By: Rev. Gerry Weesner, Maples United Methodist Church
“Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him. He asked them, ‘What are you discussing together as you walk along?’ They stood still, their faces downcast. ‘What things?’ he asked. ‘About Jesus of Nazareth,’ they replied. ‘He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people.’ He said to them, ‘How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” Luke 24:13-17,19, 25-27 (NIV).
Most of us may have had a similar experience as the disciples in the “Road to Emmaus” story. We see people and they are vaguely familiar; perhaps a clerk in a grocery store, a nurse in a doctor’s office, a police officer, or a waitress in a restaurant. But they are out of uniform and out of place so suddenly they are unrecognizable.
Today’s passage from scripture tells of an incident following the crucifixion, on Easter morning. A disciple named Cleopas and an unnamed disciple were walking to Emmaus, a town a little more than seven miles from Jerusalem. Suddenly the risen Christ joins them and they don’t recognize him. These disciples are talking to the risen Jesus about the death of Jesus and the news that Jesus is risen, without recognizing they are talking to Jesus! How could they miss the obvious?
In Jesus’ time, guests were expected to refuse an offer of hospitality until they were strongly urged to stay and eat. This the disciples do, and Jesus, who to this day does not force himself on us, took over the role of host, giving hanks and breaking the bread. In doing so, suddenly, as if he had put back on his nurse’s scrubs or police uniform, the disciples finally recognize Jesus!
This is perhaps the most profound thing this scripture tells us. We recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread. This is just as true now as then. When we break bread with each other in church, when we break bread together with each other in restaurants, or in our homes, when we insist on sharing hospitality with those whom God sends our way, we recognize Jesus in our midst.
