Tag: Emmaus

Heartburn

Let’s circle back to Jesus’ encounter with two of his followers as they traveled from Jerusalem to the town of Emmaus on “that very day” that Jesus was resurrected, Anastasis. As mentioned in the previous post, as they walked the seven-mile route, they had all kinds of time to talk through the events of the previous three days.  As they walked, Jesus, whom they didn’t recognize (“their eyes kept from recognizing him”) came alongside them and asked a great leading question: “So, what were you talking about?” (See Luke 24:13-35)

Pausing with downcast faces one of them, Cleopas*, asked Jesus if he was the only person that hadn’t heard what took place in Jerusalem over the previous several days. Jesus asked (maybe with a twinkle in his eye)…

“What things?”

“Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who certainly was a prophet, mighty in what he said and did before God and all the people.  Our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned and crucified him.  But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.  And besides all this, some of the women among us amazed us – they went to the tomb early this morning and found no body!  They claimed they saw angels or a vision of angels who said he was alive.  Others went to the tomb and they were right – there was no body.  And we don’t know what to think of all this.”  (My paraphrase and I added the last line because you know that’s likely what they were talking about as they walked!)

Jesus followed with another question: “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”  And beginning with Moses [Genesis through Deuteronomy] and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. 

I wonder what he told them?  He might have reminded them that when God created the universe and everything in it he said, “It is good.”  And after he created the first humans, he said, “It is VERY good.”

Then Adam and Eve ate the ‘apple.’

I suspect Jesus reminded them of God’s call on Abraham – that he and his descendants would become human agents to help Him restore creation, after the apple incident, to its right condition.  God’s words to Abraham: “I will bless you so that you can be a blessing to ALL the peoples of the earth” (Genesis 12:1-3).  The inauguration of God’s creation rescue mission.

And surely Jesus must have helped them understand, through the scriptures, that the one to redeem Israel, the Christ, would in fact be a suffering servant, not a conquering hero.  And the redemption was not to re-establish Israel as a sovereign nation but to jump-start their original mission of being blessed to be a blessing for all peoples.

Whatever Jesus told them, they wanted more.  So they invited him to stay with them.  During supper, Jesus blessed and broke bread, their eyes were opened and they recognized him.  And Jesus vanished. They said to each other…

“Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”

We wish for those “heartburning” occasions when we sense Jesus’ presence that result in moments when something previously fuzzy comes into focus. Experience tells me that such encounters tend to happen when we least expect them. For me, they seem to take place when I am in conversations with others as we figure out together how to follow Jesus well.

It was “while they were talking and discussing together” that Jesus showed up for Cleopas and his friend – an encouragement for us as we learn to follow Jesus. An encouragement to not forsake gathering with other pilgrims when “we don’t know what to think of all this,” whatever this happens to be. Who knows, Jesus might just show up and give us a sacred “heartburning” moment.

* Some have suggested that Cleopas and his partner could have been Jesus’ aunt and uncle. John, in his gospel, points out those present at Jesus’ crucifixion: Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary, the wife of Clopas…(different spelling). See John 10:25.

The Road to Emmaus

One of my favorite Easter stories is the one often entitled The Road to Emmaus. If you have never read this story or haven’t recently read it, you might want to.  It can be found in Luke 24:13-35.  I’ve read or heard it a number of times over the past few months.  It’s a most fascinating story – I’m glad that Luke felt God’s tug to include it in his gospel.

It’s the story about two of Jesus’ followers (not part of the Twelve) as they travel from Jerusalem to Emmaus on “that very day” – the day Jesus was resurrected.  As they walked the seven-mile trek, they had all kinds of time to talk through the events of the past three days, so they did. 

As they walked, Jesus showed up, appearing unbeknownst. Jesus had once said, “Where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them” (Matt. 18:20). That’s literally what he did, though the two disciples didn’t recognize him. As he came alongside them he asked a simple, yet simple but profound question: “So, what were you guys talking about.”  They stood there looking sad.

One of them asked Jesus if he was the only person that hadn’t heard what took place in Jerusalem these last few days.  Jesus then asked a simpler and even more profound question: “What things?”  Love it.  Jesus, who experienced it all, asked, “What things?”

It was just like Jesus – not missing a teaching moment, always asking great questions.  (I suppose he could have been just messing with them – I certainly would have!)  I think as a teacher, Jesus asked questions for a couple reasons: (1) He wanted to discover what they understood, thought, believed, and perceived, and, more importantly, (2) He wanted them to discover what they understood, thought, believed, and perceived.

Mostly, I think he wanted people to pause, think, and ponder.

Think about some of the questions he asked – Do you want to get well?  What do you think about John the Baptist?  Which of the three was the neighbor to the victim? What do you think (he asked this often)? What do you want me to do for you?  Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and don’t do what I say?  Who do you say that I am?  What are you looking for? He seemed to always be asking questions that caused the hearer to pause and maybe ponder for a second or two. Or more.

