“Walking Home” (Luke 24:13-35)
Walking is good for you. It’s healthy.
It gets the heart pumping, the blood circulating, and the lungs
respiring. I know that I ought to do
more of it. In fact, just yesterday my
son said to me, “You’re like a nice warm pillow that walks around and takes
care of me.” There was a part of me that
appreciated that sweet sentiment. Another
part of me immediately thought, “I know I could stand to do a few extra
sit-ups, but I don’t think I’m at the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man stage just yet.” My exercise regime is not what it should
be. And walking is so easy. All you have to do is put on a pair of decent
shoes, some comfortable clothes, and go.
And when it’s raining outside, I can always use the treadmill in our
bedroom. Even on those warm sunny days
in Cucamonga, my dad used to say that he preferred using the treadmill. Can you guess why? He explained, “When I feel like stopping, I
don’t have to turn around and come home.
I’m already there!”
I don’t know if the two disciples in today’s
Gospel lesson were heading home to Emmaus.
That was their destination, but whether it was home, the text doesn’t
say. All we know is that they were
walking there and planned on staying the night there. Maybe they had reservations at the Emmaus Comfort
Inn.
Whether Emmaus was their home or
not, what we do know is that they were walking away from where the action was. The two disciples were walking away from
Jerusalem … and you know what had just happened there. Jesus of Nazareth had been crucified. Not only that but he was laid in a tomb made
secure so that his disciples could not be accused of stealing the body of their
Master. His opponents wanted to make
sure that everyone knew he was dead … finished … kaput. But three days later the tomb was empty and
people were running around claiming to have seen Jesus alive. Apparently, these two followers of Jesus on
their way to Emmaus were like Thomas, who was not there on the night when Jesus
first appeared alive to the other ten remaining disciples. They, too, doubted whether all that they had
heard about was true.
As they walked, we see some things about
their condition. They were unaware of
the presence of Jesus, who had appeared and began to walk along with them
(although, of course, St. Luke writes that this was because they “were kept
from recognizing him”). They were
uncertain and confused. They were
sad. After all, they thought their
beloved teacher was dead. And they heard
some strange news about visions of angels, an empty tomb, and a missing body.
In addition, they were clearly
discouraged. They had lost hope. They called Jesus a “prophet, mighty in word
and deed before God and all the people.”
But apparently they no longer believed that Jesus was the Messiah . They
said, “we had hoped he would be the one to redeem Israel.” Like the rest of Jesus’ followers, they
probably expected him to lead the people in defeating the Romans and
reestablishing King David’s throne in Jerusalem.
What a surprise it must have been
for them to hear what came from the mouth of this “stranger” who was walking
with them. He rebuked them for their
foolishness and dullness of heart not to believe all that the Scriptures
said. “Was it not necessary that the
Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” he said to
them. Then he proceeded to explain to
them what was said in Moses and all the Prophets – meaning the OT Scriptures – about
the Man from Nazareth … about himself.
You know, you and I are not all that
different from those two men on their walk to Emmaus. Wherever you and I walk – and I don’t mean on
the street or on the treadmill … I mean wherever our life takes us – we are
often uncertain, sad, and discouraged.
We lose hope when it looks like there is no way out from behind the
troublesome stones that are rolled in the way of our faith, our peace, and our
joy. Jesus is with us on the way, but we
are often unaware of his presence. Our
sinful hearts keep us from recognizing that his love and mercy support us and
strengthen us. We, too, are foolish and
slow of heart to believe all that the Scriptures say about Jesus and his love
and care for us.
The two disciples were walking away
from Jerusalem … away from where all the action was. But the action was right in front of them. The Risen Jesus was walking right along with
them. And after he explained the
Scriptures to them, he stayed with them a while longer and sat down with them
for an evening meal. It was at that meal
where their eyes were opened. Jesus
revealed himself in the breaking of the bread at the table with them.
Even if this place they were staying
was not their home, they were already at home … at home where the action was … at
home because Jesus was there with his forgiving presence and his resurrection
life. In the presence of Jesus … that is
the Christian’s true home.
You and I are at home at the table …
at the Lord’s Table. You and I are truly
at home in the presence of Jesus. The
action is right in front of us … in Word and Sacrament … in the way Jesus walks
with us and takes care of us moment by moment even when we are unaware of his
presence. And finally, in the
Resurrection on the Last Day, we will be eternally at home with Jesus … no
longer walking by faith only, but resting eternally in his presence, seeing him
face to face.
Before we leave our text this morning,
notice, too, how Cleopas and the other disciple walked back to tell about the
“action” that had occurred right in front of them. They recalled to each other how their hearts
burned within them while Jesus talked to them on the road. That’s the power of God’s Word. It motivated the two disciples to immediately
walk the seven miles back to Jerusalem.
They couldn’t contain their excitement that they had communed with the
Risen Jesus. They had to tell
someone. “They told what had happened on
the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.”
Does our heart burn within us? Not always.
Sometimes it does because of the pizza we ate the night before. Sometimes it burns within us for various
reasons due to our fickle emotions. But
does our heart burn within us with a holy fire sparked by the Holy Spirit? The flame of faith is there as God’s baptized
children. But the flame needs to be
fanned and kept burning. We need to slow
down and take time to listen to God’s Word – to read, mark, learn, and inwardly
digest it – and hear God speaking to us in His Holy Word, his two-edged sword that
pierces our hearts and convicts us of our sin, draws us to repentance, and
comforts us with the Good News of forgiveness in Christ Jesus.
May God grant to us hearts burning
with the desire to tell what has happened on the road for us. In the power of the Holy Spirit, we can tell
how the Lord Jesus has been with us along the way, while we walk day by day,
moment by moment, trusting in his loving care … even when we were not aware of
his presence … how he cares for us in the midst of our discouragement, our
confusion, our uncertainty, our sadness.
He restores our hope, because we know that he truly has come to redeem
Israel ... that is, the Holy Christian Church … all who are justified by faith
in Christ Jesus and are baptized into the name of the Triune God. He has saved you, as St. Peter said, “not
with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of
Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”
And we can tell how the Lord Jesus
is known to us in the breaking of the bread.
Here, at the altar, we eat and drink the precious body and blood of
Jesus. This is truly home for us. And one day, our walking through this sinful
world will cease, and we will walk home through the gates of heaven and eternally
be at home with Jesus, feasting forever at his banquet table.
Amen.
2 comments:
By the magic of the internet, I was able to be inspired by your blog from my home in southern England.
Thank you
Thank you for your kind comment! Glad it was a blessing for you!
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