Easter Sunday

 An Emmaus Moment

04/20/2025

This week we are celebrating Easter. Easter is the day Jesus’ tomb was found empty and later he was seen by many to be alive. The resurrection of Jesus is a pivotal piece of the Christian faith and tradition. Our passage this week comes from Luke chapter 24 verses 13 - 49. The events in the passage occur later in the day of the resurrection and I will be taking a look at what happened to the men in the story and what it means for us.

Two men, Cleopas and his friend, are walking from Jerusalem to the village of Emmaus. These two men were disciples of Jesus so obviously as they walk they are discussing the events of the past few days. A man joins them, whom they do not recognize, and asks what they are discussing. They are shocked by the idea that any person in Jerusalem could be unaware of the events that took place regarding Jesus. Cleopas gives the stranger a rundown of the recent events. Then the man, who was Jesus but not recognized, replied to them as found in verse 25-27, 

“25Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! 26Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” 27Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.”

I have two reactions to this passage. First, I wish the whole story had been captured and here in Matthew Chapter 24 we had a record of Jesus’ plain and direct teaching about the Messiah. That we could see his clear line of thought from Moses up to that very moment. However, that was not recorded, instead we are given the responsibility to grapple with it, and with him, ourselves. Second, I am shown that Jesus does come and speak directly to us. The resurrection of Jesus is the symbol of Christian hope and it is also the reminder that God continues to live and to speak to those who seek him.

I have decided not to dwell on my first thought. We don’t have a concise explanation from Jesus captured here. We are not given insights into the mysteries of how the ancient Jewish people misunderstood how the Messiah would come. We are not given a detailed understanding of how Jesus, as the Messiah, fulfilled the law. We are left to ask and seek and find those answers for ourselves. I think that was on purpose. God knows that if given the perfect answer or perfect world (or garden) the first thing we would do is see if we could break it, because our nature is to seek. So our scriptures are filled with parables and stories and from those we dig into what they mean and who they point to. The result of doing that is the building of a faith that cannot be shaken, that can not be broken and contains everything we could ever wish to seek after.

Knowing that I have been left to seek, I take great encouragement from what we find in the passage. These two men loved Jesus and believed him to be the long awaited Messiah. They did not understand how the Messiah could be taken by Rome and put to death. That was not how they understood the story to go. Here in the passage Jesus hears their discussion as a plea for understanding. He drew near to them and after giving them a scolding, probably to get their attention, he gave them the answers they were seeking. He opened up to them from the prophets how they had carried incorrect expectations about the Messiah. He showed them how He fulfilled the prophets words. He explained to them how death and resurrection and not political insurrection was the plan from the beginning. These men asked God about what was on their heart and God showed up and gave them the answers they were seeking.

I think of these as Emmaus moments. A time when we, individually or as a group, are seeking God about whatever is on our heart and he shows up with an answer. He speaks into our lives in some way that we know he has heard us and is giving an answer. It may be an encouragement. It may be instructions. It will come in whatever way God determines is best for us in that time or season. Emmaus moments have been happening since God spoke to Moses at the bush and they still happen today.

Since last week was late, and not really an article about the reading at all I am going to do something a little different today. Instead of continuing to write about Emmaus moments that can be found in the scriptures I am going to write about a very specific Emmaus moment from my own life. This is going to be a long story. I understand if you want to skip to the end to find out if I make a point, I will try to, but I want to tell this story. In 2001 I found myself desiring a new church home. Now I am a systematic and detailed oriented fellow (most of the time) and I felt like finding a new church was an endeavor worthy of serious attention. 

I began by making a list of churches in the area that I would consider. There was no live streaming back then or youtube archive. If you wanted to know about a church, you had to go to that church. Once my list was complete near the end of 2001 I let my current church know that I would be taking some time away. You see, I was the adult Sunday School teacher at the time and I had to recruit a replacement. We finished up the current book of study the final Sunday in December and I handed the leader guide over. 

