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THE STORY OF CLEOPAS AND MARY, ON THE ROAD

TO IS A DISARMINGLY SIMPLE

NARRATIVE WITH SOME POWERFUL

TWISTS AND TURNS THAT INVITE US

TO LOOK DEEPER…

ALONG WITH THE PARABLE OF

THE PRODIGAL SON, IT HAS CLAIM TO BE

THE FINEST SCENE THAT ST. LUKE EVER SKETCHED…

AT THE LEVEL OF DRAMA, IT HAS EVERYTHING –

IT HAS SORROW, SUSPENSE, PUZZLEMENT &

GRADUAL UNDERSTANDING… AND IN THE SECOND

HALF OF THE NARRATIVE IT HAS

UNEXPECTED ACTIONS, ASTONISHED

RECOGNITION AND A FLURRY OF EXCITEMENT

AND ACTIVITY…

IT IS BOTH A WONDERFUL, UNIQUE,

SPELLBINDING TALE, AND ALSO A MODEL ABOUT

WHAT BEING A CHRISTIAN IS ALL ABOUT…

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IN MY MIND, IT TOOK A MOUNTAIN OF COURAGE

FOR CLEOPAS TO ADMIT TO A TOTAL STRANGER

SHORTLY AFTER THE CRUCIFIXION, THAT HE AND HIS

WIFE WERE PART OF ’ FOLLOWING…

BUT WHAT WAS EVEN MORE POIGNANT

IS WHAT CLEOPAS HAD TO SAY ABOUT JESUS –

HE SAID THAT HE WAS A PROPHET, BUT MORE THAN

A PROPHET…

GOD’S POWER HAD BEEN PRESENT WITH

HIM IN HIS MIRACLES AND TEACHING –

AND HE WAS THE ONE, CLEOPAS BELIEVED, WHO

WOULD REDEEM ISRAEL FROM THE ROMANS JUST AS GOD IN

MOSES REDEEMED ISRAEL FROM SLAVERY IN EGYPT…

THE FAITHFUL HOPED THAT THEIR NATION WOULD

BE LIBERATED ONCE AND FOR ALL FROM PAGAN

DOMINATION SO THAT THEY COULD SERVE GOD

IN PEACE AND HOLINESS…

THAT IS WHY THE CRUCIFIXION WAS SO

DEVASTATING – JESUS, THE REDEEMER, 3

GOD’S MESSIAH, WAS SUPPOSED TO FREE

ISRAEL FROM ROME, NOT BE DEFEATED BY

IT AND DIE AT IT’S HANDS…

THE PROBLEM HERE WAS THAT

CLEOPAS AND MARY AND THOSE

LIKE THEM HAD BEEN READING THE

THROUGH THE WRONG END OF THE TELESCOPE…

THEY HAD SEEN IT AS THE LONG

STORY OF HOW GOD WOULD REDEEM ISRAEL

FROM SUFFERING, BUT THE JESUS STORY

WAS, INSTEAD, THE TALE OF HOW GOD WOULD

REDEEM ISRAEL THROUGH SUFFERING – THE

SUFFERING OF THE FATHER HIMSELF IN HIS

REPRESENTATIVE, THE MESSIAH…

WHEN LUKE SAID THAT JESUS INTERPRETED

FOR CLEOPAS AND MARY ALL THE THINGS

ABOUT HIMSELF IN THE BIBLE, HE MEANT

THAT THE WHOLE STORY FROM GENESIS ONWARD

POINTED FORWARDS TO A FULFILLMENT THAT COULD 4

ONLY BE FOUND WHEN GOD’S ANOINTED TOOK

ISRAEL’S SUFFERING AND THE WORLD’S SUFFERING

ON TO HIMSELF, DIED UNDER ITS WEIGHT, AND

ROSE AGAIN AS THE BEGINNING OF GOD’S NEW

CREATION – GOD’S NEW PEOPLE….

