Sunday 08 May 2011
- Bible Book:
- Luke
"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 in these days?'" (vv. 17-18)
Background
Everyone faces grief in different ways. Some need to be in thecompany of people and stay indoors. Others, such as Cleopas and hisunnamed companion needed to get out and do something. It appearsthat Friday's crucifixion had all but crushed their spirits as theywalked to Emmaus. On the journey they met an enigmatic stranger whoasked a series of significant questions. Their response was totreat him with a degree of scorn and surprise (verse 18) and toemphasise the point, Luke the Gospel writer says, "they stoodstill". They were literally stopped in their tracks by thisstranger.
In response he asked a two word question: "What things?" (verse19). This elicited a statement of their beliefs, aspirations,crushing loss and the rumour of an empty tomb. Now it is the turnof the stranger to describe them as "foolish" and "slow" (verse25). The tables are reversed. He offered a shift in theirunderstanding of the Jewish Messiah. Contemporary hopes anticipateda Messiah in the mould of King David who would lead them tomilitary and political independence. Through a reinterpretation ofScripture the two disciples had to redefine their theology.
The crucial point of the story turns on their insistence that heshould stay the night. Is Luke saying that faith came from theindividuals' articulated desire? What is clear is that theirinsistence was crucial. Then words gave way to action. Jesus waseventually recognized in the four-fold action of 'taking, giving,breaking and sharing'.
Cleopas and his companion experienced three topsy-turvymoments:
- their understanding of messiahship
- their return to Jerusalem
- their emotions changed from despair to joy.
It would seem that on that first Easter Day encounteringJesus turned everything around.
To Ponder
Jesus used questions to engage the two disciples.Are you engaged by questions?
What is there in your life that God needs to turntopsy-turvy?
How do you react to grief and how does thatdiffer from your friends or family?