On the Road Again 1

Today is confirmation Sunday, so I will be pretending to share some

wisdom specifically with the confirmands. Ill tell you a secret, though -- this
message is meant for all of us. Todays gospel reading is the road to
Emmaus. This story is only found in Lukes gospel, and scholars debate
whether it really happened, or if it is an example of Lukes ability to teach
through storytelling. That is your first lesson, confirmands: people disagree
about whether the Bible was given directly to the authors by God, inspired
by God, or, like some movies, simply based on a true story. Aside from
questions about the truth behind the story, there has never been agreement
on where in the world Emmaus was. Over the years, strong cases have
been made for several sites. Although many have decided that this detail
isnt that big of a deal, there are also many who continue to build cases for
one site over the others. This is your second lesson: it is often extremely
difficult for people to move forward without finding out who has won each
disagreement. We dont really know who the two people walking to
Emmaus were. This is the only mention of Cleopas in scripture as we know
it, and the other person is unnamed. We dont know what sex they were,
what their relationship to each other was, or exactly how close they were to
Jesus. We know that they werent of the 12 disciples, but they must have
been somewhere near Jesus inner circle. This, confirmands, is your third
lesson: Jesus is the main character in any story in which he appears. Like
the people in the Bible, our importance waxes and wanes along with our
relationship with Jesus.
Now lets look at how this story can be used as a metaphor explaining
the Christian life. How are do you compare to the rest of the people here
today? Most likely, you are younger than most of us. I would guess that
most of the people here today have been baptized and confirmed at some
 On the Road Again 2

point. Since this is a small church and it is confirmation Sunday, odds are
good that you are either related to or share a lifelong history with many of
us. It is a strong possibility that you have more similarities than differences
with the others here this morning. You may be tempted to think that most of
the people who are older than your parents not only understood faith better
when they were confirmed than you do today, but also have somehow
grown into a complete understanding of what it means to be a Christian
living in the world. That is certainly where Cleopas and his friend (who I
prefer to picture as his wife, who Ill call Mindy) should have been. They
never attended confirmation, but they did have the benefit of actually living
with Jesus, hearing him preach, and watching him work. Mindy may have
even been among the women who had gone to the tomb earlier that day
(this story happens before Easter Sunday is even over). In spite of these
benefits, we are told that their eyes were kept from recognizing Jesus.
Could it possibly be that Cleopas and Mindy were so busy discussing what
had happened to Jesus and so anxious to be the one with the correct
interpretation that they failed to notice what was right in front of them?
Stranger things have certainly happened. I think that we can identify with
their tendency to live in the moment. It is, after all, how many of us live
today, rushing from event to event, putting out fires without ever taking the
time to think about anything that isnt immediately in front of us. When we
do stop to think, we often fall into the trap of reminiscing. Dont get me
wrong, I could listen to stories about the past all day long, but the trap
comes when we convince ourselves that things used to be simple, good,
and pure and that now things are complicated, bad, and somehow tainted.
Cleopas and Mindy fall into this trap when they talk about what they had
hoped would happen. Remember, Easter isnt even over, and they have
 On the Road Again 3

moved on to lamenting the fact that things havent turned out to be as easy
as they would have liked. They arent yet ready for the vital step of
reflection. If they had been, they would have remembered that what the
women told them about the empty tomb was exactly what Jesus had told
them would happen. They would have recalled the many times when Jesus
actually said things like, you wont understand this now, but it will make
sense to you later. and that Jesus had never once let them down in spite
of the fact that they had repeatedly let him down.
Time for the last lesson for the confirmands today: everyone here is
at the same place as you are in their faith life -- somewhere between
Jerusalem and Emmaus. Remember that nobody knows where Emmaus
actually is or anything about what kind of place it was. This journey is not
as simple as being carried up this aisle for baptism, heading out into the
world, and coming right back up this aisle in a casket. Think about the line
Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished
from their sight. The Christian life is filled with beautiful moments of
recognition interspersed with times of doubt and distraction. We are not on
a journey to find Christ because Christ is always with us. Dont worry about
developing a perfect faith, because that cannot happen while we are in
these bodies in this world. Instead, focus on continuing to fulfill the
promises that were made at your baptism and will be repeated here today:
to live among Gods faithful people, to hear the word of God and share in
communion, to share the good news through your words and actions, to
think of your neighbors before your own needs, and to work for peace and
justice throughout the world. In short, do your best not to lose sight of
Jesus. AMEN