Breaking Bread
Luke
24: 13-35 (NRSV)
Now
on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven
miles
from Jerusalem, and
talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and
discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from
recognizing him. And
he said to them, ‘What are you discussing with each other while you walk
along?’ They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered
him, ‘Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that
have taken place there in these days?’ He asked them, ‘What things?’ They replied, ‘The
things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and
word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be
condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem
Israel.
Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took
place. Moreover,
some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning,
and when they did
not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a
vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb
and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.’ Then he said to them, ‘Oh, how
foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have
declared! Was it
not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then
enter into his glory?’ Then
beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things
about himself in all the scriptures.
As
they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he
were going on. But
they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening
and the day is now nearly over.’ So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with
them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened,
and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, ‘Were
not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road,
while he was opening the scriptures to us?’ That same hour they got up and returned to
Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, ‘The Lord
has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!’ Then they told what had happened on the road,
and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
On May 24, 1738, a young
Anglican priest decided to go to a Bible Study meeting in London. The text of
the day was Paul’s letter to the Romans, with a special look at Martin Luther’s
notes on the Epistle.
This certain Anglican priest
was at the lowest point in his whole ministerial career. He was a
well-respected Oxford professor, and seriously revitalized the faith practices
of Oxford’s undergraduate population. Riding on that steam, he accepted an
offer to visit the Americas for the first time in his life, and to take his
ministry to the colony of Georgia. He got off the boat in Savannah determined
to bring the Good News of Christ to the Native American population. However,
not only did he fail to achieve that incredibly high goal, but he also broke up
with his girlfriend and then faced months of legal issues after she sued him
for taking back his promise to marry her, and for not serving her communion
during one of his worship services.
This priest came back to
England a broken man, deflated in spirit and convinced that he could minister
to no one. And he almost gave up. But, with his one last vestige of faith, he
decided to take a trip to Aldersgate Street to visit a Bible Study that changed
his life, and made his “heart feel strangely warmed.”
This is the story of one
man, on one day, on another continent, nearly 200 years ago. And yet, it’s
fully possible that not one of us would be sitting here today were it not for
what that man experienced after that Bible Study on May 24, 1738—because that
man was John Wesley, and he went on from that Bible Study to plant the seeds of
what grew into the United Methodist Church[i].
Now, I’m not just telling
you this story to remind you all of how meaningful Bible Study meetings can be,
or even as an opportunity to make a shameless plug for the one I moderate on
Tuesday mornings at 9:30am (although if that’s a natural consequence of this
story, so be it).
I’m also reminding you of
this very famous story about the origins of our own church so that I can pose
this hypothetical question—where would we all be today if Wesley didn’t act at
that moment when he felt his heart was “strangely warmed”? Where would we be if
Wesley didn’t act on that newfound spiritual conviction? Where would we be if
Wesley decided that, great as that moment was, he had it right when he returned
from Georgia—what if he really did throw in the towel on his ministry when the
going was rough? What if he hadn’t recognized Christ working through that Bible
Study to bring him back? Or, even—what if he didn’t act when he did? What if he
waited too long? Would our church be here?
The two gentlemen that we
hear about in today’s Gospel story from Luke experienced an Aldersgate moment
of their own when Jesus broke the bread in front of them, and they finally
recognized that he had been in their company all along. You can say that they
finally realized that their hearts had been “strangely warmed” on the road to
Emmaus, when Jesus was talking to them, and teaching them about the Scriptures.
But as soon as they finally got it, Jesus was gone. The moment they finally
understood that they were walking and talking and breaking bread with Jesus
Christ himself—he was gone. They missed their opportunity. They missed their
shot at enjoying his presence. They were too late.
If last week’s Gospel
reading from John was about “Doubting Thomas”, then we can say that this week’s
Gospel reading is about “Doubting Cleopas”, and his friend.
The difference is that we
know who Thomas is. He was one of the Twelve, and he is mentioned at various
points in all four Gospels. But who are these two gentlemen in this week’s
story from Luke?
Luke implies that these two
men are two more disciples, but they clearly aren’t among the Twelve. From the
way that they talk to Jesus, and the way that they describe Good Friday and
Easter morning to Jesus, it sounds like they were as close to Jesus as Mary
Magdalene was.
But
who are they? We really don’t know. One of these men isn’t
named at all, and the one Luke does name, Cleopas, doesn’t show up in any other
story anywhere else in the New Testament. We really don’t know who these two
men were—they were just two people who really loved Jesus. They could be anyone.
They could even be us.
Or, maybe, we could be them.
When are we like these two men, Cleopas and his unnamed friend? What are our
“breaking bread” moments? What helps us recognize Christ among us, or Christ
working through us? What helps us see the divine in our world?
I’ll wager we could answer
that question lots of ways. But, sometimes, we might literally have our own
“breaking bread” moments in the breaking
of the bread. It’s no coincidence in this story that Jesus breaks the bread
at dinner with these two men in the exact same way that he did in the presence
of his twelve disciples at their Last Supper. Jesus knew that this would help
Cleopas and his friend recognize him. In the same way, we might see Jesus
working through our own selves, and our church, in our sacred practice of
communion—that might be true for you when we partake in the Lord’s Supper in
just a few minutes.
Last week, when we read from
John about our friend Thomas, we talked about doubt. We talked about how easy
and natural it is for us to doubt. We talked about how our doubt even protects
us sometimes. The thing is, though, that sometimes when we succumb to doubt, we
miss out on some wonderful opportunities. That’s what happened to Cleopas and
his companion—they doubted what the women told them. They doubted the women’s
testimony that Jesus was really risen from the grave. And because of that, they
didn’t recognize that Jesus was right in their midst until it was too late.
Sometimes we are like these
two men in that way, too. Sometimes we miss the boat. Sometimes we wait too
long, or we don’t recognize the works of Christ among us until it’s too late,
and we miss out on a great opportunity to minister to our community.
It can happen to the best of
us. But if that ever happens to you, if that ever has happened to you, just
know two things:
1) Aldersgate moments don’t
happen every day. John Wesley only had one. And if you have such a strong
moment of revival in your spirit, where you, too feel your heart is “strangely
warmed”, you’ll know it—Wesley couldn’t mistake his. If that happens to you,
that’s your shot. When you feel the Holy Spirit working within you, act on it.
Your Church will support you.
2) Even though the two men
in this morning’s Gospel story had to be kicking themselves for not recognizing
that Jesus was with them sooner—like when he was talking to them about the
Scriptures, and he practically had a blinking neon sign over his head that
said, “I’m Jesus”—those two men still made up for that missed opportunity by
giving witness to their friends and neighbors about what they saw. Two weeks
ago, on Easter Sunday, we talked about the importance of bearing witness to the
Risen Christ. It’s never too late to share your testimony.
And, as we prepare to
partake in the Lord’s Supper together, remember that it’s never too late for us
to revisit the breaking of the bread. That beautiful, sacred symbol is always
available for us to recognize Christ among us once again.
Amen.
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