Luke 24:13-35
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| Robert Zünd, Gang nach Emmaus 1877 (PD) |
He IS Risen!!
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Well, I suppose that was how Cleopas and the unknown disciple felt as they were walking toward Emmaus as well.
Who can blame 'em?
Things must’ve seemed a bit off after hearing the resurrection story from the women who had returned from the tomb that same morning.
And seven miles may not be that far in a car but for most of us today, seven miles is a pretty far distance on foot.
Perhaps not as bad for a first century Palestinian, but if we consider what they’ve just been through, it could have been a pretty tough jaunt for them as well.
There have been circumstances where I have found just a few short miles have been more than I thought I could bear.
I used to run marathons, back before I went to seminary, and it's an interesting event to take part in.
It's an even more interesting event to prepare for, because it involves as much dietary strategy as athletic strategy.
Marathoners claim that once you have completed the first 20 miles of the 26.2 mile event, you have reached the halfway mark.
This is due to the fact that the average runner can carry enough glucose -a simple sugar that circulates through the blood as fuel- to keep them going for 13 miles.
The above average runner can store enough glucose to carry them up to about twenty miles, but it is nearly impossible to store enough glucose in the human body for anything farther than twenty miles.
This is why few marathon training plans call for runs over twenty miles.
It is why the legend surrounding the first marathoner ends in his collapse and death in 490 BC after running from Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek victory in battle over the Persians.
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| Luc-Olivier Merson, Le soldat de Marathon 1869 (PD) |
The human body is not meant to endure a running event of that kind of distance.
So once one runs for twenty miles, the human body begins to deteriorate and breakdown.
Seems fairly obvious why marathoners claim twenty miles is the halfway mark for a 26.2 mile event.
Simply put, the tank is too small and there is only so much fuel you can put back in the tank for those last few miles.
So, seven miles may not seem too far for some, but I guess perspective is everything.
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Cleopas and this unnamed disciple don’t seem to have much left in their tank.
In fact, the old adage of “If you were going any slower you’d be going backwards” could certainly be applied here.
In Matthew’s Gospel, the disciples are told to meet the resurrected Christ in Galilee but in Luke’s Gospel, this is the first appearance of the resurrected Jesus.
No one has been given instructions yet. In fact everyone seems to be fairly certain that the jig is up.
The women’s proclamation of “He IS risen” has yet to receive an enthusiastic response, kind of like ours today.
He IS risen seems to be met with far more enthusiasm on Easter morning, which is ironic because it is now, during the Easter Season that Jesus continues to be revealed to us
And to Cleopas and the unnamed disciple as well, but much like these two travelers we aren’t always all that certain about this whole resurrection thing.
What’s more, even if we do believe it, the enthusiasm wears out after that long twenty miles of Lent, not to mention the exhaustion of Easter morning.
Next stop is Pentecost, Memorial Day, then; the goal -
Our own Emmaus, Summertime!
After Lent and preparing for Easter, we seem to be ready to put it all behind us.
Make a little distance between ourselves and Lent, Holy Week, and yes, even Easter.
Not much different for our two participants in our Gospel's little “marathon”.
They aren’t just “going” to Emmaus. They are creating distance between themselves and Jerusalem.
After all, there isn’t much left for them there.
They’re not members of Jesus’ immediate circle, the eleven disciples.
And even as fringe members of this group, they state quite clearly in the Gospel for today that they believe they have either bet on the wrong messiah or something has gone awry with God’s plan.
Because, for them, their messiah was meant to bring about the liberation of Israel.
A nationalistic vision limited to the people of Israel, not the world.
A vision of liberation from Rome, rather than a liberation from our broken relationship with God.
So, as they trot along on an empty tank, they are reflecting back on where, how, why, and who they’ve exhausted all their energy on.
Then, they are caught from behind by another participant in this distance event.
Jesus himself seems about ready to lap them, although they don’t recognize him there is some obvious irritation.
He seems fairly clueless, yet in no time at all has caught up to them in more ways than one.
When asked what they are discussing, they are so shocked by the question that they are brought to a dead stop.
And in response they lay out all the facts for this apparent stranger.
Nothing they say is inaccurate.
Their disappointment is ground in sound reason.
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| James Tissot, The Pilgrims of Emmaus on the Road 1886-1894 (PD) |
Israel is still under Roman rule, perhaps worse off than it ever was.
As followers of Jesus, they are probably fairly certain that they and the rest of Jesus’ followers are under risk of being arrested and persecuted, not unlike their teacher.
Jesus, if in fact he was a messiah at all, had been persecuted by the people that these two believed Jesus had been sent to redeem.
And now, the women from this circle of followers are stirring up even more trouble with this outlandish story of resurrection.
So, this stranger is presented with the facts, plain and simple.
But what their report is lacking is the truth of the resurrection.
