his death, but we wish to walk with him every day. Sometimes it is hard to see him walking there. Sometimes we do see him, but do not recognize him. But if we look for him in the everyday, in the stranger, in the breaking of bread, in humility and love, he will find us. In the words of the old hymn,
I sought the Lord and afterward I knew he moved my soul to seek him, seeking me. It was not I that found, O Saviour true, no, I was found of thee...For thou wert long beforehand with my soul, always thou lovedst me.
In deepest love and deepest sadness, God is there. When we walk in darkness, God is there. Even when we do not recognize his face, God is there. The risen Christ was there long before we sought to find him, seeking us. He knows our suffering, and brings us our joy. We may share with the world the words of the disciples, "He is risen indeed!"