WHAT HAPPENED ON THE AFTERNOON
OF THE FIRST EASTER
Luke 24:13-35
Rev. Paul Wrightman 4/16/23
PASTOR JAMES HEWETT WRITES:
"OUT THREE-YEAR-OLD, NICOLE,
WAS AS ANXIOUS FOR EASTER TO COME
AS SHE HAD BEEN FOR CHRISTMAS TO COME.
SINCE MY WIFE WAS EXPECTING OUR THIRD CHILD
IN JUST A FEW WEEKS, MANY PERSONS WERE GIVING US BABY GIFTS
SINCE THIS WAS OUR FIRST CHILD IN THIS PARTICULAR CHURCH.
NICOLE HAD PICKED OUT A NEW DRESS
AND MOM HAD GIVEN HER A NEW WHITE BONNET.
AS WE STOPPED AT A STORE TO BUY HER A NEW PAIR OF SHOES
TO GO WITH HER OUTFIT, SHE ONCE AGAIN SAID,
'I CAN'T WAIT FOR EASTER, DADDY!'
THINKING SHE MIGHT BE FOCUSED ON WHAT
MORE NEW STUFF SHE MIGHT BE GOING TO GET,
I ASKED HER, 'DO YOU KNOW WHAT EASTER MEANS, HONEY?'
SHE REPLIED 'YES.'
'WELL, WHAT DOES EASTER MEAN?'
IN HER OWN SWEET THREE-YEAR-OLD WAY,
WITH ARMS RAISED, A SMILE ON HER FACE,
AND AT THE TOP OF HER VOICE SHE SAID, 'SURPRISE!'
WHAT BETTER WORD COULD SUM UP THE MEANING OF EASTER!
SURPRISE, DEATH! SURPRISE, GRIEVING DISCIPLES!
SURPRISE, ALL THOSE TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN,
AND IT CONCERNS EVERYBODY!
HE'S ALIVE!"
OUR SCRIPTURE TEXT THIS MORNING IS ALL ABOUT SURPRISE.
BUT BEFORE WE LOOK MORE CLOSELY AT THE CONTENT
OF THIS SURPRISE, LET'S CONSIDER SOME OF THE DETAILS
OF OUR TEXT.
IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN,
ONE OF THE WOMEN MENTIONED AS PRESENT
DURING THE CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS
WAS "MARY, THE WIFE OF CLOPAS" (John 19:25).
SINCE CLOPAS AND CLEOPAS ARE VARIANT SPELLINGS
OF THE SAME NAME,
AND THE NAME ITSELF IS NOT ALL THAT COMMON,
WE CAN SAFELY ASSUME THAT CLEOPAS' COMPANION
ON THE ROAD TO EMMAUS IS HIS WIFE, MARY.
JESUS' QUESTION TO THIS COUPLE, BLANDLY TRANSLATED
IN MOST CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS
ALONG THE LINES OF
"WHAT ARE YOU DISCUSSING WITH EACH OTHER
AS YOU WALK ALONG?"
IS IN THE ORIGINAL GREEK:
"WHAT ARE THESE WORDS THAT YOU HAVE BEEN
PITCHING BACK AND FORTH TO EACH OTHER?"
SIGNIFICANTLY, THIS WAS THE SPECIFIC PHRASE USED
WHEN JEWISH RABBIS WERE CAUGHT UP
IN HOT DEBATE ABOUT SCRIPTURE AND THEOLOGY.
THUS, RABBI JESUS, BY INCLUDING BOTH CLEOPAS AND MARY
IN HIS QUESTION, IS ACKNOWLEDGING MARY AS WELL AS CLEOPAS
AS A FELLOW RABBI!
THIS IS SIMILAR TO MARY OF BETHANY'S
SITTING AT THE FEET OF JESUS HANGING ON TO HIS EVERY WORD
WHILE HER SISTER, MARTHA, GOES RUSHING AROUND
GETTING LUNCH READY.
THE PHRASE "SITTING AT THE FEET OF"
WAS ALSO A SPECIFICALLY RABBINIC PHRASE.
FOR A RABBI TO ALLOW SOMEONE TO SIT AT HIS FEET
AND LISTEN TO HIS TEACHING
WAS AN OFFICIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
THAT THE RABBI HAD ACCEPTED THAT LISTENER AS A DISCIPLE.
