In the story of the road to Emmaus we find two disciples walking along a road the same day of the resurrection. The resurrected Jesus begins to walk with them. But their eyes are kept from recognizing them. You see how it wasn’t a choice for them not to believe in Jesus resurrected, it was a condition beyond their control. They are sad that Jesus had died. Jesus plays dumb and has them explain to him what happened. Then he explains to them the meaning behind the crucifixion.
What is the meaning behind the crucifixion? The meaning is that we are not in control of what happens to us, not even Jesus, could control what would happen to him. However, we can choose to be responsible. We can make the most of what life hands to us, and we can plan ahead seeking to care for one another.
This past week I was able to do something I wasn’t able to do for the past couple of months: home visits! During the season of Lent, and especially Holy Week we get so busy at church that there is less time to call on people. I got a message from Maria Sanchez. You might remember her as the lady who brought her mom with her to church and for whom we gave a wheelchair, thank you Darlene who found wheelchairs for us to give.
Maria’s situation is very difficult. She is dealing with multiple health issues, recovering from two auto accidents; as well as a challenging housing situation. She and her partner Pafnucio bought a mobile home only to find out that it was completely full of mold. So they basically rebuilt it from the ground up.
Maria shared with me more about her life. How from a very young age she was a caregiver. She cared for her father as a child in Mexico. She would wake up, go to school, after school she would go to the hospital and take care of her father, go home, go to bed, and repeat the next day. Most of her adult life has been serving and caring for people. Now for the first time in her life it feels like she physically cannot take care of anyone like she has done her whole life, and this is very difficult.
We were talking about the road to Emmaus Story, and how they didn’t recognize Jesus. How they were sad because they thought Jesus was dead, and that he wasn’t the mighty savior they thought he was going to be. Then in the story Jesus, who they don’t recognize, explains to them the purpose behind the crucifixion.
The purpose is that if Jesus, who was without sin, and did nothing wrong, could end up convicted as a criminal, suffering, and dying, there is no guarantee that we won’t face unjust and unfair suffering too. But despite this suffering there is resurrection. There is new life and eternal life, that is given to us as well.
So as Jesus is explaining this to the disciples; they arrive at their destination and Jesus makes as if to walk on alone.
Do they let him walk away? No. They urge him to stay.
Do they know that it is Jesus? No. They don’t.
They say, “Stay with us for it is evening. And the day is almost over.” They are concerned for the well being of this stranger. Cleopas and the other disciple don’t believe that Jesus resurrected. They think he just died. They do not think that Jesus is their Lord or Savior. But they refuse to let a vulnerable stranger walk into the night and into danger.
When they go inside Jesus takes bread, their bread that they gave to him, he blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them. Then their eyes are opened and they see Jesus. Then Jesus disappears and they hurry back to tell the rest of the disciples in Jerusalem.
There’s something about this story that forces us to really think about what faith is and how it is obtained. What is faith? Faith is an action. Before they believe or recognize Jesus they invite him in as a stranger, protect him, and feed him. They do all of this while thinking that there is no resurrection, that Jesus was just another dead man. It is only after they invite him in and care for him, that they see Jesus.
We have to ask ourselves is faith believing that Jesus is resurrected, Lord, and Savior, master of creation? Or is faith an action: sharing food and shelter with a stranger when our hearts are broken and disappointed and when hope is nearly dead?
I asked Maria where she saw herself in this story. How does this story apply to her? I was asking because I wasn’t really sure myself. All week long I had been thinking that this story is about how we have to care for other people. Then it clicked I think for both of us at the same time. Maria could practice her faith by caring for herself. There is nobody else that will advocate for her, and struggle for her to be healthy again. She must welcome herself in to rest and recover, just as the disciples did to Jesus. When I said this she told me that she had recently had a dream that the angel Raphael had visited her and relayed a similar message of God’s love for her. After her dream she woke up with the following words in her mind, “I am the resurrection and the life.”
Maybe Jesus really meant what he said, when he said that we should give what we have to the poor. Maybe this practice; this discipline of stewardship and generosity is the key that opens our hearts to faith. For some of us this might mean taking care of ourselves if we are poor physically and emotionally. If we are privileged to find that we are doing okay, then we can open ourselves up to the needs of the world. In this way of active faith maybe our eyes will be opened to see Jesus too. Amen.
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