On this third Sunday in the season of Easter, we have before us a passage describing an event the occurred on the evening of the first Easter. The story of the events on the road to Emmaus has been the source of much fodder for exploring our relationship to Christ as we come to see Christ in the strangers among us. Through this story, we are shown some of the ways that Christ continues to be made known to his disciples and us even after his death and resurrection.

The two disciples are walking along the road discussing what they have heard, seen, and experienced since the morning was interrupted with the women’s story about finding the tomb empty. These two disciples are trying to wrestle out what may be meant by the tomb being empty. From the description Cleopas gives, it seems as though they truly believe the women’s story to be an "idle tale" as Luke recorded in verse 11. They don’t seem to believe that the women saw angels at the tomb who brought them news of the resurrection. After all, some of the other disciples went to the tomb and though they did find it to be empty, they were not visited by angels with tidings of, "He is risen!" So perhaps there is another explanation. So as these two disciples walk down the road pondering these things they are saddened that the one they had followed; the one they had hoped would be the one to save Israel, is no longer there.

When Jesus, still unrecognized by these two disciples, hears of their disbelief in the women’s "idle tale," he states his frustration at the disciples’ lack of understanding. Jesus very easily could have just walked on and given up on these two disciples. After all, if they had not believed the tidings that angels sent to them through the women, they were pretty thick-headed indeed. But Jesus didn’t just keep walking. Instead, he took the time to start with the beginning of the sacred scriptures and begin to explain them. He went from Genesis to Chronicles (the order was different in the Hebrew Bible) and unfolded it all for them.

I can remember when I was growing up I used to write notes to my friends. We had a complicated way of folding them up so as to make it fun to open them as well as to keep others from reading what we had written to each other. We were always trying to come up with different and more complicated folding patterns. When one of us would discover a new way of folding, we would be very careful in unfolding the note, making careful mental notes of how the folding was done so that we could repeat the process. As we unfolded the note, we knew that there was going to be something good inside. With each crease that we smoothed out, the anticipation and understanding grew until finally the paper was opened and the note became clear.

Hearing about Jesus unfolding the scripture to the disciples and systematically explaining to them why things had to happen in the way that they happened, reminded me of unfolding those notes. Jesus patiently opens one fold of what the scripture had to say about him and the disciples begin to get an idea. With each subsequent unfolding, these disciples understand more and more about why the events of the previous week happened in the way that they did.

I can imagine the expressions of the faces of these two disciples. The growing realization as they heard how God’s had laid all of this out beforehand. The final aha moment when the whole of scripture was laid out in front of them with all of the creases ironed out and they could plainly read the message contained within.

Many scholars have speculated about what specific texts Jesus would have used during his explanations as he walked along the road. What were the texts that he felt truly foreshadowed what had happened that week? Wouldn’t you love to catch a glimpse of Jesus’ lesson plan for that afternoon? But since Luke doesn’t list specific texts that Jesus used and instead says that he unfolded all of the scripture that spoke about Christ, from Moses to the prophets, we can safely assume that much of the scripture was discussed.

With his explanatory task complete, Jesus is now prepared to walk on ahead and leave the two disciples to ponder what they have just learned. But the disciples aren’t ready to say goodbye so soon. "It’s late, stay with us. Share a meal with us." In the sharing of the simple meal of bread, the disciples finally get it. Something about the way that Jesus blesses and breaks the bread reminds them of someone they had followed. They had seen that motion before when bread was broken and a few loaves fed a multitude. They had seen that motion during many meals shared with various types of people. They had heard the disciples discussing that motion when he used it in their last meal together.

Suddenly they realize that the one who unfolded the scripture for them was none other than the resurrected Christ. No sooner than the disciples have the fog lifted from their eyes, than Jesus vanishes from their presence. Of course they should have picked up on that before they tell each other. Didn’t they have indications of that while they were walking down the road getting their Bible lesson? It is in the sharing of table fellowship that it finally clicks that the one who had taught them on the road is the one who they thought was dead. Suddenly the women’s "idle tale" doesn’t seem so unbelievable. Suddenly with the resurrected Lord sitting before them, the disciples realize that their eyes had been closed to all that surrounded them.

Filled with excitement, the two disciples jump up from the table, reverse their course, and head back to Jerusalem. But their pace along the road has changed. No longer are they trudging along mulling over and lamenting the events of that previous week but they are sprinting down the road filled with joy at what they have experienced and looking forward to sharing that experience with others.

It is the sharing of that meal, where the eyes of the disciples are opened that is really striking in this passage. This passage has become one of the major texts when looking for Jesus’ sanctioning of the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. In the Lord’s Supper we remember all of the meals that Jesus shared while he was one earth from the feeding of the multitude to the last meal he shared with his disciples before he was arrested. We also remember all of the meals that the risen Lord shared with his disciples from the road to Emmaus to the fish fry on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Finally, we look forward to the meal that we will all share in the God’s kingdom where there is room for everyone and food to satisfy all our needs.

When Jesus breaks the bread and the disciples have their eyes opened to the one who had walked along the road with them, it all seems to come together. All of those meals shared seem to come together. All of a sudden the stranger along the road is no stranger but the one in whom they had placed all of their hopes. As the smell of bread wafts over the three who have gathered for a shared meal, all of a sudden it is not strangers who are gathered.

Though we do not have the risen Lord still meeting us in the flesh as we go about our daily business, there are still many ways in which Christ is revealed to us. The two disciples as they walked down the road were discussing what they understood and didn’t understand about the Easter story. They talked about the tale that the women had brought about meeting angels at the tomb. They talked about how some of the disciples had gone to the tomb and found that it was empty. What did this mean? This is one way that Christ continues to be revealed to us: through discussion and debate among fellow followers and others walking down the path to discipleship and exploration.

The risen Lord told the disciples about how scripture pointed them toward the events of the previous week. Christ unfolded the meaning of the scripture for the disciples so that they might have a greater understanding of the events that had occurred. So Christ is also revealed in the study of scripture.

When they sat down for their shared meal, Christ blessed the bread and broke it. Christ continues to be revealed to us through prayer and the sharing of the sacraments.

After the disciples realized who they had met along the road and what that meeting meant, they rushed to share that experience with others. By witnessing to others about our own experiences, Christ is revealed to us.

Finally, Christ is revealed in the strangers among us. Christ, throughout his time on earth, reached out to all people. He didn’t care about their status in life or what reputation they might have had. Regardless of what trouble it might have landed him in, Christ reached out to all of God’s children. Likewise, when we can reach out to others, we can begin to see in the faces of strangers the face of Christ. In the hands of strangers we can see the hands of Christ breaking bread together as we join in a shared communion.