THE FACT THAT THE VAST MAJORITY OF CHRISTIAN CHURCHES
STILL DO NOT ALLOW WOMEN TO BE ORDAINED
BECAUSE JESUS SUPPOSEDLY HAD NO WOMEN DISCIPLES
SIMPLY WITNESSES TO THESE CHURCHES' LACK OF UNDERSTANDING
OF SCRIPTURE.
ANYWAY, CLEOPAS, PROBABLY SPEAKING FOR HIS WIFE HERE,
AND SIMPLY ASSUMING THAT HER OPINION IS THE SAME AS HIS,
GOES ON TO SAY:
"MOREOVER, SOME WOMEN OF OUR GROUP ASTOUNDED US,"
AS HE RECOUNTS TO THE STILL UNRECOGNIZED JESUS
THE STORY OF THE EMPTY TOMB AND THE VISION OF ANGELS,
OBVIOUSLY NOT BELIEVING A WORD OF IT.
THIS NO-NONSENSE MALE DISCIPLE WAS NOT GOING
TO BUY INTO ANYTHING
THAT HE HAD NOT SEEN OR EXPERIENCED FOR HIMSELF.
I WOULD SAY THAT THIS IS A VERY HEALTHY SCEPTICISM.
WE SHOULDN'T BE MAKING WILD LEAPS OF FAITH
IN ACCEPTING AS TRUE
STORIES WHICH SEEM TO HAVE NO FOUNDATION IN FACT.
INSTEAD, WE SHOULD QUESTION THEM,
PRECISELY AS CLEOPAS IS DOING.
EVEN THOUGH JESUS SEEMS TO BE CRITICAL
IN CALLING THESE TWO DISCIPLES "FOOLISH"
AND "SLOW OF HEART TO BELIEVE" --
I SUSPECT WITH A NOD AND TWINKLE IN HIS EYE TOWARD MARY,
ACKNOWLEDGING THAT PERHAPS SHE ISN'T
OF THE SAME MIND AS HER HUSBAND --
CLEOPAS AND MARY WIND UP HAVING
ONE OF THE MOST AWESOME ENCOUNTERS WITH JESUS
RECORDED IN SCRIPTURE.
I WOULD ARGUE THAT A HIGHLY DEVELOPED SENSE
OF QUESTIONING WHAT APPEARS TO BE NONSENSE
IS A CRUCIAL DIMENSION OF BEING A MATURE DISCIPLE.
OF COURSE THE OBVERSE OF THIS STATEMENT IS CRUCIAL AS WELL.
IT'S ONLY FAIR,
AND AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF BEING MATURE AS WELL,
THAT IF ONE'S QUESTIONS RECEIVE ADEQUATE ANSWERS,
THAT ONE ALLOW ONE'S DOUBT TO BE TRANSFORMED INTO TRUST.
(PAUSE)
EARLIER IN LUKE'S GOSPEL JESUS SAYS
"I HAVE COME TO BRING FIRE ON THE EARTH" (12:49).
I SUSPECT THAT MOST OF YOU, LIKE ME,
HAVE AT SOME POINT IN OUR LIVES UNDERSTOOD THESE WORDS
IN A SCARY WAY,
NAMELY, THAT JESUS HAS COME TO BRING FIRE
IN THE NEGATIVE SENSE OF DESTRUCTION.
UNDERSTANDING JESUS' USE OF THE TERM "FIRE"
IN THIS DESTRUCTIVE WAY CONTRADICTS JESUS' OWN EMPHASIS
ON GOD'S COMPASSION AND FORGIVENESS
IN THE REST OF HIS MESSAGE.
BUT WE DON'T HAVE TO READ THE WORD "FIRE"
IN THIS NEGATIVE WAY.
BETTER, I THINK, TO UNDERSTAND THE "FIRE"
THAT JESUS HAS COME TO BRING
AS THE FIRE OF "WERE NOT OUR HEARTS BURNING WITHIN US
ON THE ROAD, WHILE HE WAS OPENING THE SCRIPTURES TO US?"
IN OTHER WORDS, THE FIRE WHICH JESUS HAS COME TO BRING
IS NOT THE DESTRUCTIVE FIRE OF UNFORGIVENESS,
JUDGEMENT, AND CONDEMNATION,
BUT THE HEALING, TRANSFORMING, EMPOWERING FIRE
OF EASTER AND PENTECOST.