The first Sunday in January 2002 my family and I showed up at the first church on my list. Then we showed up Sunday night for the evening service. If there was a business meeting scheduled, that was open to all, I attended. For eight weeks I engaged in everything that church had to offer. I wanted to know what they stood for and I wanted to know if that was the church God wanted me to attend. I took note of what I liked and what I was not sure about. I talked about what I was looking for with the staff and my family. I listened to what God was telling me about this new church.

On the ninth Sunday in 2002 I arrived at the second church on my list. This did not happen because I was unhappy at the first church. On the contrary we were enjoying it very much. However, I had started with a plan. The plan was to attend 6 churches for 8 weeks, immersing my family into everything they had to offer for the time we were there. So after 48 weeks, I would be able to know which church was right for us or know that I needed a new list.

If you think this sounds extreme you are probably right. If you think it was a bit startling for the people at the first church, again you would be right. But this was the plan that God and I had worked out, or at least that I thought God had helped me to work out. Eight weeks at church two went by quickly. We all felt very engaged and connected. Week nine came and list indicated where we were supposed to go when Sunday arrived. However, there was just one or two more weeks left in a sermon series or perhaps it was in a class we had joined, so we decided to stay until that completed and then proceed with the plan.

One night after work in the week between Sunday number nine and Sunday ten I was leaving my office and walking to the Metrolink station in St. Louis. If you know me in real life you know that I am a whistler. I whistle songs, I whistle random tunes, I just enjoy whistling. As I was leaving the building, going through the revolving door and down the steps to the sidewalk, I was whistling the Battle Hymn of the Republic. I mention these details, the revolving door and steps, because I remember them so vividly. As I whistled this song, which I love, I had a thought. If I join church number two I will probably never sing the Battle Hymn of the republic again. You see, this church did not have hymnals. They did not have a pick your favorite song Sunday. While this song could be sung in church services it seemed extremely unlikely to be sung in this church which preferred modern worship songs over hymns even for the most serious of occasions. So this thought occurred to me, and then the response was “finish the series and then get back to the plan and you will know what to do”. I guess at the time I thought that was my thought in my brain telling me how to proceed. So I resolved to do just that. We would go to church two one final Sunday to finish whatever it was that had caused the delay, and then we would be off to church number three.

Sunday ten at church two arrived like all the other Sundays. We went in, found our places and started to sing. Song number two that day, was the Battle Hymn of the Republic. God spoke to me and said he would make sure we had what we needed at the church he had for us. That even tiny things, like songs to whistle, were important details to Him and He would use them to communicate to us, to me specifically, in this case. We joined that church that day. There was no other action to take. I had been walking on the road to Emmaus, or the Metrolink, and God had spoken directly to me in a language that I could not misunderstand. God went on to confirm for many years that he had a purpose for me and my family at that church. Many hours of labor went into that church. Over time things started to change and instead of taking a walk to Emmaus to see what God would tell me I held on to what I had. In the end we parted and life changed, both for me and for that church, but that does not change the clear message that I received in 2002 as I walked with God and he answered the question in my heart.

What is on your heart and who are you sharing it with? Most importantly, how are you sharing it with God? God still walks with us. God also enjoys going along on a nice run, or a bike ride. God will join you while you play pickleball or fish. God is here and he is waiting for a chance to hear you and then to speak with you. He will speak in a voice so clear that you can’t deny it is his even though it may sound like your thoughts in your head or advice from a friend or even a scolding from someone. God can come through the words of anyone he chooses. But God usually does not show up uninvited. Got wants to be spoken to and sought. He wants to be our companion and not our wish granter or even our Lord and ruler. God walks with those who seek him and in that walking He will provide the answers that we need. I encourage you to spend some time with God today in whatever mode you choose. Do that with an earnest question in your heart and see if you don’t hear from him.

Thanks for reading.

David

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You can find this week’s reading here.