The Breaking of the Bread
Luke 24:13-35

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

The past two weeks, we have watched people who should have known better as they’ve finally come to see the truth about the Lord. First it was Mary Magdalene, Simon Peter and John at the empty tomb. Then last week it was Thomas in the room where the disciples were hiding.

This week we follow two disciples on the road to Emmaus. One is named Cleopas, and the other is unnamed. However, they count themselves in the company of the disciples. They were witnesses to the work and words of Jesus, and ultimately they were witnesses to His death. They were even around to hear the women, who told them that they had seen a vision of angels who said that Jesus was alive. But they didn’t believe the women, so they were heading back to Emmaus, presumably to move on with their lives.

Jesus joined them on the road, but they were prevented from recognizing Him. We aren’t told how, but that doesn’t matter. What follows is important. The disciples give their interpretation of the events surrounding Christ’s death and resurrection. They said to Him, “We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.” When they finished, He rebuked them for not seeing what was before their eyes, and He gave them the true meaning of the events. Using Moses and the prophets, He explained to them why it was necessary for the Christ to die as He did.

So now they know the good news, but they are still prevented from recognizing Him as the very Christ of whom they spoke. Anyway, they finally reach Emmaus, and Jesus acts as though He will continue on. They invite Him in, and He accepts. And then something odd happens. Although He is their guest, He takes the initiative. He took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them. At that moment, they recognized Him, and He departed from them. After they marvel at how they could have failed to recognize Him, they return to Jerusalem to share with the disciples how Jesus revealed Himself to them in the breaking of the bread.

The account of Christ’s appearance to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus is one of the most fascinating Bible stories. It has all the aspects of a story you’d tell your children: the hero; the people the hero saves; an adventure or journey; a feast; even a hint of the supernatural; and, of course, the happy ending. There’s no violence. And the story grows with the child, as every story should.

But this is no mere story. It is one of the pivotal events in human history. It is the first time a follower of Jesus comes to recognize by faith that Jesus is the suffering and rising Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament. It shows Jesus as the fulfillment of the promise to Adam and Eve and to all their descendants.

But the best part of all this is that the Lord teaches us how He would have us worship Him. Today we have followed the pattern He set in this text, as the Church has for 2000 years. We hear about the person and work of Christ, and then we partake of His body and blood. We’ve added more ritual, but the form is still the same as Jesus used with these two dispirited followers. The risen Lord intends for the Church to continue to gather at table: in remembrance of Him and in anticipation of the eternal Banquet. The Emmaus meal reminds us of that: it reminds us that Christ is present at the meal, and that He reveals Himself to us there.

So where do you look for Jesus? We often look in the wrong places. We look in Bible Studies. We look on crosses that sit on bookcases and nails in walls and chains around our necks. We look for Him at Lutheran Laymen’s League and Lutheran Women’s Missionary League and Youth Group meetings. Now, before you stone me as a heretic, let me say that He is present in all these places. But we don’t see Him there by our own reason or strength.

We can’t see Him there, because He reveals Himself first and foremost in the Divine Service. When He reveals Himself to us in the liturgy of the Word and Sacraments, we can then see Him in Bible studies, on crosses, and in meetings. He reveals Himself there as well, but we recognize Him through the breaking of the bread, even as the Emmaus disciples recognized Him so long ago.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ: we are on our own Emmaus road today, and it ends at the Communion rail. So I ask you now: What are you looking for as you come to the altar? Comfort? Assurance? If that’s all you want, then you’ve come to the wrong place. When you come to the altar, you come to the cross, where our Lord and Savior hung in pain and suffering to His death. Christ died, not that you would have assurance, but that you would have the forgiveness of sins and life in His name. If you need comfort apart from that, you don’t realize the importance of the gift you are being given. The body and blood of Christ are brought to you and given to you, and you receive them, and in them you receive the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life. And most importantly, when you come to the altar, you see the Savior revealed to you in the breaking of the bread. Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia

The peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your hears and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.