THIS IS PART OF THE GREAT SURPRISE OF EASTER.
INSTEAD OF COMING BACK WANTING TO GET EVEN,
JESUS COMES BACK WANTING TO HEAL AND TO TRANSFORM.
(PAUSE)
IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING TODAY'S SCRIPTURE TEXT,
LUKE DESCRIBES THE HONEST REACTIONS OF THE MALE DISCIPLES
THAT FIRST EASTER EVENING.
THEY WERE STARTLED AND TERRIFIED
WHEN JESUS APPEARS BEFORE THEM.
THEIR FIRST REACTION WAS NOT ACCEPTANCE AND JOY.
INSTEAD, THEY DEMAND THAT JESUS GIVE THEM EVIDENCE
THAT HE IS NOT SIMPLY A VISION OR A GHOST.
SIMPLE AS THIS EVIDENCE MAY BE --
NAMELY, JESUS ALLOWING THE DISCIPLES TO TOUCH HIM,
AND WHEN THEY STILL COULD NOT BELIEVE
THAT IT WAS REALLY HIM, EATING SOME FISH --
SIMPLE AS THIS EVIDENCE MAY BE,
NEVERTHELESS IT UNDERSCORES THE POINT
THAT THE PREACHING OF THE RESURRECTION
REACHES ALL THE WAY BACK
TO THE SIGHT, WORD, AND EXPERIENCE OF EYEWITNESSES.
(PAUSE)
THE TWO DISCIPLES ON THE ROAD TO EMMAUS,
MARY AND CLEOPAS, HAD REGARDED JESUS AS A PROPHET
AND MORE THAN A PROPHET.
THEY BELIEVED THAT GOD'S POWER HAD BEEN PRESENT WITH HIM
IN HIS HEALING AND IN HIS TEACHING,
AND THAT HE WAS GOD'S PERSONAL CHOICE
AS THE ONE WHO WOULD BRING TO FULFILLMENT
ALL GOD'S HOPES AND DREAMS FOR ISRAEL.
CLEARLY FOR CLEOPAS AND MARY,
GOD'S FULFILLMENT WOULD HAPPEN
IN THE FORM OF A NEW EXODUS:
JUST AS ISRAEL HAD BEEN "REDEEMED" FROM SLAVERY
AT THE FIRST PASSOVER,
THEY HAD HOPED THAT THROUGH JESUS
ISRAEL WOULD BE REDEEMED AGAIN
BY BEING LIBERATED ONCE AND FOR ALL
FROM OUTSIDE DOMINATION,
FREE TO SERVE GOD IN PEACE AND HOLINESS.
CLEOPAS' CONFUSED, SAD STATEMENT
"THEY CRUCIFIED HIM --
BUT WE HAD HOPED THAT HE WOULD REDEEM ISRAEL,"
REFLECTS THE DEPTH OF HIS DISAPPOINTMENT,
A DISAPPOINTMENT BORDERING ON DESPAIR.
CLEOPAS' DISCOURAGEMENT REMINDS ME
OF THE FOLLOWING TRUE STORY FROM HISTORY:
IT WAS JUNE 18, 1815, THE DAY OF THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO.
THE FRENCH UNDER THE COMMAND OF NAPOLEON
WERE FIGHTING THE BRITISH, DUTCH, AND GERMANS
UNDER THE COMMAND OF WELLINGTON.
THE PEOPLE OF ENGLAND DEPENDED ON A SYSTEM
OF LIGHT SIGNALS TO FIND OUT HOW THE BATTLE WAS GOING.
ONE OF THESE SIGNAL STATIONS
WAS ON THE TOWER OF WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL.
AN ENGLISH SHIP IN THE CHANNEL WOULD SIGNAL
TO THE CATHEDRAL, WHICH, IN TURN, WOULD SIGNAL THE NEWS
TO THE PEOPLE OF WINCHESTER.
LATE IN THE DAY THE CATHEDRAL TOWER
FLASHED THE SIGNAL: "W-E-L-L-I-N-G-T-O-N D-E-F-E-A-T-E-D--"
JUST AT THAT MOMENT ONE OF THOSE SUDDEN ENGLISH FOG BANKS
MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO READ THE MESSAGE.
