The link become the walk to Emmaus and evangelism is strong. Most people who encounter this story in virtually any church context will find the conversation will inevitably involve evangelism.
This isn’t bad, of course. Just so routine that I find it often elicits no other focus.
Even as we receive this reading of two disciples walking along, running into a guy they don’t know is actually Jesus, and find themselves talking to him about himself during the Easter season, in the midst of resurrection encounters, I am confident that the bulk of preaching this week will be on evangelism.
So what else could we focus on instead?
I might be compelled to run away from the impulse and focus on the encounter more thoroughly. Speaking less about the the talking about Jesus and more about the encountering Jesus.
This, of course, feels like a central part of the story, after all. As they are with Jesus and feel their hearts strangely warmed by him. We don’t have to give all our attention to the talking about Jesus and ignore the Jesus with them part. Or the warmed hearts part.
At its root, this is a story about encountering Jesus along the way. The two are on their way somewhere. They have other plans. But they spend time with a stranger who becomes neighbor who becomes friend.
They encounter Jesus in that friend. And that friend is Jesus. There is rich metaphoric terrain for us to engage in here that we don’t need to box up and commodify.
Other stuff
Of course, the idea that Jesus opens the scripture to them weakens the familiar (literal) evangelism take. Because these two are the ones receiving the love of Jesus, not the stranger.
We also have the classic Eucharistic image of the broken bread and Jesus becoming real in the Eucharistic offering.
And the story wraps up with a witnessing to the disciples: the oft-overlooked necessity of sharing our encounters with the divine, not with strangers we’re hoping to convert, but with those already “in”.
Precisely, in this case, because they’ve got Mary and Peter to go on. And now these two double the testimony.
The story’s rich metaphorical terrain is useful for any number of convictions. And its easy reference as “the road to Emmaus” is already a symbol of a kind journey and encounter.
An Easter story
For us, though, we are reading this in Easter as a Resurrection Story. Which makes it a bit less about us and a bit more about Jesus.
And I find that I truly want to focus on Jesus, the resurrection, and witnessing the risen Christ in our lives. And yet my attention keeps going back to the particulars of the story.
In a sense, this is the brilliance of the story. It is captivating and clear. And centered on the experience of these two people.
I suppose this is the root element of faith, is it not? In the end? We are people journeying with other people, encountering, sharing, and then, if we’re lucky, we’re given the opportunity to offer others some of the crazy/incredible truth we’ve experienced.