THIS UNDERSTANDING WAS DRAMATICALLY

DIFFERENT FROM THE TRADITIONAL JEWISH

FIRST CENTURY VIEW ABOUT

THE RESURRECTION …

THEY DID NOT EXPECT THAT NEW LIFE

WOULD COME ABOUT FROM APPARENT

DEFEAT AND DEATH – THEY DIDN’T RECOGNIZE

THE EVENTS OF THE PASSION OF JESUS AS THE

STORY OF GOD’S REDEMPTION…

THEY, LIKE MANY OF US, EXPECTED

GOD TO SHOW HIMSELF BY USING THE

POWERS OF DEATH TO LEVEL THOSE WHO

USED IT AGAINST THEM…BUT THE JESUS

OF SCRIPTURE WAS ON ANOTHER PATH – 5

A PATH THAT IS FOUND IN SCRIPTURE, YES,

BUT A PATH THAT REQUIRES A CERTAIN WISDOM

TO INTERPRET IT WITH UNDERSTANDING – IT IS

THEN THAT OUR HEARTS WILL BURN WITHIN US…

BUT THIS STORY IS FAR FROM OVER,

FOR AS THE THREE DREW NEAR TO

THE VILLAGE OF EMMAUS, JESUS WAS

INVITED TO JOIN HIS COMPANIONS AND SIT WITH THEM AT TABLE

AND BREAK BREAD…

WHAT ST. LUKE WANTS US TO SEE HERE

IS THE PARALLELS BETWEEN THIS MEAL

AND THE VERY FIRST MEAL OF THE BIBLE…

IN THAT FIRST MEAL, THE WOMAN (EVE) TOOK

SOME OF THE FORBIDDEN FRUIT, AND ATE IT,

THEN SHE GAVE IT TO HER HUSBAND ADAM, AND HE

ATE IT, AND THEN THE EYES OF THEM WERE OPENED Gen 3:6-7

THIS TALE WAS THE BEGINNING OF WOES, FOR IN THIS

MOMENT OF REBELLION, THE WHOLE CREATION

WAS SUBJECTED TO DECAY, FUTILITY, AND SORROW… 6

NOW, ST LUKE, ECHOING THIS STORY,

DESCRIBES THE FIRST MEAL OF THE NEW

CREATION – “HE TOOK THE BREAD, BLESSED

IT, BROKE IT, AND GAVE IT TO THEM; THEN

THE EYES OF THEM BOTH WERE OPENED AND

THEY RECOGNIZED HIM.”

IN THIS MEAL, THE LONG CURSE

THAT CAME FROM ADAM AND EVE’S

EATING FROM THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE

OF GOOD AND EVIL – WAS BROKEN – FOR IN

JESUS’ DEATH, DEATH ITSELF HAD BEEN

DEFEATED –

GOD’S NEW CREATION, BRIMMING WITH

LIFE AND JOY AND NEW POSSIBILITY, HAD

BURST IN UPON THE WORLD OF DECAY AND SORROW…

JESUS, HIMSELF, RISEN FROM THE DEAD,

WAS THE BEGINNING AND SIGN OF THIS NEW

WORLD – UNLIKE JAIRUS’ DAUGHTER AND LAZARUS 7

WHO WERE RAISED FROM THE DEAD BY JESUS -

BUT WOULD FACE IT AGAIN, JESUS

WENT THROUGH DEATH AND CAME

OUT THE OTHER SIDE INTO A NEW

WORLD – A WORLD OF NEW AND DEATHLESS

CREATION – STILL PHYSICAL, BUT CHANGED…

IT IS THIS WORLD THAT WE ALL

ARE INVITED TO, AND CAN EVEN NOW

GET GLIMPSES OF, WHEN WE LISTEN TO THE

WITNESS OF THE SCRIPTURES ABOUT JESUS,

PARTICIPATE IN THE SACRED MEAL, AND STEP

OUT OF OUR COMFORT ZONES AND –

BECOME GOD’S AGENTS OF HEALING AND

RECONCILIATION IN OUR WORLD…

AMAZINGLY ENOUGH, ST LUKE’S ARTISTRY DOES NOT END

AT THIS POINT, FOR HE TOLD THIS

STORY AS PART OF HIS FRAMEWORK

FOR THE ENTIRE …

IN LUKE 2:41-52, WE READ HOW MARY 8

AND JOSEPH WENT A DAYS JOURNEY

AWAY FROM , AND THEN,

REALIZING JESUS WASN’T WITH THEM,

LOOKED FOR HIM FOR 3 DAYS BEFORE

DISCOVERING HIM IN THE TEMPLE WITH THE

LEARNED TEACHERS…

‘DIDN’T YOU KNOW,’ HE SAID TO

THE FRANTIC MARY, ‘THAT I WOULD

HAVE TO BE GETTING INVOLVED WITH

MY FATHER’S WORK?”

NOW HERE, ON THE ROAD TO EMMAUS,

WE HAVE A DIFFERENT COUPLE, LIKEWISE

AT THE END OF THREE DAYS’ OF AGONY

AND MENTAL AND SPIRITUAL SEARCHING…

‘DIDN’T YOU KNOW,’ SAYS JESUS TO THEM,

IN EFFECT, ‘THAT I WOULD HAVE TO BE DOING

MY FATHER’S WORK?”

THE WHOLE GOSPEL IS FRAMED BETWEEN 9

THESE TWO VERY HUMAN SCENES…

IN THEM, ST LUKE HAS INVITED US TO

ACCOMPANY HIM ON A JOURNEY OF FAITH –

FAITH THAT WILL TAKE US THROUGH ANXIETY

AND SORROW TO MEET JESUS WHO HAS

ACCOMPLISHED GOD’S WORK, AND LONGS

TO SHARE THE SECRET OF IT – AND THE

GIFT OF HIS PRESENCE –

WHAT LUKE HAS DESCRIBED FOR

US IS THE NEW EXODUS THAT JESUS

ACCOMPLISHED AT JERUSALEM – THE

EXODUS FROM THE OLD WORLD RULED BY

THE THREAT OF DEATH TO THE NEW WORLD

RULED BY THE GOD OF MERCY AND RECONCILIATION…

IT IS THIS VICTORY THAT WE CELEBRATE

ON EASTER AND ON EVERY SUNDAY MORNING….

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IT IS THIS VICTORY THAT LAYS THE

GROUNDWORK FOR ALL OF US, WHO

LIKE CLEOPAS AND MARY, FIND OURSELVES

ON THE ROAD TO EMMAUS, HEARING

JESUS’ VOICE IN SCRIPTURE, KNOWING HIM

IN THE BREAKING OF BREAD AND CELEBRATING

WITH HIM AS WE BECOME PART OF GOD’S NEW WORLD…