And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread

 

 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 to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther.  But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent."  And He went in to stay with them.  Now it came to pass, as he sat at the table with the, 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 bread.

 

- Luke 24:12–35 

 

Yesterday we read that the women returned from observing Christ's tomb, 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.  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 notes that the two of them are Cleopas (identified in verse 18), and according to tradition, Luke himself.  It was a common literary device for a writer not to give his own name (see Mark 14:51, John 21:24).  

 

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.   My study Bible comments that the nature of the resurrected body is so different from its previous state that it is not immediately recognizable (John 20:14; 21:4, 12; see 1 Corinthians 15:35-44).   In addition, the resurrected body is also able to take different forms, which is what occurs here (see Mark 16:12).  That their eyes were restrained suggests that Christ intentionally prevents them from recognizing Him in order to expose their doubting thoughts, and then cure them by means of the Old Testament Scriptures (see verse 27).  

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."   My study Bible tells us that the disciples' hope for redemption was still based in a foolish (verse 25) misunderstanding of the Messiah as a political savior or deliverer.  With Christ's death, this earthly hope had been completely dashed.  

 

 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.  My study Bible comments that it is partial faith to believe either in a Messiah who only suffered, or one that would only reign in His glory.  Complete faith sees the Messiah encompassing both, for all of this was foretold in the Law and the Prophets.  

Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther.  But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent."  And He went in to stay with them.  Now it came to pass, as he sat at the table with the, 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 bread.  My study Bible points out that Christ breaks bread in the same way He did at the Last Supper (Luke 22:19), imaging the Eucharist of the New Testament Church.  It says that all who commune with the Lord in His rise Body in faith have their eyes opened to know Him, for the Lord is known most perfectly in the breaking of bread.  The disciples ask one another, "Did not our heart burn within us . . .?"  My study Bible comments that this is the inescapable effect of hearing the Holy Scriptures taught correctly and with faith (see 2 Timothy 2:15).  This burning is the conviction that the words and promises are true.

This recognition of Christ in the breaking of the bread is something strong and powerful, and also recognizable.  It also teaches us something important about memory in the Christian religious sense.  In our celebrations and feasts and commemorations we do just that -- we remember, we commemorate.  But memory in this special religious sense is not just a mere observation of something that happened in history.  To remember or to recall, as do the disciples here, is to recover the meaning of this event for ourselves yet again.  Moreover, it is to participate in, to have an experience of that original event.  This is an important religious (or spiritual) understanding.  All of the historical practices of the Church, especially those found in particular symbols, or even priestly gestures which serve as symbols, are meant to evoke something.  They are not empty symbols, but are done with faith and in a certain manner in order to recreate meaning and experience, inviting us into the realities of the mysteries of God and the events of the ministry of Jesus Christ, and the subsequent apostles and saints who have lived this holy life.  In our faith, we don't look at historical events of the past as mere textbook examples of something that happened once upon a time.  We are meant to relive and recover those realities -- we enter into a communion and participate in something living and real and present today.  In Christ, and in this kingdom of God brought near to us (Luke 10:9, 11), there is no such thing as time.  That is, everything is sustained in the presence of God, in this place of spiritual meanings that don't pass away with the ticking of the clock or the time of the original events themselves.  This is what it is to be imbued with spiritual reality and presence.  In the holiness of various types of relics, even in the presence of a saint or Christ Himself evoked through prayer with an icon, in our worship services, we enter into the presence of communion.  We worship with uncountable angels at the altar; we are, together with Isaiah and the Evangelist of the Revelation, in the presence of the angels who worship in heaven (Isaiah 6:1-3, Revelation 4:8), even with us as we worship on earth.  We enter into a glorious communion with the great cloud of witnesses spoken of by Paul (Hebrews 12:1), and all of these things give meaning and substance, and spiritual weight, to our present circumstances.  And this is the way that we encounter our Lord.  Just as He taught the disciples on the road to Emmaus, He lives in the Scriptures, in the Law and the Prophets, and in the New Testament as well.  He lives with us in our services, in our prayers, even where two or three are gathered together in His name (Matthew 18:20), and in the breaking of our "daily bread" which is the bread of the eternal day of the Kingdom.  The gesture of Christ in the breaking of bread is an evocation of the Eucharist, and it ever remains so.

 

Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent"

 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 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 to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther.  But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent."  And He went in 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 bread.

- Luke 24:12-35

Yesterday we read that the women who had prepared spices and fragrant oils to anoint Christ's body 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 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 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 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 what had happened.  The apostles don't believe what the women tell them happened at the empty tomb (see yesterday's reading, above), but St. Peter ran to the tomb, and  saw the linen cloths by themselves.  He alone marvels to himself what had happened.  After his experiences of denial (see this reading), we can simply imagine the tumult of his feelings.

