Psalm 116.1-4; 12-19

Luke 24.13-35

Jerusalem, Emmaus, Jerusalem

 

In our Gospel Reading today we have Luke’s familiar account of the journey of Cleopas and another un-named follower of Christ.  Dejected, they leave Jerusalem and head to the village of Emmaus.  But on their sad journey, they are joined by Jesus who they do not recognize until they share a meal with him in Emmaus.  There at the table, Jesus takes bread, gives thanks, breaks it and gives it to them.  Instantly they recognize it is Jesus, and the encounter is transformative.  Filled with joy, they return to Jerusalem.   They leave Jerusalem with lives shattered, but return with lives restored by Jesus.  And their journey is a template, a pattern, of the Christian life.  It’s a journey from circumstances that overwhelm us.  It’s a journey on which Jesus comes along side us and gives us new hope.  And that encounter, enables us to journey back to to the place from which we've come.   We leave broken , we return restored.  We leave our Jerusalem with grief.  In Emmaus Jesus finds us and readies us to return to our Jerusalem to face our deaths, our losses, our shattered lives.  Jerusalem hasn’t changed, but we have!  And we enter Jerusalem with renewed faith and joy.