Lectionary: 46"Were not our hearts burning within us
while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?"
Unlike the spectacular Apocalyptic events in Saint John’s Revelation; and Saint Matthew’s accounts of eclipse of the sun, earth tremors, and long dead souls appearing in Jerusalem, the apocalyptic events in Saint Luke’s two books are anything but spectacular.
First there is the angel's appearances to Zechariah in the temple and Mary at home. And then there are Elizabeth’s and Mary's inexplicable pregnancies – one, an old woman, and the other a virgin. When the child is born in a manger, angels appear not to his parents but to shepherds. But none of these incidents are earth shattering. In fact, they're rather quiet and seem to have no effect on world events.
When Saint Luke describes the appearances of the Risen Lord, again the world does not sit up and take notice. In fact, the whole business seems rather laid back. There is no earthquake; there are no guards at the tomb to flee from an angel or the Lord. Saint Luke tells us an angel rolled the stone from the tomb but he doesn’t say that anyone noticed until the holy women arrived to anoint his body.
They were surprised to find the open tomb but didn’t hesitate to look inside. They walked right in, only to find two men in dazzling clothes, which scared the bejeebers out of them. But these apparently heavenly beings only asked the devout women a riddle, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?”
And then they explained something they should have known already, “He is not here, but he has been raised. Remember what he said to you while he was still in Galilee….[, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners and be crucified, and rise on the third day.” And they remembered his words.”]
When Jesus himself finally appears, as we heard in today’s gospel, he acts as if nothing extraordinary has happened. He's just walking along and, by way of conversation, he asked the disciples. “What have you been discussing as you travel?” Like, “I’ll join your conversation; what are we talking about?”
Hello? Where have you been? 'Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?”
And then Jesus, their teacher and Lord, takes up where he left off:
“And he said to them, ‘Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?’ Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures.”
But even then, although they had heard a rumor that he had been raised, and although he scolded them as he was always chiding, reproaching, and reproving them before he died, they still didn't get it. How familiar can you get?
They only recognized him when he broke the bread, and then, rather late, they got it.
Biblical theologians tell us that Jesus did not rise from the dead to tell us there is an afterlife in heaven for good people. Nor did he have to prove that he is the Son of God, and had conquered sin and death. While all these mysteries are true, they should have been believing that already. Had he not told them several times that he would be arrested, tried, and condemned to death; and that he would be raised up on the third day. He really didn’t have to darken the sun or quake the earth or open anyone’s tomb to prove that.
He appeared to them after his resurrection to tell them, “Get going! It’s time to announce to the entire world the Gospel of Jesus, the Son of God who was crucified, died, and raised up for the salvation of the world.”
They saw it finally, when he took the bread, gave thanks, broke the bread, and gave it to them. If the first Mass was the Last Supper, that was the second Mass, and it happened on Sunday. We have never missed a Sunday Mass since that day nearly two thousand years ago. And that’s because it’s really important, and we know what it means.
He told us, “Do this in memory of me!” You might remember nothing else that i said to you. You might not remember my healings, my raising the dead to life, my teaching, or my kindness. You might not remember a thing but if you do this in memory of me, you will never forget me, and I will come to you again, and teach you again and again everything I told you about the Kingdom of God.
You will be flesh of my flesh, bone of my bone, and blood of my blood and wherever you go I will be with you. I will go ahead of you, and if you go the wrong direction, I will come and get you and turn you around.
Finally, we have to notice the openness of the two gentlemen on the road to Emmaus. They were very hospitable. They weren’t like the people who get on a bus or plane and never chat with their companions. They were eager to talk to anyone about what they had seen and heard in Jerusalem, and to discover what it meant. They welcomed this stranger, and even asked him to stay the night with them, and they were rewarded for their hospitality. They shared with him their anxiety and concern, and after he disappeared they shared their secret hearts with one another, ““Were not our hearts burning [within us] while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?”
And so they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they… recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
Christians don’t have to use apocalyptic special effects to talk about what the Lord has done for us. We don’t need loud videos, fire scorching the ceiling, or thunderous amps booming guitar music or organ music, we have only to let the world see our generosity, confidence, and hopeful expectations for the coming Kingdom of God. Having witnessed his resurrection we are not afraid of sickness or death. These things must come and we’ll know how to deal with them as they come. And when we find anxiety, confusion, and deep distress we’ll only ask, “Are you the only one who does not know of the things that have taken place there in Jerusalem when Tiberius Caesar was the emperor of Rome and Pontius Pilate the procurator in Jerusalem?
