Sutton Montis, West Camel, Easter 3, 4 May 2014
What was the longest journey you have ever made?
(For me it was a 20-plus hour flight to Japan last May for my stepson’s wedding in Tokyo).
What was the most frequent journey you have ever made?
(Probably the 15-minute train journey from Waterloo to Liverpool for many years as a commuter, and evenings and weekends too).
What was the most important journey you have ever made?
(Maybe the drive to the church in a vintage Rolls Royce, with my Best Man to my wedding; or perhaps the bus ride to the Bishop of Liverpool’s house to receive his blessing for me to begin training for the ministry).
We are all travellers … our life mapped out in significant journeys, regular journeys, always on the move... We are all travellers: and God travels with us.
You can see that in the stories of people in scripture:
- Moses leading his people through the wilderness, across the Red Sea;
- Jesus as a young child escaping Herod’s genocide by journeying to Egypt; and all his travels on foot and by boat spreading the good news of the Kingdom of God to the people of Galilee;
- The missionary journeys of Paul, including his shipwreck at Malta.
In John 14 when Thomas asked Jesus, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’ And in the early days of the church, Christians were also known as people of "The Way".
Through the subsequent centuries Christians have travelled to share and spread their faith:
- The Celtic missionaries to these islands (eg St Aidan at Lindisfarne);
- John Wesley travelling the country on horseback to preach and establish new congregations.
Some Christians today embrace the idea of Pilgrimage, and travel to special places, holy places, seeking a blessing, spiritual refreshment, an encounter with God (for me its Iona...).
We talk about life as a journey; about coasting along, reaching a crossroads, having a bumpy ride, and so on.
And for many of us the thought of Jesus, our companion, travelling with us on life’s journey, is a joy, an inspiration, a comfort. And the story of the two companions travelling the road to Emmaus is a help and inspiration too.
It reminds us first of all that sometimes on our journey through life we are unaware that Jesus is with us. The gospel story says, ‘Jesus himself came and walked along with them but they were kept from recognising him.’ And we know that there are times in our lives when we find it hard to know God or see God at work.
‘They stood still, their faces downcast.’ - in our life’s journey we sometimes have to deal with a troubled heart - our own or someone else’s. It’s only in retrospect, looking back maybe years later that we recognise that Jesus was there with us all the time, the Suffering Servant serving our needs on that rocky road.
On the road to Emmaus Jesus, ‘beginning with Moses and the prophets ... explained to them what was said in all the scriptures concerning himself.’
- the Emmaus Road story reminds us that if we choose to journey with Jesus then our hearts and minds will be opened to the gospel, to the glorious fullness of what it means for you to have Jesus in your life - knowing you are loved, feeling you are supported, sensing you are guided on your way. And that your way no longer has to be the tired old way of the broken world, for walking with Jesus you walk in the new life-giving possibilities of the Kingdom of God.
On the road to Emmaus the companions at Emmaus said, ‘Stay with us for it is nearly evening. The day is almost over. ‘ Even though he was a stranger to them, they welcomed Jesus into their home. If we live in the Way then our hearts, too, will be open and generous and able to encounter with others who may change our life or perspectives.
And as we know, ‘When he was at the table with them he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened.’
When we’re journeying with Jesus we seek his presence by coming often back to The Lord’s Table. The eucharist is at the heart of our worship because it is Jesus who invites us to take part in that act of remembering all that he has done for us and for the world, to experience the eye-opening moment when you and the world are restored to each other by his grace, to feel your heart being warmed not by the wine particularly, but by what it symbolises for us.
If the Passover meal was The Last Supper, then the Emmaus meal was The First Supper, the first time after his resurrection that friends of his broke bread again, and knew that it was Jesus with them on that day’s journey, knew that Jesus would be with them now and always.
Journeying with Jesus we can rejoice in his presence with us now and for eternity.
We are all travellers … and God travels with us.
Note
[1] The structure of this talk owes a good deal to Mike Rose, Emmaus Liturgy from Grace Pocket Liturgies, with which I concluded the talk. Download it from Proost,
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