Emmaus Table

Have you played hidden-in-the-picture puzzles a lot? One was ‘Where’s Wally?’ which was popular for a while. I’ve played a few, but my patience to find them is limited. This oil painting I’ve brought is ‘The Tree of Life’ by Vladimir Kush, a metaphor artist. It has some hidden things; for example, the Eiffel Tower in a spider’s web, people flying in the distance, and, if you look closely, you can see a dragonfly on a motorbike.

Sometimes we even don’t notice what’s clearly in front of us. Joshua Bell, one of the biggest names in classical violinists, went busking in the middle of the morning rush hour in the subway of Washington D.C in 2007. He opened his violin case and played for over 43 minutes; the violinist performed six classical pieces. During his performance, out of 1,097 people that passed by him, 27 gave money and only seven stopped and listened for any length of time. Joshua Bell made $52.17 including a $20 note from someone who recognised him.

After the crucifixion, the two disciples decided to walk away from Jerusalem on the road to Emmaus. On the road, they met Jesus but perceived him as a ‘stranger’, while at the tomb in the early morning, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene as the ‘gardener’. And Peter and John went back to their hometown and resumed their lives as fishermen. They also met Jesus as a ‘stranger’ standing on the shore. What a strange thing. Aren’t they the ones who walked closely with Jesus for three years? But the disciples, the Scriptures say, did not recognise him in that meeting. What is common to the disciples’ experience is that they did not recognise Jesus until the Lord made them know him.

Today we hear two disciples fleeing Jerusalem to Emmaus and talking about their common grief about Jesus’ crucifixion, the strange story of the empty tomb. They are filled with doubt and fear about their future. As they walk, Jesus comes alongside them, and then enters into their conversation and asks them, “What’s this you are discussing so intently as you walk along?” They just stand there, long-faced, like they have lost their best friend. Then one of them, Cleopas, says, “Are you the only one in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard what’s happened during the last few days?” The two disciples begin to tell on the road a story about what has happened, including their discouragement and the dashing of their hopes. Then the stranger rebukes their lack of understanding and explains that the Messiah, the Christ, had to suffer and die; then he interprets the Scriptures in relation to himself. They realise that all their expectations and hopes have been based on a misunderstanding, and their hearts begin to burn within them but still don’t recognise Jesus. How much time has passed? As evening approaches, they press the ‘stranger’ and say, “Stay and have supper with us.”

From here, the story reaches its climax with a meal shared with Jesus and the disciples. This supper is not the last meal before death but the meal the risen Jesus shares with his two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Interestingly, at the table, guest becomes host, and the ‘stranger’ Jesus takes bread, blesses it, breaks it and shares it out. In the time and space provided by this dialogue and invitation, they are surprised by the realisation that they recognize the risen Jesus. Look at the table in this painting. How bountiful and rich! Now the hand of Christ breaks through the canvas and reaches out to touch us.

The resurrection is an event that changes the way we think as followers. This transformation took place when two disciples encountered the risen Jesus on the road to Emmaus. When the disciples welcomed him and shared a meal with him, their eyes and hearts were opened to recognise the risen Jesus. The change this meeting led to now eliminates fear and allows us to witness to new living with new eyes and bodies.

Why didn’t the disciples recognise Jesus on the road to Emmaus? Was it because the resurrected Jesus looked different from the previous earthly Jesus? It could be! Yet, look at the disciples – their lost hopes, courage, frustration, and desperation make their eyes blind. Yet, when they share their doubts and fears, wrestle with the Scripture and break bread, they can recognise Christ. And when they recognise him, these disciples share the news with others. This is the pattern of first century worship. How about twenty first century worship?

We live in the age of Resurrection; we are living in the abundant presence of Christ where all things are filled with the Spirit of Christ, but most of us don’t notice that presence and do not live into God’s culture. Then, how can we learn to recognise the presence of the resurrected Christ who leads us into God’s culture and guarantees abundant life?

For followers of Jesus, then, the worship service has always been and continues to be the primary practice which helps us recognise Christ’s presence and internalise God’s culture; and through our gathering and scattering, gathering and scattering, we take this awareness and this culture into all of life, letting them shape our decisions, practices, conversations, and encounters as we witness to the good of the Jesus-centred life.

So this is it, brothers and sisters, gather with other disciples. Share your lack of faith, your doubts, and your fears. Listen to the Scriptures, and wrestle with them through the lens of Jesus. Have a cuppa, share, eat and drink together. Notice when your heart is set on fire. Go out and tell others about the experience. The gathering together around Word and Table is at the heart of Christian formation and is the foundation of the Christian life. It’s as ordinary and mysterious, as simple and difficult, as that.