ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
April 28, 2022
Immediately after Luke’s telling of the resurrection story, we turn to a couple of folks walking on a road to the town of Emmaus. Experts are not absolutely sure where Emmaus was in the first century, but there are a number of archeological theories. The word Emmaus probably comes from the Hebrew word that means hot springs, but even that information does not provide an indisputable location. Though intrigued by the where, the story is really about a what. What happened on the road to Emmaus? In the story found in Luke 24, these two individuals are making the journey to Emmaus while talking about Jesus. They know of his crucifixion, and even the rumor of an empty tomb, but the two travelers do not have any sense of resurrection. Yet there, along the road, they encounter a stranger who is the resurrected Christ. As scripture tells it, “Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.” The language of “kept from recognizing him” is often interpreted as God somehow interfering with their capacity to see. Not only does that raise some troubling questions about God, but it also provides the two characters in the story an easy out when it comes to their responsibility. What in my past keeps me from recognizing God in the present? What experiences have I had that skew my capacity to discern the movement of God in my daily life? I’d like to put it back on God, and say, “I would have noticed, but God kept me from seeing.” The scripture does not suggest who is responsible, but I would caution anyone from throwing God under the bus. No matter who we are, I think a good starting place is always to ask, “What in me is limiting my ability to see what God is doing in the current moment?” If God is love, I think God is always trying to reveal the divine nature. But anger or guilt, grief or a whole long list of other things might be causing interference between me and God. I can work on those things; meet with a counselor; pray for peace and healing in my heart; ask a good friend’s assistance in removing the obstacle; be present in worship where a good word is spoken.
It is with gratitude, O God, that I acknowledge the abundance of what you share with me and this world in which I live. Amen.
