Cleopas and the other guy. Luke 24.

In his letter to Timothy, Paul writes, "Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16,17 NET) And while this is true, and we should strive to learn from every part of God's Word, inevitably there are certain passages that we are drawn to more than others. They become favorites. It's also true that there are passages which apply more directly to our current life situations. We may need to cling to a promise or obey a command that is especially relevant to that situation. That too is another way we become attached to certain passages of Scripture.

Luke 24:13-35 is a passage that I'm drawn to -- a real favorite. Even as I write these words, I realize that I need to restrain myself from writing too much because I could be here all day, essentially composing a sermon. This is the story of two disciples, who on the Sunday of Jesus' resurrection, after hearing the report of the women who visited the tomb, take a stroll to the village of Emmaus, about 7.5 miles west of Jerusalem. The very first thing that pops into my head is why? There are lots of possibilities, one of which might have to do with Emmaus itself. No one is really quite sure of its exact location. Some speculate that the word Emmaus is derived from the Hebrew word, yem or yemim, which might mean hot springs. Wouldn't that be something, if the guys were headed out of town to take in a hot bath? From the text, and from their actions, however, it's most likely that they were returning home.

One of the disciples is named, Cleopas, the other remains unnamed -- the other guy. Why? Usually this means the named one, Cleopas, would be known to the recipients of the writing, but not the other guy. But we don't know anything else about Cleopas from the New Testament. (There is some speculation that Clopas, named in John 19 is the same person, but even that tells us nothing much about this disciple.)

Well, look at how quickly this story can grow. Two paragraphs and I've hardly begun. Like I said, I love this story, and have lots that I could say about it. Here's the heart of my response today, contained in three thoughts.

1. Jesus is central to all of God's Word, Old Testament and New Testament. In verse 27, Luke writes, "Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things written about himself in all the scriptures." As I read those words, I want to be walking with them, hearing Jesus go through the text. Where am I not seeing Him? And while I can't be on that road, I can count on His Spirit's presence to help illuminate the text. This is a spur, a prod, an encouragement for me to be in His Word, to study, to uncover, to have uncovered for me, the same revelation these two brothers received.
2. In the breaking of bread, the disciples recognized Jesus. That should be true of us as well. I see this in two ways. The first is a natural communion thought: when we celebrate communion, the Lord's Supper, we are faced with the very presence of Jesus if we will allow that to happen. He said, "remember me, when you do this." He said in the bread and the wine we see Him, on the cross. And the question is, do we? Are we taking the time to truly remember? The second way this is true, isn't tied to our ceremonial bread breaking, but to our every day, and especially communal breaking of bread. Jesus said to daily pray for the bread we need. In this, we remember that all that we have is a gift from God. We should be reminded of Jesus, recognize His hand at work in our life, with every breaking of bread. And in the community of sisters and brothers, the breaking of bread is not only a celebration of God's daily provision, but a celebration of His family -- provision, shared experience, insight, delight, travail, resemblance. We had a barbecue a couple of weeks ago. For those who came, as you ate together in fellowship with one another, did you recognize the work of Jesus? Did you know Him in our midst? Did you see Him in the faces and lives of those around you? Did you hear His laughter in the joy of being together? If this isn't yet the case, it only takes some forethought to begin to allow that to happen. He was there. He will be there. Go back to this passage in Luke, and think about how it was the familiar way the Master broke the bread that opened the eyes of these two disciples.
3. The disciples immediately went to share their experience with Jesus with others. They'd shared the evening meal with Jesus, the day almost done. But when they finally understood who had taught them on the road, who had caused their hearts to burn, ".... they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem." No matter the lateness of the hour, the darkness or length of the journey. It was Jesus Who had been in their midst. Hooray, we have to tell everyone.

I've hardly touched the surface of the ways this text speaks to me, like the way the two disciples were attracted to Jesus without knowing quite why and how they urged Him to stay with them. But these are big enough thoughts for today: seeing Jesus in the text and in the breaking of bread, and sharing that recognition with others.

There they are on the road to Emmaus. Cleopas and the other guy. The question is, am I the other guy? Are you the other gal or the other guy?