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"Salem.....Where a Warm Welcome Awaits You"
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HEARTBREAK HIGHWAY
(The following sermon was preached by Pastor Barbara Melosh on April 6th, 2008.)
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. -- Luke 24: 13-35
Like some of yours, my Bible includes a section of maps, and I often turn there to locate the setting of a bible story. Finding a place on the map helps to bring the biblical world alive, as I mark the distance from Galilee to Jerusalem or trace my finger over the long and rugged escape route of the Israelites or marvel at the tireless missionary journeys of the apostle Paul. But you won’t find Emmaus on those maps. We know from this story in Luke that it was about seven miles from Jerusalem, and many a curious seeker has placed a compass point in the center of Jerusalem, traced a circle with a seven-mile radius, and wondered if one or another overlooked village or recently excavated ruin might have been the Emmaus of Luke. So far, though, Emmaus has never been found. It is a place that exists today only in imagination. And so, too, the road to Emmaus is a route that we travel in imagination. The road to Emmaus, where two of Jesus’ disciples met him in the first century. The road to Emmaus, where Christ still meets us today. This story takes place on the evening of that first Easter, as Cleopas and his companion walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus. We know they were disciples of Jesus, two among the group of those who followed him, but we don’t know anything else about them, except for the remarkable fact that on this day of all days—the day of the resurrection—they have turned their backs on Jerusalem and walked away. The road to Emmaus. Probably, they’re heading home, or at least to a familiar place where they have stayed before. The key’s under the mat, and they know their way around the kitchen, since later they invite Jesus to stay for supper. They’re walking with heavy hearts—looking sad, when Jesus encounters them. They have taken risks, likely, felt the exhilaration of traveling with Jesus, seen the awed crowds, felt the energy of renewed hope. But then, in a few short days it all collapsed, ending in betrayal and violence and death. So they’re on the road to Emmaus, leaving behind their hope, the hope that’s been crucified and buried in Jerusalem. Maybe you’ve walked down that road. Left home for a big adventure, and then came back defeated when layoffs took away your job; or your wife said “I’m done with this place, and I’m going home with or without you”; or you couldn’t keep up with your college classes and still hold down the full time job you needed to pay for them. Or maybe you’ve been on the road to Emmaus even if you’ve never left home, at least the one you see on the map. You’re on the road to Emmaus when you realize that the love you hoped would last forever has gone cold, or the friends you trusted have betrayed you, or the cause you believed in has turned to ashes. The road to Emmaus--it’s heartbreak highway, littered with shattered dreams. On that road, you run the game tape over and over in your head, trying to figure out what went wrong; you walk with a friend, talking and discussing all that has happened. The road to Emmaus, where you face up to who you are and who you aren’t. But here’s the good news. The road to Emmaus isn’t a one-way street, and u-turns are allowed. And Christ comes to you on that road, even when you’re going in the opposite direction. Jesus meets Cleopas and his companion as they walk away from Jerusalem. They’re broken-hearted, but that’s because they’re slow of heart—they haven’t yet recognized what has happened, even though they tell him the story. Maybe that’s why he asks, because there’s something about telling your story that helps you to hear it yourself. They are telling him good news—that Jesus has risen from the dead just like he said he would. Some of the women in their group said so, and others went to see for themselves; they saw that the tomb was empty. But these two are like Thomas, maybe. They haven’t seen Jesus for themselves, so they don’t believe that he’s really alive. When he catches up to them and strikes up a conversation, they don’t recognize him, not right away, anyway. But when they get near home and Jesus is ready to walk on without them, they urge him to stay for supper. And it’s then, at a meal like all the meals they’ve shared before, that they see who he is. It’s just as he said it would be, for them and for us today—he would be there whenever bread was blessed, broken, and shared. There, with us in our blessings and in our broken dreams. There, with us wherever we share our stories and our food and our lives with one another. After that, Jesus vanishes. But they’re ready to hit the road again, only this time they’re on the road to Jerusalem. That same hour, they got up and returned, found the others. That same night, their community began to come back together, renewed in hope. A community formed by telling stories, sharing the good news, eating and drinking together. A community of people who offer hospitality to strangers, and find they are breaking bread with Jesus himself. So come to the table, taste and see our risen Lord. Thanks be to God. |
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