Easter 3 (A)
Luke 24:13-49
Now on that same day two of them were 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, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.” Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. 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. 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. They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence. Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
New Life in Jesus' Hands
As many of you know, this afternoon Risen Lord holds a Mother-Daughter banquet to celebrate the gift of the relationship of mother and children. Plans have been long in the making. Months of preparation have gone into this. Last Sunday at Youth Quake, our youth grades 4-12 spent their evening painting and decorating pots for their mothers, putting dirt and flowers in them. From 5:30 – 7:30 they worked to make a gift for mom. Then they went home. After they had gone to bed, in the dark of the night, the news broke. You know what news don’t you? President Obama came on TV to tell us all that Osama bin Laden had been killed. And for the week leading up to Mother’s Day, these two items got caught in a vortex of news cycles: celebrating Mother’s Day and the death of bin Laden.
If there were ever a more drastic reminder that “Mothering” takes place in a broken world I don’t know what it is. Most mothers are painfully aware of the threats and dangers to bringing a child into this broken world. And if you are one of them, then have I got good news for you! Because on the day that we both celebrate Motherhood and remember how broken things can get, we hear from the Bible that Jesus does his best work when things are their most broken. In fact, it is in the brokenness that Jesus is most immediately identified.
That’s got to be good news for you. To know that God understands and knows how easily and quickly things can fall apart? Think about it, one of the first things we learn about God is that he has children that make a mess of their life. Of course I am talking about Adam and Eve. God makes them and then God says to Adam
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?” Adam replies.
“Don’t eat the forbidden fruit” says God.
“We got forbidden fruit? Hey Eve! We’ve got forbidden fruit!”
God says “Don’t eat it.”
“No problem” says Adam.
What happens? They eat it of course. They break trust with God who asks “What’ve you done?”
Adam quips “What do you mean?”
“The fruit” says God.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“The fruit I said not to eat.”
Then Adam takes it like a man. He blames his wife.
“It’s her fault.”
“Nuh uh” shouts Eve.
“Uh huh!”
“Nuh uh!” “Uh huh!” And so on.
As a result, death and sin became part of our everyday news cycle. And it’s in the daily news cycle of our broken lives that Jesus steps in and brings new life. Last week we saw how the disciples were behind closed doors when Jesus steps in to greet them. And how is it that they recognize him? They see his hands where the nails broke through the skin and his side where the sword opened him up and they recognize him. Jesus is the one who steps into our lives and takes the brokenness upon himself.
They had seen it so many times before. Once they were walking with Jesus and came upon a town called Nain where a mother was about to bury her son. They were processing out of the town when Jesus stepped right into the group and put his hand on the cot and restored him to new life.
You do realize that all the people that Jesus healed and loved and blessed had mothers don’t you? The man born blind, the woman with an evil spirit, the lame, the deaf, the hungry, the centurions servant, Jairus’s daughter . . . everytime Jesus steps into their lives he is stepping into the lives of their mothers who have carried the burden of trying to bring new life into a broken world. Being a mother is hard! Sometimes it’s crushing. There are few mothers who have not at some point been driven to the breaking point themselves by motherhood.
And when that moment comes, Jesus’ words to the Apostle Paul make their mark in your mind
“My power is made perfect in weakness.”
Jesus does his best work when life is at its most broken.
Remember the day Jesus was teaching in the house and there was standing room only. The crowds had pressed in so tightly that there was no way in or out? There was a mother’s son who was lame. He couldn’t walk. He couldn’t get up. He couldn’t take care of himself. His world was broken. And his mother was undoubtedly left with his care. What do you do with a broken world? What do you do when you have poured every last cent, every last ounce of energy into a broken situation? What do you do when you are empty? I’ll tell you what you do, you look and you watch because has stepped into your life and into your world to bring newness. And what happened to the lame man? They dropped him in Jesus’ lap. They took apart the roof and lowered him in from on high. And there Jesus was who told him “Your sins are forgiven” and then “Rise, take up your mat and walk.” And he did.
In today’s gospel, Jesus is appears and joins two of his disciples along the road to Emmaus. Their world has broken apart. The center of the life has been violently killed not by an individual terrorist, but by a terrorist state. For Jews in Jesus’ day, the Roman occupation was a violent experience known for bringing torture, death, fear, and insecurity. That’s just how the Romans liked it. And as the disciples walked, all they could see was the horrible face of Roman death. And yet, all the while, Jesus was there walking with them. Talking with them. Walking through the scriptures together. He helps them see in the mess of suffering and darkness his face and his hands and his plan.
Mother's Days are often times of remembering. Remembering a mother long since passed. Remembering a mother's laugh or cooking or hard work. Remembering tender moments with one of your children. One mom remembers a time when she was up early, trying to wake up with some hot coffee and a newspaper. Her five year old son was also awake, way too awake. He woke up bouncing off the walls and it was a little too much for mom. He kept coming to her to play or read or for this or that. He kept interupting her "grogginess" with giggles and shouts. Finally she had had enough and decided to help him find a quiet. An activity that would take some time. So she took a page of the newspaper and tore it into several pieces gave his some Scotch tape and told him to sit in his room and tape the "puzzle" together. When he finished she said she would play with him, thinking it would take him a while to complete.
Within about ten minutes he was back wanting to play. She said "No honey, I told when you finish the 'puzzle.' "But I'm done" he said. "You can't be. Bring it to me." So he goes back into the room and brings out the "puzzle" fully assembled and taped together. She said "How did you do this so fast?" He told her that when he started he couldn't do it because there were too many words. But he noticed on the other side there was a picture. And when he put the picture together it all fit and he taped it. She turned the page to the other side where she saw a picture of Jesus from some church's Easter ad. It was all torn and tattered, but it brought it all together.
The discples walking with Jesus are trying to make sense of all the pieces on the road to Emmaus. Things have been torn apart. But Jesus steps into the picture and things begin to come together. He stays the evening with them for a meal. And when he takes the bread in his hands and breaks it, something clicks. The last piece is in place. They recognize him. Their eyes are opened. Their hearts were warmed. In the breaking of the bread they become centered in new life.
My good friends and dear mothers, Jesus steps into the middle of your most broken situations holding out his hands to you with an offer of new life. May you see in his body the power and new life.
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