I remember talking with a High School girl during a grief group session I was facilitating several years ago.  She was struggling with how God could have taken her loved one.  I asked her the question, “Take or allow?”  She was doodling on her folder, paused, looked at me, and said, “I’ve never had anyone ask me that before.  I’ll have to think about it.”  Ponder.  This young gal, with a pretty new faith, came back the next week and said that she was rethinking how she viewed God’s role in her loved one’s death.

Several years ago at a local coffee shop, a stranger, noticing me writing in my journal, asked me how keeping a journal has helped me grow in my faith.  (No one had ever asked me that before or, at least, not that point blank.)  I thought about it for a second and said, “It makes me ponder.”

It really does.  As I spend time alone with God in solitude, I find it’s in the moments that I ponder what I’m reading (and the subsequent questions that seem to arise) that things begin to connect for me.  I get to discover what I understand, think, believe, and perceive about things.  It’s almost like Jesus is sitting with me asking the questions that make me pause and think – pondering in solitude. 

I refer to it as times of pondertude.

Aha! Moments

A few weeks ago, my wife and I spent some time in Nashville. Looking for a place to grab dinner one night, we decided to try Paula Deen’s Family Restaurant – Southern-style cooking. If you aren’t familiar with Paula Deen’s recipes, people joke that she uses a stick of butter in everything. Wonderful, rich food that resulted in, unfortunately, heartburn!

During our time in Nashville, I was reflecting on Easter, circling back to one of my all-time favorite stories related to that first Easter. It’s often referred to as the Road to Emmaus story. If you have never read this story or haven’t read it recently, you ought to.  It can be found in Luke 24:13-35.  It’s a most fascinating story and well worth pondering.

It’s the story of two of Jesus’ followers (not part of the Twelve) as they traveled from Jerusalem to Emmaus on “that very day” – the day Jesus was resurrected, Anastasis.  As they walked the seven-mile trip, they had all kinds of time to talk through the events of the previous three days. As they walked, Jesus, whom they didn’t recognize (“their eyes kept from recognizing him”) came alongside them (it seemed like he just appeared) and asked a great question: “So, what were you guys talking about?”  As I write this, I have an episode of The Chosen playing in the background. I can picture Jesus asking the question with a twinkle in his eye…

“Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who certainly was a prophet, mighty in what he said and did before God and all the people.  Our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned and crucified him.  But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.  And besides all this, some of the women among us amazed us – they went to the tomb early this morning and found no body!  They claimed they saw angels or a vision of angels who said he was alive.  Others went to the tomb and they were right – there was no body.  And we don’t know what to think of all this.”  (My paraphrase and I added the last line because you know that’s likely what they were talking about as they walked!)

Then one of them, Cleopas, asked Jesus if he was the only person that hadn’t heard what went on in Jerusalem over the previous several days.  Jesus then asked the mother of all questions: “What things?”  Again, with a twinkle in his eye? 

Jesus followed with another question: “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”  And beginning with Moses [Genesis through Deuteronomy] and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. 

I wonder what he told them?  He might have reminded them that when God created the universe and all the things in it he said, “It is good.”  And after he created the first humans, he said, “It is VERY good.”

Then Adam and Eve ate the apple.

I suspect Jesus reminded them of God’s call on Abraham – that he and his descendants would become human agents to help Him restore creation, after the apple incident, to its right condition.  God’s words to Abraham: “I will bless you so that you can be a blessing to ALL the peoples of the earth” (Genesis 12:1-3).  The inauguration of God’s creation rescue mission.

And surely Jesus must have helped them understand, through the scriptures, that the one to redeem Israel, the Christ, would in fact be a suffering servant not a conquering hero.  And the redemption was not to re-establish Israel as a sovereign nation again, but to jump-start their original mission of being blessed to be a blessing for all peoples.

Whatever Jesus told them, they wanted more.  So they invited him to stay with them.  During supper, Jesus blessed and broke bread, their eyes were opened and they recognized him.  And Jesus vanished.

They said to each other “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” An “aha!” moment!!

We wish for those heartwarming moments when we sense Jesus’ presence that result in “aha!” moments, when something previously fuzzy comes into focus. Experience tells me that such encounters tend to happen when we least expect. For me, they seem to take place when I am in conversations with others as we figure out together how to follow Jesus well.

It was “while they were talking and discussing together” that Jesus showed up for Cleopas and his friend – an encouragement for us as we learn to follow Jesus. An encouragement to not forsake gathering with other pilgrims when “we don’t know what to think of all this,” whatever this happens to be. Who knows, Jesus just might show up and provide us with a sacred “aha!” moment.