April 23 "The Emmaus Experience"

Readings: Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19, Acts 2:38-41,1 Peter 1:17-23, Luke 24:13-35
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church on April 23, 2023

I want to build my message today around two verses from our gospel reading concerning the men on the Emmaus Road. Luke 24:16 “Somehow they did not recognize Him” and Luke 24:31 “Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him.”

Luke tells us this story, simply, yet in great detail, because the experience of these two men was representative of many followers of Jesus who would come after them. The story shows how it is possible to see, yet not see; to look upon but not recognize; to have the Risen Christ walk beside us, but not realize it.

The whole account hinges on two verses. Firstly there is a dark side to the story. Circumstances conspired to prevent them seeing Jesus. Secondly, there is a bright side to the story.  “Then their eyes were open, and they recognized Him.”

Firstly, let us consider the dark side of the coin.

Imagine it. These two fellows walking along with Jesus and they do not recognize Him! The simple fact is that they were in the presence of the One who defined history, the Risen Christ, but they didn't know! What kept them from seeing?

There is no hint in the passage that their physical sight was in any way impaired. They are not stumbling along, bumping into things. Their failure to recognize Him is coming from a different place altogether.

For one thing they were preoccupied with other things, other thoughts. Obviously, they did not expect to see Him. They had  heads full of grief, disappointment, and frustration. Some people go through their whole lives like that. These two are so self-interested that they just cannot see that Jesus walks alongside them to share and dispense with their problems.

Some people come to church with heads full of frustrations, disappointment and grief, so much so that they don't expect to meet with Jesus, even when they attend a worship service. They don't expect Him to do anything for them. They fail to recognize His presence in among the liturgy and music and prayers. Yet Scripture assures us that even when only two or three gather in His name, He is here, in our midst.

They also appear to also be victims of their own presuppositions. They had an image of who Jesus was and what He was supposed to do. We read in verse 21 “We had hoped that He would be the one who was going to set Israel free.”

They had an idea that Jesus was meant to be a King, but only one who served their national interests, not those of all the world. They liked the idea of a King of the Jews, but one of the Gentiles as well? They liked the thought of Israel being raised to power, but the crucifixion was seen as fatal to the hope that could ever happen.

We can all fall into the same trap. We think of Jesus as how we would like Him to be. A revolutionary, a superstar, a superman, a politician, a teller of great truths, a wise sage, an ultra, other worldly godly man. The danger is that we dress Jesus up only in the robes we would like Him to wear. We project onto Him our desires and hopes and then claim those represent the true God. That's not Christianity, that's idolatry.

They are also in a place of unbelief. They had heard Jesus speak of resurrection, but they simply did not expect it or believe it to happen. They treated His words as just words. They heard the truth and labeled it as untruth.

You can't do that with the words of Jesus. His words are backed by the authority of His risen life. If Jesus tells us He loves us, then we are loved. If He tells us that only commitment to Him can bring out the best in our lives, then that is how it is.

The results of them not recognizing Jesus are easy to see. And what a dark picture is painted. Because they just did not realize the resurrection was a reality, they have not experienced it's uplifting power.

Sadness ruled their hearts. They were completely disillusioned about life. In v17 Jesus asks them, “What are you discussing as you walk along together?” and we read, “They stood still, with sad faces.” They really had the blues! (with a capital BL). All their hopes had just been extinguished. Again verse 21 “We HAD hoped that He was the one who was going to redeem Israel.” Notice they speak in the past tense. We had hoped, but now their hope had gone.

Their sadness, their darkness, their despair was the darkness of unbelief, through which Christ's light could not shine. They make a really sad speech in verse 21-24, something along these lines.

“Yeh, and you know what? It is now the third day since all this happened. And can you believe what some of the women did? They went to His tomb early this morning and couldn't even find His body. Then they come back and tell us this ridiculous story about some vision they had seen, and angels saying He was alive. Then, some of our friends went down there and found it just like the women said. Empty. But no body there.”

They actually say, “It is now the third day!” They had in mind the words Jesus had said about being raised to life on the third day, and there He was, right next to them, but because of their unbelief, they don't see it!