THE NEWS OF DEFEAT QUICKLY SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
THE WHOLE COUNTRYSIDE WAS SAD AND GLOOMY
WHEN THEY HEARD THE NEWS THAT ENGLAND
HAD LOST THE MOST IMPORTANT BATTLE OF THE WAR.
BUT SUDDENLY THE FOG LIFTED,
AND THE REMAINDER OF THE MESSAGE COULD BE DECIPHERED.
THE COMPLETE MESSAGE WAS:
"W-E-L-L-I-N-G-T-O-N --- D-E-F-E-A-T-E-D ---T-H-E---E-N-E-M-Y!'
IT TOOK ONLY A FEW MINUTES FOR THE GOOD NEWS TO SPREAD.
SORROW WAS TURNED INTO JOY,
DEFEAT WAS TURNED INTO VICTORY!
SO IT WAS WHEN JESUS WAS LAID IN THE TOMB ON GOOD FRIDAY.
HOPE HAD DIED EVEN IN THE HEARTS
OF JESUS' MOST LOYAL FRIENDS.
AFTER THE HORROR OF THE CRUCIFIXION,
THE FOG OF DISAPPOINTMENT AND DESPAIR
HAD SWEPT IN ON THE FRIENDS OF JESUS.
THEY HAD "READ" ONLY PART OF THE DIVINE MESSAGE.
"CHRIST DEFEATED" WAS ALL THEY KNEW.
BUT THEN ON THE THIRD DAY -- EASTER SUNDAY --
THE FOG OF DISAPPOINTMENT AND DESPAIR LIFTED,
AND THE WORLD RECEIVED THE COMPLETE MESSAGE:
"CHRIST DEFEATED DEATH!"
DEFEAT WAS TURNED INTO VICTORY!
DEATH WAS TURNED TO LIFE!
THIS MUST HAVE BEEN THE BIGGEST SURPRISE OF ALL TIME!
CLEOPAS' CONFUSED, SAD STATEMENT
"THEY CRUCIFIED HIM --
BUT WE HAD HOPED THAT HE WOULD REDEEM ISRAEL,"
NEEDS ONLY THE SLIGHTEST NUDGE TO TURN IT INTO
A JOYFUL STATEMENT OF CHRISTIAN FAITH:
"THEY CRUCIFIED HIM --
AND THAT WAS HOW HE DID REDEEM ISRAEL!"
AND IT WAS THE NEW LIGHT
THAT THE REALITY OF THE RESURRECTION
SHED ON THE MEANING OF THE CRUCIFIXION
THAT MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE.
BEFORE THE DECISIVE EVENTS OF JESUS' DEATH AND RESURRECTION,
THE DISCIPLES HAD UNDERSTOOD THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES
IN TERMS OF HOW GOD WOULD REDEEM ISRAEL FROM SUFFERING.
NOW -- THROUGH THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS --
THEY UNDERSTOOD THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES
AS TELLING THE STORY OF HOW GOD
WOULD REDEEM ISRAEL THROUGH GOD'S OWN SUFFERING;
SPECIFICALLY, THE SUFFERING WHICH WOULD BE TAKEN
ON HIMSELF BY GOD'S REPRESENTATIVE, THE MESSIAH,
OR, AS JESUS PREFERRED TO CALL HIMSELF, “THE SON OF MAN.”
AND AS I FEEL BOUND TO REPEAT OVER AND OVER,
THE EARLY CHURCH UNDERSTOOD GOD'S SUFFERING
NOT IN TERMS OF "JESUS HAD TO DIE FOR MY SINS,"
BUT IN TERMS OF GOD ALLOWING JESUS TO BE KILLED
PRECISELY TO TELL THE WORLD:
"THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO
THAT WOULD MAKE ME LOVE YOU LESS.
JESUS' DEATH ON THE CROSS THUS BECOMES
GOD'S ULTIMATE ACT OF LOVE TOWARD BROKEN HUMANITY.
GOD'S RAISING JESUS FROM THE DEAD ON EASTER MORNING
IS GOD'S ULTIMATE AFFIRMATION OF EVERYTHING
THAT JESUS LIVED, TAUGHT, AND DIED FOR.
IT'S GOD'S WAY OF SAYING TO US:
"JESUS AND HIS MESSAGE CANNOT DIE
BECAUSE JESUS AND HIS MESSAGE
ARE AN ESSENTIAL PART OF MY VERY BEING."
