In the Breaking of the Bread

Since Easter we’ve been looking at the 4 Gospel accounts of the women who came to the tomb on the first day of the week-only to find the stone rolled away and Jesus risen. Mary Magdalene features in all these accounts, but there are others to whom Jesus appeared that first Easter day. Among them are Cleopas and his companion. Last year I wrote about the response of these witnesses. Today, we continue our theme of the changes wrought by the Resurrection experience in those who encountered the Risen Lord.

Mary found herself turning from Dark to Light, the Myrhh Bearers found that there was a new and deeper righteousness than tradition. The angel told the women to “Look and See”. The Resurrection ushered in a new creation and we are called to be part of that creation. So, too, are we called to both see life through new eyes and be seen as witnesses to that new life.

Cleopas and his friend left Jerusalem feeling very sad. All their hopes for Messiah have been dashed by the Crucifixion. They tell the Stranger who joins them, “The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.” (Luke 24:20-24)

Even though they have heard the report of the women, they cannot believe that such a thing is possible. While it isn’t stated, the men probably mutter that “the women had some sort of hysterical response to finding the body gone.” After all, Peter and John checked it out and didn’t see Jesus.

The Stranger sets them straight, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” Cleopas and his friend may have stopped and stared at the Man with them. This was not the normal teaching of the rabbis. He doesn’t stop there. “Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” (Luke 24:25-27)

It’s no wonder that they ask him to stay and eat with them when they arrive in Emmaus. The pair have found hope in the Stranger’s words. They want to hear more. Instead, they get a revelation of Who their Companion has been when “he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them.” In that moment they understood and he “vanished”.

Immediately “They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem.” During the seven mile walk-or more likely run-the pair were, no doubt, buoyed by the amazing news they had to share. When they arrived, “they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, ‘It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.’ Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.” (Luke 24:33-35) 

Jesus had revealed himself to Cleopas and companion in the ‘breaking of the bread’-reminiscent of the Last Supper with them all and foreshadowing the Eucharist. The travelers went from great sadness to greater joy when they understood that the Lord was indeed alive and that all that happened was part of the fuller plan of salvation history.

Where does Jesus reveal himself here and now? How does Jesus among us impact and inform our own walk of faith?

This Sunday as you receive the Eucharist, I offer to you a saying attributed to St. Augustine:

See what you BelieveBecome what you See

As the Bread and Wine, the Body and Blood, are presented, consider all that those elements mean and represent. Oswald Chambers reminds us, “The process of being made broken bread and poured-out wine means that you have to be the nourishment for other people’s souls until they learn to feed on God. They must drain you completely— to the very last drop. But be careful to replenish your supply, or you will quickly be utterly exhausted. Until others learn to draw on the life of the Lord Jesus directly, they will have to draw on His life through you. You must literally be their source of supply, until they learn to take their nourishment from God. We owe it to God to be our best for His lambs and sheep, as well as for Him.”

How can you and I be the Broken Bread and Poured Out Wine to those we meet day-to-day?
See you in Pentecost!

I am the Life

Since Easter, we’ve been walking with the disciples on the Road to Emmaus, a city “7 miles (60 stadia) from Jerusalem.” Most likely, according to Biblical archeological scholars, Emmaus can be identified with Nicopolis, on the main road from the coast to Jerusalem. This particular location is actually further than the 7 miles noted in the scripture. However, some early Bible translations list the distance as 160 stadia (closer to 15 or 20 miles), which would be correct for Emmaus/Nicopolis. 

The road would have been uphill from Jerusalem to Emmaus, but for men used to walking to get to their destinations, it probably would have been about a 4 or 5 hour hike. This picture from Biblewalks.com gives you an idea of the terrain the men covered in their walk. You can see that the current highway to Jerusalem curves around the hill, but the older road seems to take a more direct route down the hill. There are some other interesting pictures of the ruins of Emmaus/Nicopolis at the same website.

After their interesting conversation, of several hours, with an unknown Companion about the “things that have happened [in Jerusalem] in these days” and the Stranger’s eye-opening explanations of the scriptures, the men still don’t really understand that it is indeed the Risen Lord walking with them. We might slight them for their blindness, but how often do we not see that God is walking with us in our troubles and trials and in our joys and celebrations?

