Sermon for April 26, 2020 - Easter 3 - Year A - The Ven Pat Zifcak

It was 5:30 in the morning and I was in the Holy Land, one of many climbing the long, rocky and sloping hillside of the Wadi Qelt.  In the grey light before sunrise, in silence and awe, I sat among the boulders sheltered from the chill of the night air and watched.  The rising sun bathed the mountains in light and took my breath away.  High to our left was Jerusalem 2800 feet above sea level;  to our right was Jericho 1200 feet below sea level.  Tears came quickly as I realized I was sitting above the Jericho Road where Jesus had walked and where the story of the Good Samaritan actually took place.  As I sat in silence, remembering that story, I could hear the faint sound of what I thought were cowbells.  As it grew lighter I could see shepherds climbing the ridge with their goats.  In that short time, so many of our bible stories came to life for me in ways that have changed my understanding of them and brought deeper meaning to them.

I have started with this memory this morning because our Gospel story takes place on the road- not the Jericho Road but the road to Emmaus.  With all of us living lives that seem much smaller and narrower in focus, I wanted us to imagine the beauty of a sunrise, the joy of a long walk, the pleasure of good company, shared conversation, discovery, and change that comes from experience.

I wanted my sermon to take us out so I began to look for other important stories that took place on the road.  There are many references in scripture to walking the road:  in Isaiah we hear “...their roads they have made crooked.  No one who walks in them knows peace.”  In Matthew, “...for the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life.”  In Luke, ...every mountain and hill will be made low and every valley filled; the crooked will be made straight and the rough places smooth.  Also in Luke is the story of the commissioning of the disciples, “...greet no one on the road….”

There are four major stories that are known by the roads on which they occurred.  Do you remember them?  The story of the Good Samaritan, I reminded us, took place on the Jericho Road.  The baptism of the Ethiopian Eunuch by Philip took place on the Gaza Road.  As they traveled and Philip taught, the young man asked, Look, here is water.  What could keep me from being baptized?  The conversion of Paul happened as he traveled the Damascus Road on his way to condemn more Christians to death.  And today’s resurrection story happens on the Road to Emmaus.  If these stories do nothing else, they should keep us from ever thinking of the roads we travel as simply the best way from here to there.

Certainly the story of the Road to Emmaus proves that.  As we remember where we are in our faith story, Jesus has been crucified and has risen.  He has appeared to his disciples in the Upper Room where they have hidden themselves in fear and sadness.  In contrast, this story is a meeting of two of the disciples and Jesus as they walk and talk.  It seems significant that Jesus appears to them and they do not recognize him.  They tell the story of the events that happened three days before, including that of the women who went to the tomb to care for the body of their beloved rabbi and found the tomb empty.  The disciples interpret their story as a tale not to be believed because they did not believe that resurrection was possible.  Now, Jesus is walking with them and they cannot see.  It is in scripture and sacrament that their eyes are opened.  Jesus taught them through the Hebrew Scriptures while he was with them and that was central to their formation of faith.  Hearing the stories again began to awaken their belief and at supper in the breaking of bread they understood.  The Emmaus story is the telling of what happens in our liturgy of word and sacrament every Sunday.  Bless, break, take, and eat.  It is our understanding of Christ’s presence in the Eucharist that sustains our faith and makes this time of separation from this four fold act so hard for us.

The resurrection is the basis of our Christian confidence and hope.  The Eucharist is what sustains us.  It is what holds us together in a community of deep and genuine love.  We, like the earliest Christians, are called to participate fully in the life of community that God has called us to and to reflect God’s love into the world, especially when so many need our confidence, our sure and certain hope that God has not abandoned us.

St. Paul’s is still teaching, praying, worshiping, sharing, supporting and gathering.  Is there someone you know who might find comfort in joining us? 

A prayer of encouragement for the journey written by Minnie Louise Haskins:

        I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, “ Give me a

        Light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”  And he replied:

        “Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God.

That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.