Sermon preached by The Rev'd Richard Tombaugh

St. Paul’s on the Green, Norwalk, Connecticut

The Third Sunday of Easter – April 6, 2008

 The day of Resurrection was a busy one for the risen Jesus. It began early in the morning when he appeared to Mary Magdalene in the garden and, until he spoke her name, she thought he was the gardener. In the afternoon he joined Cleopas and his companion on their two or three-hour walk to Emmaus and presided at dinner. Sometime earlier in the day Jesus appeared to Simon Peter, as Cleopas and his friend learned when they returned to Jerusalem with their news that they had recognized Jesus as he broke bread at their meal. Later that same evening Jesus appeared to all the disciples, showed them his wounds and shared some fish with them.

 In each instance the disciples do not “find” Jesus; He finds them. In each instance the disciples do not at first recognize their risen Lord because their eyes are clouded with grief and their hearts are, as the gospel says, slow. In each instance the disciples discern who Jesus is because of a familiar word He speaks or action He performs. In two of the instances Jesus leads the disciples in some very serious Bible study, helping them to interpret the Old Testament as a prediction of his life, death and resurrection.

 The story of the road to Emmaus displays all these features. In some ways it is an odd story. It is the first and only time we hear of Cleopas. We never know the name of the person traveling with Cleopas. No one knows exactly where Emmaus was located, other than some seven miles outside of Jerusalem in some direction. However, in other ways this story offers a simple picture of all the essentials of Christian life. It presents a paradigm of our faith, a story of God’s gracious dealing with the human soul.

 Cleopas and his companion were returning home after celebrating the annual feast of the Passover in Jerusalem. To say the least, this year’s festivities had been quite different. At the beginning of the feast Jesus of Nazareth, a prophet mighty in deed and word, was condemned to death by the chief priests and rulers and crucified. For the two on the road to Emmaus this crucifixion spelled failure. They had hoped that Jesus would redeem Israel. Instead he was killed as a common criminal. To compound their confusion they had heard rumors that when some women had gone to his tomb early in the morning they found Jesus’ body gone and saw instead a vision of angels.

 As Cleopas and his friend walked and talked about the weekend they were joined by Jesus. Not only did they not recognize him, they thought he was clueless. “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who has not been watching Fox news during the weekend?” they ask Jesus and then they tell him about his crucifixion.

 Before we finish looking at this story of the journey to Emmaus, I need to make a digression. I need to say a few words about milk – pasteurized milk to be exact. If you have ever drunk sour milk, you can appreciate how much we benefit from the process of pasteurization which helps to keep milk sweet for a long time. I am sure that you remember that that pasteurized milk gets its name from a French chemist, Louis Pasteur, who invented this process for treating milk. What you may not remember is that Louis Pasteur discovered this process by accident. He had a lucky day.

 Years later when he was asked about his lucky day and his good fortune in making this discovery, Louis Pasteur made a very profound statement. He said “Good luck favors the prepared mind.” Yes, he had had a lucky day in the laboratory, but because he had been thinking about the problem of milk spoiling for a long time, when something surprising happened, he was ready for it. His mind was prepared to take advantage of the lucky surprise.

 Back on the road to Emmaus Jesus responded to the two travelers “O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.” Cleopas and his friend had a disease of the heart. Their hearts tarried elsewhere, half in shadow, half in light, dried out with anguish and sadness. And then Jesus “beginning with Moses and all the prophets interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” Jesus was helping them prepare their minds and their hearts for what was soon to be their lucky day.

 Arriving in Emmaus the two travelers convince Jesus to stay and eat with them. Like the Genesis story of Abraham and Sarah in the desert when they welcome the three strangers who turn out to be angels who bring to Abraham and Sarah the gift of a new life, Cleopas and his companion welcome Jesus into their home. At dinner, according to the custom for the host, Jesus took bread, blessed, broke and gave it to the two. It was their lucky day: because their minds and hearts were now prepared they recognized Jesus and the disease of their hearts was transformed into a burning passion. They immediately hurried back to Jerusalem to tell the disciples.

 We have in this story a simple model for our life together here at St Paul’s. Our life here begins with a radical hospitality like that of Cleopas and Abraham that welcomes everyone into God’s house and to God’s table. It continues with the activities that are intended to prepare our minds and hearts – reading and thinking about scripture; sharing with each other our experiences, doubts, and struggles; worshipping together as the bread is blessed, broken and given. One might say that life at St Paul’s is about getting ready for what will be our lucky day when we will be surprised by the risen Lord.

 The story of the road to Emmaus reminds us that the most likely context for experiencing lucky surprises is the mundane routines of our daily lives. Louis Pasteur was surprised by an accident in his laboratory. Jesus appeared to the disciples when they were fishing in the early morning or meeting together to eat. Jesus appeared to the two disciples as they walked home to Emmaus and was revealed in the simple customary action of breaking bread at a meal. It is in the context of our daily life and work that we discover questions that we cannot easily answer. It is also in that context that we encounter surprises.

 If our minds and hearts are prepared in our Christian communities by reflection on the life-giving power of the risen Christ, we may some day find ourselves surprised and lucky enough to recognize the presence of the risen Lord in the midst of the surprise.