Cleopas and Amos stared at each other,
unable to believe what had just happened. The warm bread turned cool in their
hands but they did not take a bite. The barley beer sat untouched on the table.
A few minutes earlier the men had been hungry from their walk from Jerusalem.
Now food was the last thing on their minds.
Cleopas spoke first. “Were not our hearts burning within us
while he was talking to us on the road?
Amos nodded slowly at first and then
with more enthusiasm. “Yes, while he was opening the scriptures to us!”
“How could we have not known?”
“We didn’t recognize Him.”
Cleopas stared at the bread in his
hand. “I knew Him when he blessed and broke the bread, just like He did so many
times while we travelled with Him!”
“I felt my heart leap when He lifted
the bread from the platter, as if it was something more special than just
bread.” Amos cupped his bread in his hand, holding it like a precious jewel.
“We must return to Jerusalem!” Cleopas
leapt to his feet. “Peter and the others-we have to tell them.”
“Yes!” Amos snatched his cloak up. “We
must tell them that the women were right. Jesus is alive!”
The pair rushed out the door, leaving
their meal untouched, except for the bread they each clutched, almost
unconsciously. The road back to Jerusalem stretched down the hillside. They
gave no thought to safety but rushed headlong past startled travelers coming
into Emmaus and those also setting out from the town.
Panting a bit, the men paused a couple
miles down the road.
“He is alive,” Amos repeated what he
said in Emmaus. He whirled in an ecstatic circle.
Cleopas lifted his head and hands to
the sky. “Messiah has come! Jesus is Messiah!”
“Amen and Amen!” his companion
shouted. The two men had never felt so alive. Both whirled with arms spread
wide as if to encompass the entire vista of Jerusalem which could be glimpsed
dimly in the distance.
“They are drunk. Stay close to me.”
Cleopas heard a man tell his wife. The woman clutched her husband’s arm and the
couple edged past.
Amos heard too and laughed. “If only
you knew!” he shouted after the pair.
“Come on!” Cleopas started out again.
He set a swift pace, not quite running
as when they left Emmaus, but fast enough to pass a small donkey caravan and
another pair of men walking toward the capital. They barely paused at the Roman
guard post a mile from the gates.
“We have family in the city that we
must see,” Cleopas told the bored soldier who barely glanced at them.
Amos glanced back at the setting sun
as their shadows stretched toward the walls of the city. “We have to arrive
before the gates close.”
“Not my affair.” the Roman shrugged as
he let them pass.
Amos started running and Cleopas
followed. The Roman’s sneer “Crazy Jews” followed them.
The two men had to slow when they
arrived in the crowd of merchants and travelers all pushing toward the gates,
eager to enter the city before nightfall.
“We have urgent family business,”
Cleopas again explained to a harassed sentry at the gate when they finally
reached it.
“You and half this forsaken country,” growled
the man, but he waved them through.
Inside the city, Amos turned right.
The pair followed winding back streets to the house where Peter and the other
disciples were staying. They pounded on the door. Cautiously it was opened.
James looked out.
“Cleopas? Amos? We thought you
returned to Emmaus.” The man was astonished.
“Let us in. We have much to tell you!”
Amos pushed against the door.
It was a dusty, windblown pair that
burst into the room. The gathered group stared at them. Peter stood up.
“What happened to you?”
“Jesus is alive!” Amos could not
contain the news any longer.
“He was known to us in the breaking of
the bread!” Cleopas added, producing the bread from his bag.
The disciples crowded around. A huge
smile slowly spread across John’s face. “The Lord is risen indeed, and has
appeared to Simon!”
Cleopas and Amos looked at John, then
at Peter who nodded. “Yes, the Lord did appear to me.”
Everyone was quiet drinking in the awe
of the multiple announcements. Before anyone could say another word, Jesus
himself was in the room. There were gasps and a couple of frightened murmurs.
“Why are you troubled and why do you
question?” The figure held out his hands in a familiar gesture. “See my hands
and my feet. It is I. Touch me. A spirit does not have flesh and bones.”
A few bravely reached out to lay a
hand on His arm. Jesus looked around with a smile at those who still hung back.
“Do you have anything to eat?”
James passed a piece of broiled fish
to the Master who ate it and grinned at the group standing with mouths gapping
open. Then he sat down and began to teach, just as in the weeks before his
death. Each man relaxed and found a comfortable spot to listen.
Cleopas
and his friend had the amazing experience of walking, talking, and then
breaking bread with the Risen Lord. Theirs was indeed a special encounter. To
them was given the honor of speaking face to face with the Risen Lord and their
response was to race back and report to the others.
Like Cleopas we have the opportunity and honor to
walk and talk with our Lord at any time. Christ is present in the prayer times,
in the beauty of nature, in worship and in our daily lives. We can meet and
walk with the Lord of the Dance when we visit with friends and strangers. An ancient Celtic prayer attributed to St.
Patrick reminds us that Christ is really always with us, “Christ beside me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ within
me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me.”
What do we do when we have a special
encounter with the Holy One? Do we race out and tell our friends? The chorus of the Lord of the Dance song encourages us to Dance as
we are and where we are, because “I’ll lead you all in the Dance, said He!”
Dance then, wherever you may be
I am the Lord of the Dance, said He!
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be
And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said He!
(...lead you all in the Dance, said He!)
We end this series as we began with the
Lord of the Dance video. Next Sunday is Pentecost when the disciples received the Holy Spirit and the church was empowered. After Memorial Day, a new series will explore the image of the Holy Bridegroom throughout scripture. Join me then.
I am the Lord of the Dance, said He!
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be
And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said He!
(...lead you all in the Dance, said He!)