(PAUSE)
WHEN LUKE SAYS THAT JESUS INTERPRETED TO THEM
ALL THE THINGS ABOUT HIMSELF THROUGHOUT THE SCRIPTURES,
HE DOESN'T MEAN THAT JESUS SHARED WITH THEM
A FEW, OR EVEN A FEW DOZEN, ISOLATED "PROOF TEXTS."
NO, LUKE MEANS THAT JESUS SHOWED TO CLEOPAS AND MARY
THAT THE WHOLE STORY, FROM BEGINNING TO END,
POINTED FORWARD TO A FULFILLMENT
WHICH COULD ONLY TAKE PLACE WHEN GOD'S ANOINTED
TOOK ISRAEL'S SUFFERING, AND HENCE THE WORLD'S SUFFERING,
ONTO HIMSELF.
WHAT SEEMED TO BE THE DEFEAT OF GOD ON THE CROSS,
BECAME THE BEGINNING OF GOD'S NEW CREATION
IN THE RESURRECTION.
THE SIMPLE MEAL THAT JESUS SHARES WITH MARY AND CLEOPAS
AT THE END OF OUR STORY
BECOMES THE FIRST MEAL OF THE NEW CREATION:
"HE TOOK BREAD, BLESSED AND BROKE IT, AND GAVE IT TO THEM.
THEN THEIR EYES WERE OPENED, AND THEY RECOGNIZED HIM.
THE COUPLE AT EMMAUS --
PROBABLY THE HUSBAND AND WIFE TEAM OF CLEOPAS AND MARY --
DISCOVER THAT THE POWER OF DEATH HAS BEEN BROKEN.
DEATH ITSELF HAS BEEN DEFEATED.
GOD'S NEW CREATION,
BRIMMING WITH LIFE AND JOY AND POSSIBILITY,
HAS BURST IN UPON THE WORLD OF DEATH, DECAY, AND SORROW.
THE RESURRECTION IS GOD'S "WELCOME MAT," SO TO SPEAK,
USHERING US INTO GOD'S WORLD, GOD'S KINGDOM,
WHERE DEATH IS NO MORE.
BECAUSE OF THE REALITY OF THE JESUS' RESURRECTION,
WE CAN CLAIM THE STORY OF THIS CHRISTIAN WOMAN
AS OUR OWN STORY:
A WOMAN WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A TERMINAL ILLNESS.
AS SHE WAS GETTING HER THINGS IN ORDER,
SHE CONTACTED HER PASTOR AND ASKED HIM
TO COME TO HER HOUSE TO DISCUSS SOME OF HER FINAL WISHES.
SHE TOLD HIM THE SONGS SHE WANTED SUNG
AT HER MEMORIAL SERVICE,
THE SCRIPTURES SHE WANTED READ,
EVEN THE OUTFIT SHE WANTED TO BE BURIED IN.
SHE ALSO ASKED TO BE BURIED WITH HER FAVORITE BIBLE.
AS THE PASTOR PREPARED TO LEAVE,
THE WOMAN REMEMBERED SOMETHING ELSE.
"THERE'S ONE MORE THING," SHE SAID EXCITEDLY.
"WHAT'S THAT?" ASKED THE PASTOR.
"I WANT TO BE BURIED WITH A FORK IN MY RIGHT HAND."
THE PASTOR STOOD LOOKING AT THE WOMAN,
NOT KNOWING WHAT TO SAY.
THE WOMAN EXPLAINED:
"IN ALL MY YEARS OF ATTENDING CHURCH SOCIALS
AND POTLUCK DINNERS, WHEN THE DISHES OF THE MAIN COURSE
WERE BEING CLEARED, SOMEONE WOULD INEVITABLY SAY,
"KEEP YOUR FORK."
IT WAS MY FAVORITE PART OF THE MEAL
BECAUSE I KNEW SOMETHING BETTER WAS COMING --
LIKE VELVETY CHOCOLATE CAKE OR DEEP-DISH APPLE PIE.
"SO WHEN PEOPLE SEE ME IN THAT CASKET
WITH A FORK IN MY HAND AND ASK,
"WHAT'S WITH THE FORK?"
I WANT YOU TO TELL THEM,
"KEEP YOUR FORK.
THE BEST IS YET TO COME!"
AMEN.