Luke 24:13-35
We Had Hoped…
“And their eyes were opened and they recognized him in the breaking of the bread.” Luke’s reading today is a favorite among the Resurrection Stories of Jesus. There were about ten encounters with Jesus after the Resurrection. Of course, they became important over time to believers. We know that the earliest faith communities shared the stories, what we call the oral tradition, with others and the stories were retold again and again, and this was apparently a favorite passage. In fact the early designation for the religion or the sect of early Jews that were believers was called “People of the Way” which comes from this story. And the early worship was called the ‘breaking of the bread’ which also is drawn from this passage.
As we read this passage; as we hear the Scripture, we are invited to enter into the story and to imagine that we are the unnamed companion to Cleopas. This passage is both about a simple encounter on the way to Emmaus and it is also a larger story which lays out the story of Jesus, his life, death and resurrection as a backdrop, which we know more fully from other parts of Scripture. As we read, we are invited to consider our own life story in connection to this powerful story. The two disciples are leaving Jerusalem with heavy hearts for they had such high hopes for Jesus and his mission and have now had their hopes dashed by the crucifixion, because they did not fully understand the scriptures. Their dreams have been broken, and they are reviewing all of this as they walk along.
Then, Jesus comes into their midst and engages them in a longer conversation about the events of the day. When we pray, we often review the events of our day as well, seeking understanding through some deeper meaning framed by our faith tradition as well as the experiences of our own lives. We often try to sort things out in prayer and that can be an important process. Rev. Bill Kenneally explains that in the passage, Jesus, who remains unknown to them, shares a larger context for their inner struggles as he instructs them about scripture and what may be missing in their understanding about what’s happening in their lives. He refers to the ‘Suffering Servant’ of which the prophet Isaiah wrote and speaks of other prophets to explain that he had to suffer. This is a new understanding that Jesus shares with these travelers, it is that of a redeemer who suffers; they begin to understand in a more expansive way, their eyes begin to open to the larger meanings of life and what Jesus had been trying to teach them.
Their hearts are burning with a deeper understanding, a spiritual resonance, as they listen to him speak and they want him to stay with them. Of course, the sacred moment occurs in the simple act of breaking the bread when they sit and share a meal along the way. It has such a powerful effect on them that he becomes visible to them as he blesses and breaks the bread. All of a sudden, they understand what is happening in their life in a new and important way. They get up and rush back to their community; they want to be among others who have believed with them. They are excited as they hear the stories of witnesses, Peter and Mary Magdalene, and they understand in new ways.
Perhaps they make the connection between their own lives, their own death and resurrection, their own disappointment and this story of new hope, that their lives run parallel to the life story of Jesus, of suffering and death and hope and rebirth that is the cycle that any of our lives follow along the course of our days. When they think about the life of Jesus and his teachings, they understand their own lives and the way they should live. We, along with those early travelers, may wonder ‘what happens to Jesus; why does he disappear?’ The answer is that he doesn’t really disappear. He lives on in the community that they return to; his Spirit, his teachings will be spread by these early followers and will be passed along from one generation to the next. These early witnesses did not think about big theological constructs or even about founding a church; they understood that their lives had been changed fundamentally and that this vision Jesus had been sharing in word and in his ministry, a vision of the Kin’dom of God, of a Way of living that is inclusive and loving of all, this story of the triumph of love and resurrection over defeat and death….that all of this must be shared because it can give us a much fuller understanding of our lives and our purpose as individuals and as a community of believers.
I’d like to share a contemporary reflection on the Luke passage, composed by Bill Murphy, entitled “We Had Hoped….” May it bring some new understanding of this Scripture for you at this time in our lives. “That very same day a group of them were on their way into a common future, which lay just ahead, beyond what they could see.
As they walked into the future, they talked about all the happenings among them. As they talked with one another GOD joined them and moved with them. But something kept them from seeing and understanding what was REALLY happening. So, God entered into their hearts and asked: WHAT IS IT THAT TROUBLES YOU? WHAT ARE YOU WONDERING ABOUT? WHAT QUESTIONS UNSETTLE YOU?
The group stopped, full of fear and anxiety, and began to reflect, saying: We thought it would be simpler. We thought our choices would be clearer. We thought our values and priorities would be more evident. We thought there would be more uniformity. We thought we would agree more easily on basic issues. We thought our resources were more extensive. We thought God would lead us more directly. We thought that doubts, conflicts, and confusion would lessen. We thought that our common charism would ensure a common vision. We had hoped our future would be uncomplicated. We had hoped things would not be so messy. We had hoped our experiences would confirm what we knew, not change it again. We had hoped our familiar theories would still fit. We had hoped. We had hoped.
And now, some among us are saying that things are not as we first imagined them to be. Now some are saying that the future continues to challenge us in different ways: IS THIS OF GOD?
And God said: How slow you are as a group. How hard it is for you to trust. Have I not promised from the beginning to be with you, to sustain you, and to continually reveal my plans to hearts that are OPEN? Have I not promised you more than you can ask or imagine?
And God spent time going over the history of the people gathered, and the ways that mystery continues to be revealed. God raised up many ordinary events and interactions and showed the people gathered God’s own way of being with them.
By the time the people had begun to understand the depth, the breadth, and height of the love of God for them, they were already one step further into the future.
They wondered if they could sustain that kind of hope. It felt as if God was not going to be present as clearly as they had thought. They invited God to remain with them and to continue to help them notice, celebrate and be open to the ongoing revelation – to walk through those doors into an unknown future.
And God chose to stay with the people. God, and the people gathered, recognized the mystery at work among them, and they grew more confident and able to share it with others who needed to know if God’s love could be counted on. They moved into their lives, trusting that what God has in store will be created together and will include more than the people could ever ask or imagine.” – Bill Murphy