Luke 24: 13-35. Cleopas and a buddy are getting out of Dodge. This God-intoxicated Jesus had been so charismatic with his torqued-up Torah, his revised understanding of Messiahship, his great passion for the marginalized and hurting, and his strong commitment to the Kingdom -- a world where God's will is done on earth as in heaven. Now it seems all for naught. Jesus has been arrested for treason against the Roman Empire and executed. Those who have been his associates must now flee for their lives. Imagine how these two felt: just as we do when we suffer disappointment and despair. Just as we do when we experience abandonment, or a sense of having been conned and betrayed.
Now, suddenly, Jesus is there with them on the road to Emmaus, as the Risen Christ . He is no longer subject to the limitations of physical existence. He can now suddenly appear and disappear. He is in a different dimension than the one in which we travel and yet in contact with our own. What will the Master demand of these men? Actually, nothing. He does not direct that they accept him as their personal Lord and Saviour, or sign some faith statement. Rather, he simply reveals himself. And he does so in a way that scholars often call the supra-literal (beyond a literal understanding) or trans-historical (beyond historical reckoning.)
First, he reflects what will be the activity of the early Church, in studying the only Bible they had -- what we call "Old Testament" -- to find passages there to apply to their faith experience and their understanding of Jesus. Second, he presages the future ritual action of the early Church by mimicking eucharistic liturgy, as he takes bread, blesses,breaks it, gives it out and then vanishes into thin air. hus our story tells readers that the Christ was revealed, and will always continue to reveal himself, in Word and Sacrament, within his Holy Catholic Church.
He also teaches us that when we experience disillusionment it is because we have not understood God's sacred promises, God never promised us a rose garden. Like him, we shall suffer before entering into glory. But through our story he assures us that he will be with us in Word and Sacrament to enable us to deal with everything life can throw our way.
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