Cleopas and his companion don’t want the conversation to end. “As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.’ So he went in to stay with them.” (Luke 24:28-29)

We aren’t told if the men were stopping at an inn or at their home. Either way they are given food, including the staple of life: bread. “When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight.” (Luke 24:30-31)

The one thing that convinced these men that their strange companion was the same Jesus that they had known before was his ceremonial action in breaking the bread. In that bread, we too can have the Resurrection Life. As the Lord of the Dance song says,

They cut me down and I leapt up high
I am the Life that'll never, never die!
I'll live in you if you'll live in Me -
I am the Lord of the Dance, said He!

Our Risen Lord offered to Cleopas and his companion bread, blessed and broken. Then “their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.” When we receive the Eucharist, we are partakers of that same Bread, blessed and broken. Do you and I recognize the Risen Lord in the Bread? Do we remember that Our Lord promises to “live in you, if you’ll live in Me”? Do we sometimes forget that we have the honor of being at the Heavenly Banquet Table every time we come to Communion?

Once, several years ago, I heard a sermon where the priest reminded her listeners that it is indeed a joy, honor, and privilege to receive the “Body of Christ, the Bread of Heaven”. She suggested that we come to the Communion rail with joyful expressions and open hands because we are coming to a party. Then she added we should say ‘Thank you’ after receiving the Sacrament, just as we do at any dinner.

Next week, we’ll conclude this series with the response of Cleopas and his friend. After Pentecost, a new series will start focusing on being the Bride of Christ as individuals as well as the Church as a whole.  

They Came with Me

In this time that is called the Great Fifty Days, between Easter and Pentecost, this blogger invites you to come along with the disciples on the Emmaus Road and contemplate the joyful dance we are invited to enter with our God.

You remember the story of the disciples in Luke 24:13-35 who were on the road on Easter. It had been an emotional week. There was the joyful entry into Jerusalem to the crowd’s adulation, but only days later, the same crowd crying “Crucify!” These men, Cleopas* and his friend, were followers of Jesus. They weren’t part of the “Twelve”, but like many others they had followed the Rabbi from Galilee with great anticipation. The men were some of those who, in the words of the song (Lord of the Dance) joined the Dance:

I danced for the scribe & the Pharisee
But they would not dance & they wouldn't follow me
I danced for fishermen, for James & John
They came with me & the Dance went on.

So we meet the pair “going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem,  and talking with each other about all these things that had happened.  While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.     And he said to them, ‘What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?’ They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, ‘Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?’ He asked them, ‘What things?’ They replied, ‘The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people…” (vs. 13-19).

 

Jesus comes up to them, but they don’t recognize Him. You have probably had the experience of not recognizing someone when they are not in their normal context. Perhaps it is your child’s teacher who you bump into at the grocery or a friend you haven’t seen in a while or a neighbor you see at a restaurant. Sometimes you think, “I know that person,” but can’t quite put a name to the face, and other times you don’t recognize them at all until they speak to you and remind you of the connection.

Certainly Cleopas and his companion weren’t expecting to have Jesus join them on their 2 hour walk to Emmaus. It isn’t surprising that they don’t recognize him right away. Jesus asks what they were talking about and Cleopas is stunned that anyone would not know all that happened in the past week. “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” he says in amazement.

Jesus, as so often with God, lets Cleopas and his friend explain their disappointments to him before revealing Himself. God knows exactly what our needs and concerns are, but God waits for us to bring those problems to God. If you are a parent, you can relate. It would be easier to give your toddler what you know he wants. However, you also know she won’t grow up to be well functioning unless you make her tell you that she wants a snack or that particular toy. It’s part of learning to interact, but can be painful for us as parents to wait and insist that the need be articulated.

God waits for us to bring our disappointments and needs to God because, like the toddler, we have to learn to articulate what we want. Have you ever noticed that when you are take time to pray about something it suddenly seems less onerous or the solution presents itself?

Jesus let Cleopas and his companion tell him “about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people.” It was important for them to explain what they were feeling in order to be ready for the transformation that was coming.

The Dance can only go on if we are willing to let go of our pre-conceived notions of Who God is and How God is supposed to act and respond. It’s something I admit I struggle with. We probably all do. Like the toddler, we want God to do things our way. “I want” is a favorite phrase. Perhaps we need to let God lead in the Dance and do more following…

Dancing involves following the lead of our partner. In the Dance of Life, Jesus is supposed to lead and we end up tripping over our feet when we try to be in charge. Next week we’ll continue to contemplate this song and the story of the road to Emmaus. Meanwhile…let’s try letting God lead the steps.

*There is an interesting ancient tradition that says Cleopas was brother of St. Joseph, and also father of James (the Less) and Jude and grandfather of James (the Greater) and John.