This is not an account of Christ proving the validity of his resurrection. It is a story that interprets the meaning of Jesus’ death, resurrected as THE Christ, and just what that means for this new Church these two travelers are being called to lead.
The flaw in their thinking is in their interpretation of the facts.
Because the truth of Christ’s resurrection is a declaration of a new hope for not only Israel, but all of the world.
Those beyond the immediate community of Israel, an extended family that includes all people!
And it is not a truth that has come fully into reality yet, for these two travelers or for us today, it is a truth that is continually coming into our lives, into this world, into the Church.
A truth so expansive that it warrants a “to be continued” episode that leads us into a Pentecost that is not just a day but an everyday!
But that is a level of enthusiasm and energy that is hard to maintain, and when we approach exhaustion we can slow down, become distracted, or sometimes just veer off the course altogether, perhaps even heading in the wrong direction.
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Marathoners call this “The Wall”.
And it truly does feel like a wall when you hit it.
When your glucose stores are completely depleted, your body starts using your muscles and organs as backup fuel.
Your legs begin to feel like lead, your head begins to spin, and you just want to lie down on the side of the road.
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| Photo taken by Martins Zemlickis, Courtesy of Unsplash |
The first marathon I ever ran, I hit the wall at mile 24 as I was coming in thirty minutes ahead of my goal. I ended the marathon missing my goal by one minute!
This is why many use supplements like sports drinks and packets of sugary gels to provide quick bursts of energy.
But these sugar saturated supplements only provide short bursts of energy, compared to carefully planned meals that store long term fuels that can be gradually drawn from, like the pasta parties so many plan the night before a Marathon.
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We use all kinds of supplements to get us through our own journeys.
Supplements that give us the short bursts of energy we have come to rely on, yet these don’t sustain us for the long haul.
Sometimes we even find ourselves dependent on these supplementary means of getting through our own journeys.
This is when they become mere mirages of truth and sometimes even addictions.
At times, they can be actual substances that we abuse or perhaps distractions from our own relationships that deserve our attention.
Anything that drives a wedge between ourselves, other people, and God.
In fact, running marathons became just that for me.
In 2010 and 2011 I ended up running four marathons in one year before I was confronted about my obsession with running.
I came to find that it was a way to avoid talking about painful memories.
It was also a physical way to refocus and repurpose my life.
And while there may be more unhealthy ways to distract ourselves and supplement our need to avoid the reality of our lives, I was living my life, literally like a hamster on a wheel and it was taking me nowhere.
It may have kept me out of a bottle or something much worse, but where was it taking me in relationship to my family, my wife, my community, or most of all God?
Like so many distractions and addictions, it was taking me down a road in the wrong direction.
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Emmaus, rather than being the finish line in this story, becomes the halfway point.
Imagine, reaching what you think is the finish line, completely exhausted, only to be turned around to go back in the other direction.
Back toward a finish line you never really envisioned in the first place.
The finish line in Luke’s Gospel is right back in the least likely place for the Church’s roots to take hold;
Jerusalem, the most brutal leg of the journey for all of Jesus’ followers.
The city of his trial, the city of his execution, the city of his disciples likely persecution, the city that serves as the seat of power for the temple and Roman authorities who forwarded this agenda in the first place.
The city where the very Temple that was dedicated to God, ended up casting a shadow on God as he drew his final breaths on the cross.
That is far from the ideal place to turn back towards, especially when finding yourself exhausted and disappointed by the journey behind you.
But something amazing happens, not only on the way to Emmaus, but upon arriving there.
These two weary travelers are given their own pasta party, a feast that will fuel them in not only their return journey, but as they begin laying the cornerstones of God’s Church.
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| Caravaggio, Supper at Emmaus 1601 (PD) |
And again, this story doesn’t offer proof of ANYTHING!
Unlike other stories of Jesus’ appearances, Jesus doesn’t seem to actually partake in this meal at Emmaus.
He fuels Cleopas and his fellow traveler for the journey ahead, with words of Truth, a meal that will truly sustain them, and what I find even more powerful is that God again walks with God’s people.
In the garden God physically walked with Adam, and later on God comes face to face with Abraham, but throughout scripture God seems to grow more and more distant over time until the only place God’s people think they can seek God’s presence is in the Temple.
But on the road to Emmaus, God again walks, maybe even RUNS with us
God’s Word is present with us
and God is present with us in the meal
Sustaining us in the Truth of this story, rather than just the facts of our situations.
Because sisters and brothers; God is with us and He IS risen….
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| Photo taken by Mahkeo, Courtesy of Unsplash |
Sources
"History Of The Original Classic Marathon | Athens Marathon". Athensmarathon.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 27 Apr. 2017.
"The New Rules Of Marathon Nutrition | Competitor.Com". Competitor.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 27 Apr. 2017.
Craddock, Fred B. 1990. Interpretation--Luke. Louisville, KT.: John Knox Press.
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