Third Sunday of Easter

Alleluia, Christ is risen – He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Grace be to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

I love the story of the Emmaus disciples who are joined by Jesus and eventually recognize him in the breaking of the bread. As I was beginning my sermon preparation work on Monday, my husband Eric sent me a commentary on this gospel text that he found interesting. The scholar who wrote the commentary asked a question I had never pondered before: Where had Jesus been going that day? Where had he planned to go? He was on the road for some reason, and when they all got to Emmaus Jesus was about to keep going, so he must have had some destination in mind. Did he ever reach it?

If he did, it wasn’t in as direct a journey as he might have planned, because he encounters these two distraught disciples and decides to put his plans on hold and instead minister to these two. The disciples are grieving the death of Jesus on the cross. They are talking to each other about all that had happened during Holy Week, trying to make sense of it all.

This is what Jesus does for his two followers in distress.

First, he joins them. He spends time with them. He accompanies them on their sad and painful walk. Whatever plans he had, he puts them on hold and devotes his time to his two friends.

Second, he asks them what they are talking about, what is going on with them. And he listens attentively to their story. That is one of the kindest things we can do for people in pain: ask them for their story and give it our full attention.

Third, Jesus shares his faith with them. He explains the scriptures, we read. In a way, he is doing a Bible study with them. Through the scriptures, he helps the disciples to trust that God is in their story somehow, that God’s covenant with them still holds, and that the Bible can help them make sense and find hope even in the midst of their grief.

Fourth, he eats with them. Food is so important. There is a reason why people always bring casseroles and cookies to the house where a death took place. Those in the shock of grief easily forget to eat, just when they need the nourishment of food so urgently. We have an in-reach ministry that brings meals to those in mourning or recovering from surgery, to strengthen our siblings in Christ in body and soul.

Fifth, Jesus breaks bread with them. He shares what we now call Holy Communion. It is a meal in which we celebrate the real presence of Christ in our midst; exactly the same happens for those two disciples. In the thanksgiving and the breaking of the bread, in the ritual they have seen Jesus perform countless times before, they suddenly recognize who their travel companion truly is. Their eyes are opened and they discover that Jesus is with them, that Jesus is alive, that Jesus cares, that Jesus has walked their journey with them all along, and that Jesus will be with them no matter what comes next.

As soon as they realize all this, Jesus vanishes. And yet, having been ministered to by Jesus so lovingly, having been assured of God’s steadfast love, having experienced the presence of the living Christ, their faith and joy continue even when they can no longer actually see Jesus. They have grasped the Easter faith. So full of joy are they that they can’t wait to share this joy with the other disciples. In spite of the late hour, and in a time when there were no streetlights to make nighttime travel safe, they hurry back to Jerusalem to tell Jesus’ other followers the amazing news that Jesus lives.

The message of the church, especially during the seven weeklong Easter season, is that Jesus is alive. During this season, we read stories about Jesus showing up and ministering to his disciples after the resurrection.

During this season, we also affirm our belief that Jesus hasn’t stopped showing us and ministering to us. He just doesn’t do it in visible little visits any more like he did right after Easter. Today, he has other ways of making his presence known.

I had an experience this week that affirmed this faith.

At Zion Church in Baltimore, the other church we serve, is a parsonage Pastor Eric and I don’t use. It is rented to a clergy couple, Shawn and Mo, who both serve congregations in Baltimore. They are my colleagues and my friends. I am especially close to Shawn whom I have known longer and who serves with me on the synod’s worship leadership team.

On my way to work on Tuesday morning, I received a devastating text from Mo: Shawn had died of a massive heart attack. I was shocked. There had been no warning signs at all. Shawn had come home from a council meeting, happy about a new mission project his church was about to engage in. He had joked with his husband in the living room. Then he went to get ready for bed. Mo heard a thump and the dog barked and by the time he entered the bedroom, Shawn was already in spasms. He died in Mo’s arms.

Over the following hours, I got to witness Jesus at work, doing for Mo exactly what he had done for the Emmaus disciples.

First, accompaniment. When the bishop heard of Shawn’s death in the middle of the night, he found a pastor to come and be with Mo. Pastor Laura was with him for a long time, was there when the body was removed, was there to just be a loving presence. Then Zion’s secretary arrived and took over from Laura. She put aside whatever her work plans had been that morning and focused on Mo. Then I arrived from here and took over from her. Two hours later, two other friends arrived and relieved me. In the afternoon, Pastor Eric was there. Mo was accompanied by loving caring people. Jesus made sure he was not alone in this time of shock and devastation.

Second: storytelling. We asked Mo what had happened and let him tell the story, again and again, because in re-telling there is healing. We talked about how they had met. We talked about happy memories of their time together. Mo talked and we listened with full attention to convey how much we cared.

Third: faith sharing. We prayed with and for Mo. We read scripture. We affirmed our trust that God was in this terrible situation somehow and would not abandon Mo.

Fourth: food. The friends brough donuts. The secretary ordered lunch. We made sure Mo had a stocked fridge.

Fifth: breaking bread. At his dining table, we celebrated holy communion. In bread and wine, we were assured of the presence of our living savior.

It will be long time before Mo will be filled with joyful Easter faith again; there is too much pain right now. And still, we prayed the 23rd psalm, affirming our faith that God walks with us through the darkest valley and will lead us again to green pastures. I could see all those signs of the living Christ ministering to Mo in his grief. Right now, he might not yet see them. Just like the Emmaus disciples took a while to recognize that Jesus was with them. But I am certain that eventually his eyes will be opened and he will see how Jesus was there for him.

During the Easter season, we celebrate that Jesus is alive. We point to the ways in which Jesus shows his compassion in the here and now. And we embrace the calling to be signs of Jesus’ love to one another. By ministering in the name of Jesus and following the example of Jesus, we bring Jesus’ presence into the lives of those who urgently need good news.

Accompanying, listening, praying, feeding: These things sound so simple, but when they are offered in the name of Christ, they are life-giving.

Today we hear about the plight of our Christian brothers and sisters in the Holy Land. There is little we can do to change their situation. But we can do something: we can listen to their story, pray for them, let them know we care, feed them through purchasing their crafts or through supporting the work of Lutheran World Relief. By doing such things, we accompany them on their journey and give them signs of the presence of the living Savior, signs of hope.

Calvary is one of the most caring congregations I know. That is such a blessing. When I came back here from being with Mo on Tuesday, so many of you asked me how I was doing, gave me hugs, and included me in your prayers. It helped me recover in body and spirit.

I give thanks for all the times that Jesus’ people were willing to accompany me through tough times. It made all the difference in the world.

And I pray that I would always be found willing when I am called upon to give that ministry to someone else. That we would all be willing to walk with one another and make the presence of our risen Lord real. For Alleluia, Christ is risen – he is risen indeed. Alleluia. Amen.