EYE OPENERS

Dr. Richard J. Henderson April 6, 2008

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Psalm 115:1-9
Acts 24: 13-35

Introduction

Have you ever looked at something but not seen it, walked by something a hundred times but never even noticed it? Sometimes objects are right there before our eyes, and we don't see them.

Sheila and I were walking near our house the other day and she looked at a neighbor's brick walkway and asked, "Did they just have that put in? I don't remember ever seeing it before." I said, "I haven't seen it either. It must be new." But then we noticed that some of the bricks were cracked. You wouldn't put in a new walk with cracked bricks. Then we noticed some moss growing between the bricks. Obviously it had been there for a long time and neither of us ever noticed it.

The Psalmist says, "They have eyes but don't see; they have ears but don't hear." Sometimes we look straight at something and don't even see what it is.

I

The account of the two men walking to Emmaus tells of looking but not seeing. These two disciples are walking to Emmaus on the day when Jesus was raised from the dead. They are chit-chatting as they walk along.

Jesus comes by and walks with them but they don't have a clue who he is. They walk along talking with him but never catch on that this is Jesus. They even tell him about Jesus being raised, and he explains to them why it needed to be this way. And all this time they are in the dark about who is standing in front of them.

I love the part where they stop for the night and Jesus keeps walking as if he is going on. "Wait, stay with us," they say, "It's almost evening. You can stay here." So Jesus stops and turns around and stays with them. (Did you ever wonder what would have happened if they hadn't invited him in? Would he have just kept walking, so that they never would have known who it was?)

When Jesus joined them they prepared dinner and gathered around the table. After Jesus sat down at the table he took the bread, blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.

II

It seems clear that Luke is not only telling us what happened that day, but pointing us toward the Lord's Supper as one of the ways that we can see Christ. Hearing his words, we can't help but think of the words of communion. It takes us right back to Jesus at the Last Supper when he sat down with the disciples. He took the bread, gave thanks for it, broke it, and gave it to them.

These two disciples, who he has walked with to Emmaus, had no idea who he was until he broke the bread as he did at the Last Supper. But when he did, suddenly they saw. They knew who he was. Surely, Luke is saying that we see Christ when we gather for the Last Supper.

III

Christ comes to us in several ways. We hear him in the word spoken, as we understand what Jesus did in his life and ministry. We see Christ in the words that we read in the New Testament accounts of Jesus' actions in this world. We come to know Christ as we see the examples of what Christ did for other people - healing the blind man, curing the lepers, and feeding the five thousand.

Now in a tangible, physical way we experience Christ in breaking the bread and drinking the cup. Christ is palpable in these elements. Through these symbols Christ comes to us in another, more carnal, way. So as we come to communion, we come closer to God. There is healing in this sacrament. Christ is present with us in a unique way as we take the bread and drink the cup.

Conclusion

Christ comes to us as we pray and open our spirits. Christ comes to us as we read the scriptures about what God did in our world through Jesus.

Christ also comes to us in a very tangible form as we break bread and drink from the cup. This account of the two men on the way to Emmaus tells us that as we come to communion our eyes are opened and we can see Christ.

"He took the bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them, and their eyes were opened, and they recognized him."

Amen

© Richard J. Henderson 2008