Followers of the Way

Here's the reflection I shared in today's lunchtime Eucharist for St Martin-in-the-Fields:

‘When this story (Luke 24. 13 – 35) begins, two people are walking along a road, a stranger meets them, he claims he has no knowledge of Jesus’ death, and as they expose their grief this apparent stranger unfurls his insights into scripture and tradition. They persuade him to stay, wanting to prolong the encounter and wanting to welcome him. The food is prepared. The two hosts welcome their guest. And the guest blesses, makes himself known as Host, and disappears leaving them to tell their friends the good news of their encounter.’ (Ayla Lepine - 'Inspired to Follow')

The Emmaus Road story breaks open ways in which we may encounter God.

When Jesus encountered the two disciples on the Emmaus Road on the evening of the first Easter day he met them where they were. Jesus’ incarnation and ministry, above all else, was ‘about being with us, in pain and glory, in sorrow and in joy, in quiet and in conflict, in death and in life.’ Now, he came to be with these two disciples. Coming to be with them meant that he joined them on their journey although they were going in the wrong direction, in other words away from Jerusalem. He didn’t berate, however, or try to re-direct them. He simply joined them and walked with them. All who are beginning to explore the Christian faith are travellers because they are on the way. They may not yet be coming to church, but are committed to taking the next step. One of the earliest names for the people called Christians was followers of the Way, so, ‘right at the beginning of the journey, people need to experience what it means to be part of a pilgrim church.’ ‘Before people can become pilgrims themselves they need to feel happy to travel with us and be open to experiencing life from a Christian perspective.’ (Stephen Cottrell)

Jesus also joins in with their conversation, listening to them first before he speaks. Similarly, our welcome of others must involve an attitude which seeks to get inside the shoes of the other person so that they can be welcomed and accompanied at every point of their journey. Jesus’ first question to the disciples was then one of open vulnerability to their agenda: ‘What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?’ Our practice of offering wonderings to others in response to hearing their experiences is similar. In response to their questions and accounts of what has happened he then breaks open the scriptures, explaining to them ‘the things about himself.’ By this stage Jesus had created a helpful context in which to explore faith. We, too, need to create safe places, where people are at ease, where they can bring their questions, and where they will feel challenged, but not pressured; a space that enables people to question and discover for themselves the significance of Jesus Christ.

Arriving at Emmaus, they invited him in, and as he broke bread their eyes were opened. ‘When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight.’’ They had not seen: suddenly they did see. A gesture – a reminder of what Christ did at the Last Supper – has alerted them to his identity. As the etymology of the word suggests, recognition involves an awareness which harks back to something previous. It is a re-knowing of something which therefore requires a pre-knowing. It involves a kind of memory. At Emmaus, their memory is of the Last Supper.’ For us, ‘Our memory of God’ is that ‘bit of human nature which seeks to be in right relation to God, and which means that we can be redeemed.’ (Chloe Reddaway - 'Inspired to Follow')

‘The disciples saw Jesus’ scars as he broke the bread. They remembered his story and realized it was their story. They discerned his body as it became their body. They left the table with hearts on fire. They who before had stood alone were united with the believers. They looked forward to every future meal as a moment of encounter with the risen Christ. They had become what they had eaten, the body of Christ.’ (Sam Wells)

So, at the centre of the Emmaus story is a very simple and ordinary action; breaking bread. Although a simple and ordinary thing to do, it becomes a very important act when Jesus does it because that is the moment of recognition and realisation. Something very simple and ordinary suddenly becomes full of meaning and significance. Their experience was an epiphany, a moment to which our being with, travelling with, and discussion with will often lead. ‘Following Christ’s sudden departure, as a new quality of knowledge fills the room where moments before he broke the bread, the two people who’d been on the road confer and ask each other in bewilderment: ‘Did our hearts not burn within us?’ God invites light into the darkest of corners.’ (Ayla Lepine) A space had been created which enabled these people to question and then discover for themselves the significance of Jesus Christ. They then rushed back to Jerusalem as they couldn’t wait to share with others the good news they have received.

Luke’s account provides us with a rich and challenging story about exploring faith which is hugely relevant for the situation we face today because: ‘our own culture here in … London is not so dis-similar to the ones the first apostles encountered outside the comfort zone of the Jewish faith: a smorgasbord of beliefs, a general interest in things spiritual, a lack of confidence in the meta-narratives that had previously been trusted so much. In this sort of world becoming a Christian will be like a journey, and much of our work will be helping people to make the journey; and much of that will be removing obstacles from the path.’ (Stephen Cottrell)

This story reveals ways to help others experience what it means to be part of a pilgrim church so that right at the beginning of their journey people feel happy to travel with us and are open to experiencing life from a Christian perspective.

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