My Eyes are Opened - Epiphany Sunday

Sermon given at Sydenstricker UMC 1/1/17

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^NRS Luke 24:13 Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, ¹⁴ and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. ¹⁵ While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, ¹⁶ but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. ¹⁷ And he said to them, "What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?" They stood still, looking sad. ¹⁸ Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, "Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?" ¹⁹ He asked them, "What things?" They replied, "The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, ²⁰ and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. ²¹ But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. ²² Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, ²³ and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. ²⁴ Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him." ²⁵ Then he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! ²⁶ Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?" ²⁷ Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. ²⁸ As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. ²⁹ But they urged him strongly, saying, "Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over." So he went in to stay with them. ³⁰ When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. ³² They said to each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?"

I want to welcome you to Epiphany Sunday and it seems appropriate that it would fall on the 1^st day of January this year with Christmas falling on a Sunday as well. Epiphany is a sudden recognition of truth, a fact previously out of our reach that suddenly comes into our mind. It is that moment when we realize or remember something we have been struggling with. I’ve often wondered what it must have been like to travel with Jesus. Can you imagine for a moment seeing the miracles, seeing the healing, hearing the teaching first hand and realizing that you are in the presence of God? I suspect that these two men were disciples who have been with Jesus for some time. They had heard him teach and they had seen his miracles and sadly, they had witnessed the events in Jerusalem that week. I can’t help but wonder at those who witnessed his grand entrance into the city with all the celebration and excitement. It was as if you could feel the gladness in the air and the coming of a new world order that was going to change everything. Haven’t you felt this way? Experiencing something new that promises to change the world around you and you are caught up in the excitement and celebration and anticipation? But what if like the disciples, the changes are not what you had expected. Would the promise of what is to come be overwhelmed by the let down you feel that you too would travel home dejected and depressed, saddened by the unexpected turn of events? Sometimes we get so focused on the little details of something that we completely miss the big picture benefits. There are some that would suggest that we suffer this kind of depression after every election in this country.

Think with me for a moment about these two disciples who are on their way home, to a little town Emmaus. What we know is that they either witnessed the death of Christ on the cross or were in the city when it happened for they have knowledge of it when talking to Jesus. And we also know that they have knowledge of Mary's account of the tomb so we can believe that we are in the evening of the third day, after the resurrection. From Mark's account in the 16^th chapter we know that the disciples heard Mary's account and still did not believe. We know that Peter and John came to the tomb and went away wondering. What little faith they had at that moment. What little faith we have in this moment.  And these two were headed home. We can almost hear their thoughts like they will never return to Jerusalem as part of this group they shared time with, this group we call disciples. We do not know how long they were part of the group, when they began their journey or even what they may have seen personally. What we do know, is that they have lost hope in the world that they have been a part of for some time prior to this conversation. You can hear it in their voices as they describe the events that have taken place. But before we get somewhat ahead of ourselves, let me pose a question to you?  

If you were one of these two and you know the events of the last three days, what would your thoughts be? Would you be in a terrible depression or maybe having a significant feeling of sorrow and loss? Can you imagine for a moment that maybe, these two were part of the original disciples from the beginning of the ministry and that they had been following Jesus for the whole three years. So we know that for three years, they had given their lives to this new ministry and the chance that this indeed was the Messiah who had been prophesized. Put in your mind something that you had given your life towards. Maybe it is a job, maybe it is a person but something that you have given up something for so that you can pursue a life with it, whatever it is. The anticipation of that new life, the feeling of what that new life would be like and anxious to get started. And then the unthinkable happens. Everything that you had anticipated happening had somehow, come to a senseless screeching halt and you were at a complete loss as to what to do next. See, I think that is exactly where these two disciples are at the very moment when we encounter them in the story. And I often wonder why they missed it. If we study the text of Isaiah, we see that God spelled it out for them in great detail. Isaiah tells us that the Messiah will be a man who grew up among them having no form or majesty. Jesus in many ways was just a man like any other man. He was despised and rejected just as Isaiah had promised. He bore our sins on the cross; he was in fact wounded for our transgressions. His grave was with the wicked and his tomb was with the rich. Truly he hung on the cross with criminals and was placed in a tomb of a rich man. His death and resurrection has made us all righteous and he bore our iniquities. Right out of the book of Isaiah. So why could they not see and understand? They should have been jubilant that God’s Messiah had come.

The story tells that suddenly there was a stranger with them. I find this interesting enough to ponder it for a while. First of all, they know Jesus to look at him and yet here he is and they don’t know him. So he had somehow caused them not to be able to see him. And second of all they have heard him speak. I wonder if he was testing them to see if all that he had taught them was evident in their lives. The scriptures tell us that God will from time to time test us to see if we are practicing the lives we claim to be living. And so it makes me wonder if Jesus was testing them to see if they had gotten all that he had taught them. And then it also may be that Jesus was preparing them, preparing them to begin their ministry that he had built within them, lesson by lesson. I have shared with you before that in 1^st century Israel, to invite someone to dinner was a huge deal. In fact, if we were to go back fifty years, inviting someone that you had just met to dinner might well have led to lifetime relationships. And so it was in Jesus day that when someone invited someone to a meal, they meant it to be much more than just the sharing of food. These two disciples have learned from Jesus teaching and they have shared food with him, maybe they were with him on the mountain side when he shared fish and bread with 5000. But we gather from the conversation that they were saddened by the events of Jesus passing, that they were confused by what had happened and were trying to set it in their hearts in the right place.

And it tells us that Jesus broke bread with them, just as we will do this morning and in that instant, their eyes were opened. I wonder if the prophecy of Isaiah was laid bare before them so they could see it, hear it and experience it. It is a unique phrase that we find in other places in the scriptures. God opened up the eyes of Ishmael’s mother to the water that she found in the middle of the desert. And Adam and Eve had their eyes opened to sin, good and evil, when they tasted from the fruit of the tree of life. And now, the two disciples had their eyes opened.

Why now?

Maybe it was because we could not see the truth in Jesus words until the cross when sin had been paid for and eternity was now part of our inheritance. And maybe we are the same way.

Where are you this morning?

Are you here with your eyes open to the Word of God?

Are you here because it is Easter Sunday and this is where I am supposed to be?

What will it take to have our eyes opened this morning?

Jesus taught us how to live, how to love and how to know when God is present. And Jesus made us a promise, a promise of eternal life that is now ours for the taking. It only requires us to believe, to see without having to physical see, to live lives in a certain way without any other reason than our faith. It is not saying we believe but living like we believe. The price has been paid for our lives, the cross has shed our blood with his and the tomb is empty because death has no hold on us. Let us open our eyes and believe. And then open our hearts and live. The tomb is empty this morning. Christ is risen! Are you willing to be lifted up with him?