The Christ
April 15, 2007
Luke 24:13-53
Luke is probably the best preacher of the gospel! He is passionate about Jesus Christ and living the story over and over again. He is so excited about how he has encountered the risen Christ he tells the story for himself. Luke knows that you must tell the story of Jesus often, because when you tell the story to believers it confirms, encourages, strengthens, and deepens their faith. When we tell our stories of how we’ve seen, touched, felt the risen Christ, we too are strengthened, confirmed, encouraged and our faith is deepened.
And, like any good preacher there are things that are real, and things that are completely made up about this story. Because for preachers, I can assure you, a good storyteller is clear about the meaning, but the details that get us to this meaning are sometimes questionable and often fictitious. All scholars agree, this story is made up, it’s a parable, it’s not an historic account, it’s just a story. You see, it may have existed but Emmaus to date, has not been discovered. Its self description of being 7 miles from Jerusalem…be skeptical, no one can find it in all of history. Maybe someday someone will unearth another reference to it, but for now, doesn’t and didn’t exist. And these characters on the road? No one has ever heard of them. Of course, one doesn’t even get a name and the other, Cleopas, never heard of before and we won’t hear of him again. But, they report back to the eleven. Clever huh? It could be possible.
But, why? Why make up a story to end the gospel, the story of why, how and what we believe? It’s an illustration of everything that has come before. Luke wants to confirm that this experience of faith is real for him, in mind and in witness. So, he closes his story with a witness review. These two disciples have been sent out to preach what they know and have learned. It’s their call. And, as they leave, full of guilt, loss, hopelessness they encounter a stranger. A stranger who reminds them of what they have learned. He teaches their own story to them, he’s a brother. And, as they break bread together their eyes are opened. They remember how when this man taught them the stories their hearts glowed within them, just as they had when Jesus did. They remembered when Jesus took the bread and blessed it and broke it, and remembered their witness which they rushed back to tell the other believers.
That’s right, this is the next excellent aspect. The disciples on the road run back to tell the other disciples. This is to encourage faith. Encourage not co-opt or force before it’s time. First, they don’t see the Christ until they remember. They don’t know him until they are ready for it. Then, they don’t get all of Emmaus on board. God doesn’t send them back to confront the Synagogues and Temple authorities. Jesus doesn’t come back swooping in forcing all to convert, scaring them into belief. Jesus comes with the words of Peace on his lips. And, he comes into the midst of the believers. His presence with the two at table sends them back to the believers. They run back to those who were despairing and hopeless. They run back to those who are waiting and need a word of hope. And, then God with us comes to those who believe with hope. This scene encourages faith amongst the believers. It is when they are prepared and ready, it is as they thought it would be: familiar and loving, it makes their hearts glow within them. It encourages faith to grow.
Another thing good stories do is to get rid of or confront mythology of the time to strengthen faith. If we believe, we should be able to shove that belief around and pull, push, question all the aspects of it. It will hold and just like a muscle, it will grow when exercised. The Greeks of Luke’s day had many beliefs about the immortality of the soul: a disconnected state that transcended the bodily experience. But, Luke wants nothing to do with this. After the two make it back to the eleven and their companions Jesus appears. It’s the next phase of explanation of what to do with a dead messiah. Jesus appears and to prove it’s him he points out his wounds and he asks for fish. Isn’t that great? Dudes, dying’s hungry, got any fish? Whoppers post the grave! Resurrection is the way to go. Luke’s using some comedy to make a point. This Christ life, must be connected to the cross and the historical Jesus. You can not have a spiritual life that is rooted in just this post life Christ, this heavenly being. Faith is connecting this historic Jesus, this worldly witness, who connected with those who suffered, even innocently, and unjustly. This faith connects both the witness of Jesus to the Presence of God with us today. This Presence capable of meeting us wherever we are on life’s journey and equalizing us to brothers and sisters equal in God’s eyes. This is the kind of God I can believe in, one that cries out we all are welcome at the table and we all have access to be there, to lead there, to be fed there. Not some ethereal, life will be better later and if you’re suffering you’re clearly not with him. Bunk. This Jesus Christ is connected one to the other, they are the same. And, God is the same here, yesterday and tomorrow. And, not matter where we are, our God, will not flinch but will walk with us and meet us where we are. The story is important to believe for all of our living. This story is good to be told amongst the believing because it strengthens our faith this pushing and pulling on it.
Finally, having an experience of the risen Christ deepens the faith of the believers. They go immediately to the temple after their blessing. They do not mourn for Galilee. They do not mourn for their lives prior to leaving everything and following Jesus. Instead they all return to Jerusalem and they go with Joy to the temple to wait on God’s new calling. For fifty days they experience the risen Christ. But, it’s not to create insiders and outsiders. Instead, every time people come to the table, that stranger becomes host and all are welcome, all are fed. This is a story where every single one of us is capable of meeting this Christ. And, when we open ourselves to meeting him, our hearts glow with the loving presence. When we meet this Jesus we are filled with the peace of all understanding. When we meet this Jesus Christ we are enthused to tell the stories of our meeting. Not to coerce, not to force people to understand, just to be confident in our own experiences of faith. Because, we will be called into service out of our nurtured relationship to God. All disciples are required to go back to the Creator, the source, the one who sent one to be with us. And, this is just where Luke began his story, remember? Remember way back to the first week of Advent when we started this work with the gospel of Luke? Remember Zechariah? He was the old guy, doing his service in the Temple. God came and told him, this was his time and remember, he doubted and tried to test God which ended up in Zechariah being mute for 10 months? All of that happened during worship, in the temple in Jerusalem. That’s how Luke began. And, we couldn’t wait to see where that would take us. Now, at the end of Luke, we find ourselves in the same place, in the temple in Jerusalem, waiting on God to act…what will happen? Where will that take us? Well, that depends I guess on us. Again, it can not be said enough, your stories are what we need to inspire each other to keep the faith. It is your story, from your places of meeting this Christ that will inspire us, enlighten us, encourage us, confirm us, strengthen us and deepen our faith. So, what’s your story? Let us pray.