We had some discussion in lectionary group yesterday about what it was that kept Cleopas and Mary from knowing it was Jesus walking with them to Emmaus. Some said it was God (and the HarperCollins Study Bible thinks that is right). Some thought perhaps it was the devil. Others thought maybe it was their own grief, guilt, shame, fear, etc. Still another suggestion was that they assumed him dead and his body stolen, so even if they recognized him, they wouldn't have been able to believe it was really him.
My answer was, it doesn't matter. What matters is that their eyes were, in due time, opened. For me, God could have been at work in three of our four answers. Be they blind due to grief, disbelief, or some other reason, the Holy Spirit was no doubt at work, and how much more are they blessed by having their eyes opened by the breaking of bread. Even if it was the devil, God was really at work - the power of the devil was defeated on Friday and the sting of death was overcome on Sunday - God is in control.
When a group of clergy get together to study the Bible it can often get nit-picky. We can spend hours on how one word's (mis-) translation has changed Church history one way or the other. But when it comes down to it - when the focus is the continuous revelation of the Word - all that matters is the Good News.
Who kept their eyes from seeing? Honestly, who cares? Who opened their eyes? The Risen Lord! Alleluia!
1 comment:
Steve - thanks once again for your wonderful insights and the lenses through which you see our scriptures. I am re-reading Wright's "Simply Christian" and McLaren's "Generous Orthodoxy" and when I read the readings for Sunday took down the following notes. I thought they might add another lens.
Faith is re-explained, grace is re-experienced, Christian community is realized, and the body of Christ is renewed through the renewed commitment of church members Christ's disciples.
Christian Community Is Realized
The disciples returned immediately to the little Christian community in Jerusalem to share their story and to hear their friends' stories of having seen the risen Christ.
The Body of Christ Is Renewed
The disciples together became the body of Christ in the world, supporting one another over the long haul as they walked in the spirit of Jesus and shared the gospel of grace with those around them. (From info on The Walk to Emmaus.)
In Jesus God’s future breaks into the present – we discover what genuine humanness looks and feels like in practice. JC is calling us to follow him into God’s new world – the world in which the hints, signposts, and echoes of the present world turn into the reality of the next one.
We are called to be part of god’s new creation, called to be agents of that new creation here and now. We are called to model and display that new creation in symphonies and family life, in restorative justice and poetry, in holiness and service to the poor, in politics and painting. (From Simply Christian by N. T. Wright.)
The disciples and apostles after the life, death, and resurrection share a common purpose. They had experienced a living example of life lived in God’s new world in JC. From this example they realized what living in God’s new world looked like and just how much it was worth it. They were not giving up anything that was not replaced in their lives by something more worthwhile. They were so excited by it that they had to share – first with one another and then with the world. Where is that sense in our churches? In our lives? How do we get to that ourselves, as church leaders? And then how do we lead others into such a sense of excitement, urgency, purpose?
Post a Comment