Dining with Jesus

The Sea Island Pulpit

Dining with Jesus

Luke 24:13-35

This would be a day that not only would Cleopas and friend remember the rest of their lives, this day would irretrievably alter the direction and path of those lives.  To be sure, this day did not start out that way.  No, when these companions began the journey home to Emmaus nothing in their lives gave the impression of this being a great day.  Seven miles they had to walk; seven miles they had to trod with heads down and hearts broken, limping home while recounting the horror of the crucifixion.  No, this day was not promising to be a banner day; yet, few days start out expecting a crucified Jesus to show up.  

Luke is the sole recorder of this saga – and are we ever grateful!  We can identify with Cleopas and his friend, can we not?  We know what life feels like to be down and defeated.  All their hopes, all their dreams, all their wishes for Israel had just gone down the tubes in that death of all deaths, the death of Jesus.  Now it was Sunday, the required time for mourning was over; now was the time to go home and rebuild what was left of their lives.  

As they walk a stranger joins them on the road, one they seemed to know but yet could not place.  He appeared oddly ignorant of all that had happened in Jerusalem this weekend past.  Was he the only person in Jerusalem unaware of Jesus?  Was he the only one who had not heard what had happened to the one so many thought was the Messiah?  To make matters worse, they had to tell him of the reports that the body was gone – that some women had gone to the tomb and returned with visions of angels and witnesses that Jesus was alive.  

Of course, all that resurrection talk was just rubbish to Cleopas and friend.  They knew better than to believe a story that was nothing more than the wishful thinking and hallucinations of deeply grieving women.  No, once Jesus died so did their dreams and there was no way they would take them back again.  No, their lives were to be lived under the Roman boot and there was not one thing they could do to change that fact.  Might as well get used to it and get beyond it – Jesus was dead and dead men do not come back.

The stranger listened and then he began to talk.  Yes, Jesus was dead, but had they not read the Hebrew scriptures?  Had they not read the prophets where they spoke that the Messiah must suffer and die?  Did they really think that the Messiah would come and conquer without pain or suffering?  Did they really believe that the way to glory avoided pain and agony, even death?  This stranger was so knowledgeable about the scripture that they hung on his every word.

As this trio arrived in Emmaus Cleopas and friend pleaded with the stranger to stay with them and spend the night.  The stranger accepted their hospitable invitation and then it happened.  While the stranger was breaking the bread suddenly they recognized him – this was no stranger, this was Jesus!  Then, just as suddenly, Jesus was gone, vanishing into the night air leaving but the deep and vivid memory of an incredible encounter.  

Immediately they looked at each other, mouths agape with an incredulous disbelief.  Jesus had been walking with them and teaching them and they had not known it until the end.  As they talked they realized that each of them had felt the something stirring in their souls  as Jesus had taught them.  That fire that had flickered and died on Friday now had sprung back to life out of ashen embers thought to be cold and beyond rekindling.  Jesus was alive – nothing else mattered.  Jesus was alive – there was still hope.  Jesus was alive –  they had recognized him in the breaking of bread.  Jesus was alive — this world would never be the same, regardless of whose government was in control.

What are we to make of this narrative?  Here we have all the ingredients of a classic encounter with Jesus.  At the risk of seeming to be formulaic – and we cannot for no one determines when and where our Lord will show up – let us review this narrative that we might be aware of how and when Jesus might walk into our lives.

1

Jesus comes when we least expect him, but when we are in deepest need of him.  These two had their souls shattered, their dreams destroyed, and their hopes hurled down into that tomb with Jesus.  There was nothing left to do but go home and make the most of a sorry situation.  Then Jesus came and what seemed like utter defeat became the moment of victory.  

Can we recall those moments when we felt like all of life had been shattered for us?  Can we remember those times when all our hopes and dreams had been erased from the slate of life by forces we could only call evil?  Hopeless, helpless, and hapless, in dire need of shelter and security, we stumble toward home when the Spirit of the Risen Lord suddenly meets us.  To be sure the Spirit uses different modes: a word, a song, a friend, a moment, a glimpse – the mode does not matter for our Lord can use whatever he desires.  What matters is that we sense the presence of the Spirit and our lives are dynamically changed.  

I’ll never forget those times when Jesus showed up in my life.  I was a young pastor struggling with a growing but difficult church when in the midst of what seemed like agonizing defeat Jesus showed up.  Or, that moment when I thought, I’ll just chuck all this ministry “stuff” and go sell life insurance; then Jesus showed up in an encouraging word, with a calming presence and a renewal that returned the fire to the soul.  As Alex Haley’s grandmother told him, “God may not come when you want him to; but do not worry, he’ll be on time.”

Why does Jesus show up in times of deepest need?  Does Jesus wait until we are desperate?  Or is the issue not Jesus but us?  Could it be that Jesus wants to show up more and more,  but we refuse to look for him? When life is smooth and seemingly under control — an illusion at best — too often we act as if we can keep Jesus quarantined from our lives, visiting him only occasionally just to make sure he’s there.  More often that not, when we try this we go to that room only to discover that he has escaped.  Jesus will not stay put; he will not answer our beck and call.  Jesus is not a deity we store away and pull out only when needed. Christ is Lord and Christ will show up when Christ desires.  Jesus is not our cosmic butler, waiting to attend to our every need.  Christ Jesus is our Lord, a living and loving presence, who comes and goes when and where he will.  I certainly believe Christ would show up more often if we will be open to his presence.