To be disappointed in Jesus leads to darkness and doubt. That's the dark side of the coin. “They were kept from recognizing Him.” But let us flip the coin over.

V31. “Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him.”

What led to the opened eyes, and the recognition of Jesus? It happened in a moment. Now you don't see Him, now you do. But we see can some of the things that led to it!

There were the opened scriptures. Luke 24:27. “And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He explained to them the scriptures concerning Himself.” Once they had recognized Him they say to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the scriptures to us?”

Under the influence of Christ's living influence the Scriptures they had known from childhood suddenly came alive with light. They saw the suffering servant of the prophets vision as the Jesus they had known. The Holy Spirit who had given the scriptures was  interpreting the scriptures to their understanding.

There was the burning heart. It is impossible to define the inspiration of the Scriptures. Some have defined it as “the inward glow that confirms the outward revelation.” If you have felt that “inward glow” you will know exactly what I am talking about. Those moments when you don't need any commentary or anybody’s opinion on a particular passage, because the words have jumped off the page and are digging into your heart.

And when that happens it can be like a big bubble welling up inside. It is God's word to you for that moment and it changes everything. That is what the “burning heart” is and when it happens to you, you cannot deny it.

The two disciples continue down the road and join other disciples in Jerusalem. Jesus again appears in their midst. Verse 45, “Then He opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.” how does revelation come? As they gather with open minds and hearts to learn and to worship, everything changes.

There is the breaking of the bread. The two men had urged Jesus to stay with them and eat with them. Verse 30 “And when He was at table with them, He took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes recognized Him and He disappeared from their sight.'

I wonder what it was that made them realize it was Him as He broke the bread. Maybe it was some mannerism or characteristic gesture. Maybe it was the first time they had actually lifted their heads from their sorrow and taken a good look at the stranger. We don't know. But we do know that as we gather around a table laid with bread and wine Jesus promise us His presence. A symbol is an interpretation to the heart. The Lords symbolic act in that Emmaus cottage was an interpretation. They knew He lived. And then... He left them to it.

What was the result of their open eyes?

When the realization of resurrection swept over them like a flood, all of life was changed by the experience. Everything was instantly different. Their ruined hopes are now reborn. Their drooping heads are now lifted high. Their smoldering hearts burst into flames of joy and the whole of life took on a different complexion. The great disaster had become the greatest triumph. This was it. They knew the man. Nothing would ever be the same again. Wow. They are excited. And can you blame them?

v33. “They get up at once and return to Jerusalem.” And what do they find? v23 “They found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying 'It is true! The Lord has Risen and has appeared to Simon'” They are having a real great time! Haven't you heard? Didn't you know? Nobody had to tell them to spread the good news. They couldn't help themselves.

That is the effect that Jesus has upon people when they realize that the gospel is not just a story. It sets your hearts on fire with joy. You know, throughout our lives Jesus Christ has been walking along with us. The 23rd Psalm? The Lord is my Shepherd. At every stage of the journey, He's there. Beside the clear cool waters. In the darkest valleys. The good, the bad, the ugly. Anywhere and everywhere is our Emmaus Road, wherever we welcome the presence of the living Christ into our lives.

And when we meet Him, we know Him. We recognize that He has been walking with us all along, but we had just not recognized Him. The fault is of our own making. We did not believe. We did not expect. We tried to control. We predetermined how things should turn out. We made idols of our hopes. We trusted in our self, not in God's provision.

Luke 24:16 “Somehow they did not recognize Him”
Luke 24:31 “Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him.”

May God open our hearts and lives this day. May we lift our bowed down heads and walk into the freedom of children of God. May the Scriptures words burn into our hearts. May we recognize His presence in our times of worship and gathering. May every breaking of bread be a moment of revelation. May the Emmaus experience be mirrored in our own encounters with the divine.

And may we be inspired to go out into this world in the light of the living Christ that changes everything. Tackle the darkness. Seek justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly. And all this to the glory of God. Amen.

The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.