Third Sunday of Easter
April 6, 2008
The Rev. Kristin Krantz
Acts 2:14a, 36-41

1 Peter 1:17-23

Luke 24:13-35

Alleluia!  The Lord is Risen!

The Lord is Risen indeed!  Alleluia!

It’s the third Sunday of Easter and yet we’re still telling gospel stories from ….now on that same day….that very first Easter day. 

I think this is because the things that happened on that very first Easter day were so powerful that we must cling to them every year for as long as possible.  We must read them together and discern together what they mean for our lives today.

The Road to Emmaus story we heard today has always been one of my favorites.  It’s that idea of going about your normal, everyday existence and only figuring out later that you’ve been in the company of God—it was cool when I was a kid at church camp and it’s even cooler now.  Because over the years I’ve read this story with enough different people, in enough different communities, that its power has grown, well, to the size of Easter!

What do I mean by that?  I mean that it is so full of both mystery and practicality that it is full of the power of Easter, the power of the resurrected Christ.

The resurrection, will, I think, always in the end be a mystery to me.  There is power in that.

The resurrection, will, I think, always in the end be a practical matter of living faithfully in community.  There is power in that.

The texture of the Road to Emmaus story is richly woven with both the mystery and the practicality.

Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus…while they were talking Jesus himself came near and went with them but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.

Here is mystery.  At first we don’t know who the two were, only that they were part of the larger group of people following Jesus and that after the terrible events of the last days they were leaving Jerusalem. 

And Jesus said to them, ‘What are you discussing?’  And one of them answered, ‘the things about Jesus of Narareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and the people and how he was condemned to death and crucified.  But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.’

Here is practicality.  These two travelers are weary with grief and with dashed hopes.  Their world has been turned upside down and yet they must put one step in front of the other and continue their journey.

And one of them continued, ‘moreover, some of the women of our group astounded us.  They were at the tomb this morning and when they did not find his body there they came and told us they had seen a vision of angels who said he was alive.

Here is the ultimate mystery.  The beginning of the many tales recounting the appearance of angels and even more astonishing, Jesus, risen from the dead. 

Jesus responded and, beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.

Here is both practicality and mystery.  Jesus gave them the gift of scripture and taught them that he lives on in it.  Though he has died, all they ever need do is read the sacred stories together and he will be among them.  This is resurrection.

As they came near the village they were going they urged him to stay with them.  When he was at table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.

What begins as practicality turns into the most beautiful mystery.  Evening was near and so the two invited the stranger they met on the road to stay with them and they shared a meal with him.  And then it is more than just a meal—it was the Lord’s Supper.  Jesus gave them the gift of the Eucharist and taught them that he lives on in it.  Though he has died, all they will ever need to do is gather together for a meal and take the bread and wine as he had showed them and he will be among them.  This is resurrection.

They their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight.  That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem, telling the eleven and the others gathered together what had happened at how Jesus had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

What begins as mystery turns into the most beautiful practicality.  At the moment they realized who the stranger was he simply vanished!  And so they did the one thing that made sense—they ran back to their community to tell them all that had happened and that he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.  Though he has died, all they will ever need to do is gather together for a meal and take the bread and wine as he had showed them and he will be among them.  This is resurrection.

Mystery and practicality.  The mystery is God.  The practicality is the community.  I believe that the community is essential to living the mystery.  Every resurrection story we have heard about Jesus has ended in community. 

What did Mary Magdalene do when she encountered Jesus outside the tomb?  She ran to the community.

When Thomas was missing from the community and missed the appearance of Jesus you can bet he stayed close to the group, doubts and all, to make sure he was a part of any further mystery.

What did the two travelers to Emmaus do after their meal with Jesus?  They ran seven miles at night to get back to their community to tell their story, hearing in turn that Simon too had met the risen Jesus.

They each carried a piece of the resurrection and needed the gathered community to make sense of it, to share in its joy and to make it simply real.

We too each carry a piece of the resurrection.  We have our own stories of recognizing we’ve been in the presence of angels or God, only to have them vanish from before our eyes.  We too are drawn together in community to share in the mystery and to live the practicality.  We too experience the presence of Christ because we read the holy scriptures together and we share in the bread and the wine.

This is Resurrection.

This is the power of Easter.