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April 29, 2017Today, two disciples have turned their back on Jerusalem and are walking away from the whole sorry mess. They began to talk with a stranger they encountered about their disappointment. They thought Jesus of Nazareth was ‘the One’ who would liberate them from the Romans and make Israel great again. Is that wrong to hope for? Is it wrong to hope that God will save us from the Romans, North Koreans or Islamic Terrorism? Their disappointment is evident. He failed. He was crucified and his body buried.
In Luke’s gospel everything is directed towards Jerusalem. The whole Gospel is written around Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem where he is crucified. These two disciples are walking away from Jerusalem. They are going the wrong way. Why don’t they recognize Jesus? Because they are walking the wrong way. If you walk the wrong way, you will not understand. We see what is in front of us, but we don’t get it. These disciples had all the data, but no understanding. The stranger provided understanding.
Listen to their complaints. They thought that the Messiah would be something different. He would be a success. But Jesus failed! Now some women say they have seen him, raised from the dead. Woman are not reliable witnesses. They can’t even testify in a trial. What a flimsy basis for faith. Jesus was supposed to redeem Israel from bondage. But the Romans are still in control and now these two have left the whole mess. The stranger told them that they have it backwards.
We are so accustomed as Christians to thinking of Jesus as releasing us from the bondage of sin, that we forget how much some of his followers were disappointed in him. The Messiah was supposed to defeat Israel’s enemies, cleanse the temple, gather in the lost tribes and establish God’s kingdom. The stranger admonished them.
The stranger began to explain Moses and the prophets to the two disciples. The Law, given by Moses, orders life. The prophets are the great ethical teachers of Israel. How can there be hope for a different world without right order and right action? Both Moses and the prophets point to the holiness of God. The Resurrection of Jesus is the holiness of God intervening in the world. Jesus walked with the two men and broke bread with them and they recognized that they were walking with the Risen Master when they listened to the scriptures and broke bread with God."Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" Luke 24.
What is the right way to walk? Follow Jesus to Jerusalem and then out into the whole world. In this story, Jesus taught the two disciples about the meaning of the scriptures. The right way to read the saving action of God is through Jesus and his Resurrection. The Resurrection is the lens thorugh which we see the world. Secondly, Jesus broke and blessed bread. At Mass we begin by reading the Word, both the Hebrew and the Greek scriptures. We then break bread. When we reflect on God’s saving action and sit at his table, we are walking the right way. Mass anchors us into a vision of the world centered on the Risen Lord.
Just because we feel safe and in control doesn’t mean we are walking the right way. Just because we are afraid and feel life is out of our control, doesn’t mean we are walking the wrong way. Luke reminds us that real order in life comes when we walk the right way with God. We live the Christian life. We gather around the Lord’s table, reflect on the Word of God and break bread with the Risen Christ.
