Sermon: April 23, 2023
Reading Luke 24:13-35
The story about the disciples on the road to Emmaus is more than these two people encountering the risen Lord and then going to tell the other disciples. This story is a mirror that reflects our own journey as human beings and disciples of Christ. We human creatures are an emotional bunch. For the most part, the way we experience and process much of the world is through our emotions. When we gaze into the mirror of this story, we can see the reflection of our lives in what the disciples experienced on that dusty road to Emmaus. The disciple’s hopes had come crashing down around them, and they were devastated. We, too, can experience a devastating loss of hope in our lives. Maybe we’ve hoped for a different diagnosis than what the doctor gave us. Maybe we hoped we would get a better job, one that paid more or had better hours. Maybe we hoped for healing and to be physically normal again. Maybe we hoped for an end to senseless violence and war. And maybe we’ve hoped for the love of God to shine through the darkness of abuse, hate, and prejudices that seem to engulf our world. At some point throughout our lives, we have all hoped just as the disciples had. Hopelessness is like the door of a tomb being rolled shut on our hearts, which can leave us feeling empty and confused. It can leave us asking, “What are we to do now?”
So often we can get caught up in the whirlwind of chaos, tragedy, and hopelessness that we fail to recognize Jesus is walking with us. But as Luke points out in his Gospel, Christ rose from the dead to free us from that bondage.
Our hearts can burn with the same passion that the disciples felt for God’s love by cultivating the habit of speaking with God in prayer. We can engage with Jesus by opening the bible to read, study, and reflect upon the scriptures. We can meet Jesus by choosing to serve others through God’s love and fulfill our covenant of seeking and serving Christ in others. And we most certainly encounter the risen Lord when we approach the altar and share the sacred meal of the Eucharist. We can still meet Christ if we allow our eyes and hearts to be open inviting him into our lives and receive his love.
Jesus promised the disciples and us that he would always be with us. The story about the journey to Emmaus offers an incredible account of the disciples encountering the risen Christ. But it also serves as a reminder that Jesus is always traveling with us whether we recognize him or not. Sometimes, in order for us to recognize Christ, we must pause and stop our frantic, chaotic lives so that our eyes may be open and behold Jesus, who is not a stranger. We may not understand why things happen, but when we rely on Christ and the unity of one another as children of God, the veil that covers our eyes can be removed, and we can see God’s love that surrounds us.
