Listen and Watch Sermon
Pastor Tom Johnson, April 22, 2020
It’s still Sunday. The women had just told the disciples that they saw the risen Lord. These two disciples set out on a seven mile journey on the road to a village called Emmaus. They were talking about all the things that just happened. They were trying to take it all in and process. While they are walking and talking, a stranger joins them. He asks, “What are you talking about?” They are amazed that someone could be leaving Jerusalem and not know what had just happened. “What things?” the stranger asks. They tell the story of Jesus who is mighty in word and deed. They share how he was unjustly tried and crucified. They are heartbroken. Their hope that Jesus was the Messiah was shattered. Now they are amazed by the news of the women who said they had seen Jesus raised from the dead. The stranger tells them they should not be amazed or surprised by any of this. They should not have their hopes shattered. This was God’s plan all along,. In fact, it is right there in the Bible beginning in Genesis and all of the Hebrew Scriptures.
The stranger goes through Scriptural passages, redemptive history, biblical stories, wisdom literature, poetry, prophetic writings, and promises to show that this was God’s plan all along. The Messiah was to suffer, die, and rise again from the dead. “He interpreted to them the things about Messiah in all the Scriptures.” The word “interpret” is where theologians get the word “exegesis.” The stranger explained the Bible to them during their seven-mile walk which would probably have taken well over two hours. They get a much better understanding and picture of who the true Messiah both in their understanding of Holy Scripture as well as it was lived in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. As they started to enter Emmaus, the stranger kept walking—now away from the disciples. “It’s getting late,” they say. “Stay with us.”
When the guest enters their home. The guest becomes their host. He takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them. At that moment their eyes are open to recognize that the stranger is the risen Jesus himself. And then Jesus vanishes before their eyes just as soon as they realize who he is. Even though it is late, the disciples go back another seven miles to Jerusalem to tell the disciples. When they arrive, they tell the disciples, “The Lord has risen indeed!” Then they share their experience on the road, how their hearts were burning within them while he was talking to them…while he was opening the scriptures to them. And how they recognized him in the breaking of the bread.
Jesus also comes alongside us on our journeys. We may not recognize he is right there at our side. We may doubt that he hears or understands our prayers—how we too have shattered dreams and hopes. We too get caught up in foolishness—so much so that we do not see the Lord standing right next to us. We are slow of heart to believe and trust that though we do not understand why things happen the way they do, God still has a plan. Even though his ways are not our ways, he is in control from the beginning. There will be times when it will appear that God is distancing himself from us—that he is leaving us behind. He sometimes seems be pulling away. But this is not so. What the Lord wants is an invitation. He has drawn near to us in his Word. Now he wants us to draw near to him. “We love because he first loved us.”
Their prayer is a simple one: “Stay with us.” “Come Lord Jesus, be our guest and let these gifts to us be blessed.” “Abide with me fast falls the eventide.” Stay with us, Lord, the world is growing dark. We need the light of your presence. When we feel that God is pulling away, it is God’s bid for connection. Jesus acts as if he is going farther. What he really wants is for us to invite him into our homes and hearts. He intends to draw near to us. He wants us to draw near to him.
We Lutherans do not always like to talk about it, but there is an existential component to our faith and life in Christ. The disciples kept rhetorically asking each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking and opening the Scriptures to us?” That itself is amazing and heartwarming indeed. Jesus assures us of his grace and presence in our lives. He soothes our troubled minds and spirits. God has a plan. It includes suffering and betrayal of the Lord of glory. But his plan ends in triumph over death, the devil, and all our sin. And even more than that, the Lord of heaven and earth makes a bid for connection with you and me. By his Holy Spirit and the Word—by his Holy Spirit and the Bread and the Wine of Holy Communion—by our prayerful conversation with Jesus—Jesus draws near. “Stay with us.”
Our prayer and longing for Jesus to come into our homes and hearts validates the work he does. Our longing and desire for Christ to dwell richly in our hearts is an answer to God’s prayer. To stay with us is exactly what he wants and intends to do. He is the same one who says, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). He brings strength to our steps as we tell others he has risen indeed. He brings thanksgiving to our tables and homes. He makes our hearts burn within us with his presence and joy that the world cannot give. He longs and works for us to experience it. He will stay with us all the way through our journey in this life and in the life of the world to come.
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