2

This is a Lord whose presence is often anonymous in the beginning but in the aftermath sets our souls ablaze.  Often, in the moment of despair we do not recognize Jesus, but that is inconsequential.  Jesus recognizes us and when the right moment comes he reveals his presence to us.  Notice that two crucial aspects mark the presence of Jesus: a new understanding and a rekindling of faith.  

Jesus taught Cleopas and his friend a new way of looking at their situation.  What seemed like defeat, i.e., suffering and crucifixion, was the means through which victory, i.e., resurrection, would become a reality.  What had looked like total defeat was in reality the means of God’s incredible victory over evil and death.  The Spirit does not just enflame our soul, the Spirit enlightens our mind.  Faith is not blind – faith can see even if only partially and dimly.  When Jesus shows up he always helps us to understand our lives and situations from a different perspective and in so doing transforms our understanding both of our lives and of God -- and gives us a faith to live by.

There are two idols to avoid in faith: blind acceptance and supra-rationality.  Faith is not mere blind belief.  Faith is neither stupidity nor ignorance as some propose.  Faith can and does have a logical and rational base.  However, we can err by making reason a god above God.  It is my experience that most of what I understand about God and faith is rational and logical.  To me that is the way in which I have experienced God most often and most deeply.  However, there is a portion of my faith and experience which is above or beyond rationality and logic.  It just does not make sense – but I believe it anyway because I have experienced in and through the moments the presence of God.  

Cleopas and his friend were touched both in their minds and their hearts by the presence of Jesus Christ.  A living faith holds both elements in congruence within one’s soul.  Without the mind, without reason, then one can conjure up all manner of beliefs and propositions as to God and God’s will.  Without the heart, without a faith that burns at the depths of one’s soul in an experience that eludes words and escapes definition one’s faith will be cold, calculating, and worthless.  Either extreme is to be avoided because either extreme will destroy our life and faith.  The only person worse than a shivering cynic is a flaming fanatic.  The cynic usually only infects and destroys himself or herself.  The fanatic can and does often destroy others as well.  A living, vibrant faith, which holds both heart and head in unison, brings life to its owner as well as to those with whom it lives.

3

Jesus comes when we least expect him; Jesus touches us in both head and heart; and Jesus reveals himself most deeply in simple relationship, in the breaking of bread and sharing of a meal.  The symbolism is too powerful to be ignored: these had seen Jesus at the Last Supper break the bread and share the cup.  Now, once more Jesus breaks the bread, and their eyes are opened, and they see Jesus for who he really is – the Living Lord.  This bread is a powerful symbol of the sacrifice and love of our Lord.  In this bread and in this cup we are reminded anew that our faith comes at a deep price, the life of our Lord.  In this bread and in this cup we remember afresh that the love of God indeed has no bounds, no limits.  

Sharing a meal is such a simple thing – but it is so precious to remember.  There is something about sharing meal with a family, a friend, that goes beyond the bounds of the food and moves into the area of the spiritual.  Table fellowship can and does become spiritual fellowship when Jesus shows up.  As a minister I was invited time and again into the homes of parishioners; in those homes that they became more than friends.  Over the table relationships are developed, stories shared, and lives intertwined in such a way that they are bonded for eternity.  Our family’s deepest friends from each of our churches are those with whom we shared table fellowship.  Restaurants are fine – but they do not touch what transpires in a home around the family table.  In the meal with a family it is the presence of the family in their home inviting one to their table that makes that meal a sacred event.

As we deal with the quarantine required by Covid 19 I thought: Are we now taking note of the joy of family meals?  Do we realize what an opportunity these meals can be to share the love of Christ with our family?  

Such “communion” is at the heart of the table of our Lord.  The table of “Holy Communion, the Eucharist, or The Lord’s Supper” — this is our Lord’s table – and then it is ours.  This is our Lord’s Supper – and then it becomes our supper.  This is our Lord’s Agape Feast, i.e., Love Feast – and then it is ours.  We come to it only because our Lord has invited us and it is his presence that makes this moment and these elements sacred.  It is in his presence that all of life becomes sacred – and it is his presence that transforms our lives into the sacred as well.  I deeply and fully believe that Christ wishes to grace our lives with his presence day in and day out, but we are so busy and other-focused that Christ can scarcely find a way in save that of tragedy.  Could it be that the greatest benefit from Covid 19 will be a rediscovery of the real and living presence of our Lord Jesus Christ?

Have we experienced that presence in our lives?  Have we opened our lives to the Spirit of the Risen Christ, this Jesus of Nazareth?  Have we shared our failures and our shattered dreams that we might experience his transforming grace in both head and heart?  Too often we restrict our experience of Christ to a conversion or call event.  Have no doubt…I do believe that we need to be born again or from above!  However, I believe that we need to be born from above again and again and again.  We need a continual experience of the Risen Christ in order to fully know Christ’s love and strength, calling and purpose in our lives.

In the Revelation of St. John our Lord gives this word to the church at Laodicea. “Behold I stand at the door and knock.  If any hears my voice and open the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.”  This message is not directed toward non-believers, but to a congregation of those who claim Jesus as Lord.  However, their hearts have grown cold and their faith has become weak.  They need to open the door of their heart that they might once again experience his love and grace.  

Will we open the door of our heart to the Jesus and eat with him?  Our lives will never be the same.

Robert U. Ferguson, Jr., Ph.D.

Sea Island Chapel

173 Marshland Road

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

April 19, 2020a