Two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus

But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.

Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem.  And they talked together of all these things, which had happened.  So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.  But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.  And He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?"  Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, "Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?"  And He said to them, "What things?"  So they said to Him, "The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him.  But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.  Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.  Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us.  When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive.  And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see."  Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!  Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?"  And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

Then they drew near the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone further.  But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent."  And He went into to stay with them.  Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.  Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.  And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"  So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, "The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!"  And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

- Luke 24:12-35

It is the culmination of Holy Week in Jerusalem, and its aftermath.  Jesus has been crucified and died.  In Monday's reading, we read of Jesus' death on the Cross, the declaration of the centurion, courageous act of Joseph of Arimathea, and the women followers from Galilee who brought spices and fragrant oils to the tomb.   In yesterday's reading, we read again that the women returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils.  And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.  Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.  But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.  Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.  Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen!  Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.'"  And they remembered His words  Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.  It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.  And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them.

 But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.  In all the Gospels, Peter's exuberant character on display is consistent.  Here, he is the one who races to the tomb at the news of the women, while the rest scoff.  Perhaps his character also reveals his great need for Christ.

Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem.  And they talked together of all these things, which had happened.  My study bible introduces us to today's passage in Luke:  "This is a delightful account of a resurrection appearance of Christ to two perplexed followers:  (1) Cleopas (v. 18, below), whom tradition identifies as the brother of Joseph, Mary's husband, and thus Jesus' uncle; and (2) the unnamed follower who, according to tradition, is the evangelist Luke himself."

So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.  But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.  And He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?"   A note reads:  "The risen Christ appears to them in a veiled way.  He shows tender concern for the feelings of the two men."

Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, "Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?"   My study bible says, "These disciples are incredulous that anyone could have been in Jerusalem for the Passover and not be aware of the tragic events of the Passion."

And He said to them, "What things?"  So they said to Him, "The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him.  But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel."  My study bible points out that "these two followers think of Jesus as a great Prophet who is to redeem Israel, probably in the nationalistic sense."  Their perspective reflects the perspective of those who hailed Him in His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.  My study bible also points that "they recognize that the responsibility for the death of Christ lies on the leaders, the chief priests and rulers."

"Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.  Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us.  When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive.  And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see."  Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!  Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?"  And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.  A note here tells us, "The risen Lord censures them for their weak faith, explaining the prophecies of the Old Testament which were fulfilled through His Passion and Resurrection.  To enter into His glory means to enter into the glorified order of existence, the Resurrection."

Then they drew near the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone further.  But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent."  And He went into to stay with them.  Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.  Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.  And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"   A note reads:  "The Lord broke bread with them in the same manner as during the Last Supper.  Christ's actions and the experience of the meal by the two men image the Eucharist.  At each Eucharist, as we continue to share the Lord's Supper, the risen Christ comes to open our eyes to His mystical presence and to leave our hearts burning with His love."  We recall Jesus words at the Last Supper, "Do this in remembrance of Me."  Remembrance of Christ constitutes all the ways in which we can come to understand and know God in the journey of faith.  In this form of "remembrance" our eyes are opened in growing and deepening relationship, even as He "opened the Scriptures" to these disciples.

So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, "The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!"  And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of the bread.  A note tells us that "a resurrection appearance to Simon, the Apostle Peter, without any detailed description, is also reported by St. Paul" in 1 Cor. 15:3-5.

The breaking of the bread is an image that comes up repeatedly in this vivid story about a first appearance to two disciples on the road to Emmaus.  There are so many elements of the story that teach us about faith.  We can't get away from the bread and the breaking of the bread.  In all four Gospels, the feeding miracle of five thousand men (and more women and children) is told for us.  We mentioned already the Last Supper and the institution of the Eucharist, in which Jesus has told them (and us), "Do this in remembrance of Me."  Jesus Himself takes the bread in this picture in today's reading, blesses and breaks and distributes it, mirroring the images in both the Last Supper and the image of the bread in the wilderness that fed five thousand men.  The dual action of the men's "eyes being opened" to the things of God, to the Scriptures and the word of Christ, is evidence of what it means to be fed.  To have our eyes opened is to be fed with the Word of God:  in all ways Christ Himself we know as the Word.  When Christ teaches us, "Do this in remembrance of Me" and "this is My Body which is given for you" we understand that the depth of relationship to Him in all ways feeds our bodies, souls and spirits.  But today's story gives us a new way to understand Christ and our relationship to Him, and that is that we are all on a journey.  The earliest writings of the apostles, a kind of "teaching manual" called the Didache (which we mentioned in yesterday's commentary) teaches us about "two ways" -- the way of life and the way of death.  The way of life is Christ's Way.  When Jesus says "I am the way, the truth and the life" (John 14:6) He's not using the word "way" as it is used in English to mean "method."  This word in the Greek (όδος/odos) means "road."  So this "way" is this road, this path, this route -- but more importantly in today's story the truth is that we are all on a road.  We are on a road, a way, of faith.  As we go along in remembrance of Him, our eyes are opened to things we didn't understand before, just like the disciples' eyes here are opened to the Scriptures by Christ.  We're not expected to have it all in one go, in one place, but faith is a constant movement toward something, and more deeply into something.  Our relationship to God grows and deepens and extends throughout the whole of our lives, with more to learn on that road, another step forward, another avenue into perplexity beyond our expectations, and sometimes into things that completely destroy our sense of what is and what is expected so that our eyes may be opened to what is greater and better, and maybe a mystery beyond what we can understand.  Sometimes our eyes are opened to things that make no sense from the worldly perspective, but it is the Way of Christ.  Let us put ourselves in the places of these two disciples:  does it make better sense that somehow Jesus was not the political messiah of Israel, not a redeemer in the sense in which they expected Him to be?  Does it make sense that He was crucified and delivered up by the leaders, and betrayed by one of His own?  All these things we still fathom 2,000 years later.  But one other thing is also certain:  the experience of the life of the risen Christ is something that is palpable for each one of us, and the experience of love in relationship and in the kind of active remembrance that always opens our eyes to the here and now of what we need covers and deepens everything.  The Way is an ongoing experience.  It is an experience of love and presence, an active dialogue in which we participate, and grace that never stops giving as we partake and share.  We don't have all the answers.  But we are on a Way.  Today's story tells us about all of us.  It's the love and presence in this kind of remembrance that makes our lives whole, and given new meaning and illumination.  That is the way of life, and it is a daily journey.