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.  The two of them are considered by tradition to be Cleopas (named in the text further on) and St. Luke himself.  Like the unnamed "beloved disciple" in John 13:23, who is considered to be St. John himself, so here it is assumed is the common literary practice of a writer not giving his own name.

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.  My study bible comments that the nature of the resurrected body is so different from its previous state that it isn't immediately recognizable (John 20:14; 21:4, 12; see 1 Corinthians 15:35-44).   My study bible notes that this resurrected body can also take on different forms, which is what occurs here (noted as well in Mark 16:12).  The nature of the resurrection transcends not only physical space and time, but also appearance.  Sometimes Jesus is recognized and other times not.  On the text's telling us that their eyes were restrained, my study bible comments that Christ intentionally prevents them from recognizing Him in order to expose their doubting thoughts, and then illuminate and heal them through the means of the Old Testament Scriptures in His reply to their subsequent discussion.

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."  My study bible comments that the disciples' hope for redemption was as yet embedded in a foolish misunderstanding of the Messiah as a political savior or national deliverer, such as an earthly king in the image of David.  But with Christ's death, this worldly political hope is gone.

"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.   We observe also that these disciples are stupefied as to the subsequent events that have taken place since Christ's crucifixion; they simply do not know what to make of them.  My study bible says here that it is partial faith to believe either in a Messiah who only suffered, or conversely, one who would only reign in His glory.  A complete faith is one that sees the Messiah as embodying and encompassing both -- as all of this has been foretold in the Law and the Prophets. 

Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther.  But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent."  And He went in 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 bread.  My study bible comments that the Lord breads bread in the same manner as He did at the Last Supper (22:19), giving an image of the Eucharist of the New Testament Church.  It notes that all those who commune with Christ in His risen Body in faith have their eyes opened to know Him, as He is known most perfectly in the breaking of bread (as expressed in the final verse of today's reading).  The disciples remark to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us":  My study bible calls this the inescapable effect of hearing the Holy Scriptures taught correctly and with faith (see 2 Timothy 2:15).  It says that this burning is the conviction that the words and promises are true. 

How does Christ appear to us?  Modern times are not such as those right after the Resurrection, and before Christ's Ascension.  But to us faithful who live now Christ "appears" in various ways.  As my study bible says, He is in the Eucharist for the faithful.  In the privacy of our prayer, our Lord's presence may be felt as response, especially, as with the apostles who feel a burning in their heart, in a kind of inner communion in the depth of the heart, the place of the soul.  Sometimes this is felt as a deep and full silence, especially in the words of the Christian mystics and desert hesychasts in the long tradition of the Church.  But, like the apostles who journey toward Emmaus, Christ's presence can come to us any time, when we least expect it, especially in an answer to a prayer, a deep wish for communion, a true longing of our faith.  This is not a spectacular occurrence, something we necessarily need to share with the world (but perhaps with someone close to us spiritually, or a pastor who shepherds us in the faith).  Our lives are meant for this communion.  This is what our faith is, indeed, all about.  Christ is not a deliverer in the material sense, although we may be surprised what results in life from our faith, especially when we seek that communion and guidance through all circumstances.  But let us note once again the "quietness" of this encounter.  They, the two disciples, do not even recognize their risen Lord.  They speak and empty their hearts in a long discussion about what has happened to their Master, what they expected, what they have subsequently heard after His death, all the things that perplex them, trouble them, consume them in their lives which have been so turned upside down through events they can't understand.  In the privacy of their walk along the road to Emmaus, in the quarters they will share with this stranger, they confess.  That is, they empty out their hearts of all the things that are troublesome and worrying and perplexing and confusing.  They can't make head or tail now of their faith and even their Lord.  But He is there in the midst of them, and responds to what is, in fact, to my way of thinking, a model of confession, which can be made to a spiritual elder, a pastor, any true friend in the faith.  And then they are given the word that they need in response.  This "Stranger" at first chastises and corrects them, saying, "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?"  Then He educates and explains, opening up their eyes to what they already know of the Scriptures:  And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.    Finally, they persuade Him:  "Abide with us."  And this is the place of the Lord that we know, the One who tells us, "Abide in Me" (John 15:5-6).  This is the place where we find Him in our midst, in the Church, and especially in the sacrament of the Eucharist, our communion in Him and with Him.  These are realities that live to us, but only through faith, and we must find them in seeking them (11:9-10).  The disciples who have no idea what has really happened to their Lord, and what will transpire to them, simply are images of our own place in our faith.  We need the Lord's presence to illumine us, and to keep walking that road with Him, for He is present to us, but we need to ask and seek and knock.  He asks us to abide in Him, and also to let Him in to abide with us.