{"id":14347,"date":"2021-05-11T12:55:31","date_gmt":"2021-05-11T17:55:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/transformingcenter.org\/?p=14347"},"modified":"2022-01-06T11:12:08","modified_gmt":"2022-01-06T17:12:08","slug":"eastertide-discerning-the-presence-of-christ","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/transformingcenter.org\/2021\/05\/eastertide-discerning-the-presence-of-christ\/","title":{"rendered":"Eastertide: Discerning the Presence of Christ"},"content":{"rendered":"

You can also read Part 1<\/a>,\u00a0Part 2<\/a>,\u00a0Part 3<\/a>, and Part 4<\/a> of this\u00a0series.<\/p>\n

\n

They urged him strongly, saying, \u201cStay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.\u201d So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, \u201cWere not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road?\u201d
\n<\/em>\u00a0(Luke 24:29-31)<\/p>\n

\n

Have you ever had a conversation that felt so good you didn\u2019t want it to end? Maybe it was that first date with the person who later became your husband or wife when you kept saying, \u201cWhat? You too?!\u201d Maybe it happened over coffee with a new friend whom you eventually recognized as a kindred spirit; everywhere you went in conversation, the other person was able to meet you there.\u00a0 <\/span>And as your time together came to a close, you parted reluctantly, longing for more of whatever it was that had just taken place.<\/p>\n

They Urged Him Strongly to Stay<\/h2>\n

If you have ever had an experience like that, you know exactly what the disciples on the road to Emmaus felt as they approached the exit to their village and it was time to part ways. The conversation they had been having with Jesus was so different <\/i>in tone, quality and content from what they were used to that they did not want it to end. They longed for more of the freedom to share how they really felt without being judged or fixed. They hungered for the kind of deep listening Jesus was so skilled at\u2014the kind that created space for hard questions and shared silence when emotions ran deep.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Even though the conversation with Jesus had been challenging, to say the least, they wanted more of his paradigm-shifting perspective rather than continuing to settle for mere platitudes. Perhaps the conversation felt strangely familiar even though they couldn\u2019t quite pinpoint why.<\/p>\n

But now it was getting dark and even though it would have been dangerous to be out on the road alone, Jesus pretended to go on\u2014probably because he didn\u2019t want to impose on them. However, beyond obligatory politeness, \u201cthey urged him strongly<\/i> to stay.\u201d <\/i>Jesus gave in to their friendly persuasion and that\u2019s when things really <\/i>started to get interesting!<\/p>\n

The Kingdom of God Comes at Dinner<\/h2>\n

The word stay<\/i> is used twice in Luke 24:29 and reminds us that the discipline of staying together is quite significant to the outcome of this story. At the beginning, the two disciples chose to stay with each other and walk together, which opened them to the presence of Christ. Here at the end of the story, all three<\/i> companions choose to stay together, which opened up the possibility for further encounter, deeper levels of recognition and true discernment\u2014possibilities that would have been missed if they had left each other too soon.<\/p>\n

This aspect of the story is worthy of note because it is so countercultural for us today. We live in a global society that is so transient, hardly anyone stays anywhere for very long. People routinely leave family and friends behind in order to follow a job. Couples choose not to stay married when the going gets tough. People leave their churches when they disagree with the pastor or a new, better version of church gets started down the street or across town. Congregations leave denominations when they disagree with policies and practices; denominations splinter and new denominations form when the chasm seems too deep and too wide to be bridged.<\/p>\n

And yet in this story, staying together made all the difference. It gave them the opportunity to do something very ordinary together\u2014to share a meal\u2014and that meal became the context in which the most significant and revelatory moments of the whole journey took place. Jesus\u2019 choice to stay and share a meal with these disciples seems, at the very least, to be an expression of his desire to renew fellowship with them after all they had been through. But there was whole lot more.<\/p>\n

The Emmaus meal was highly reminiscent of the Last Supper, when Jesus broke bread and shared wine with his disciples for the last time before his crucifixion. Whether these particular disciples were at that final meal or not, they were probably aware of Jesus\u2019 statement that he would not eat the Passover meal or drink from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes (Luke 22:15-18). Whether they realized it or not, this meal was the fulfillment of that statement right there in their midst: the kingdom of God had come in Christ!<\/p>\n

The Great Reversal<\/h2>\n

If we observe carefully, we might also notice that an odd reversal takes place during this meal. Even though the disciples had invited Jesus into their home as their guest, by the time they sat down for dinner, Jesus was acting more like the host! He was the one who picked up the bread, blessed it, broke it and served it\u2014something the host would typically have done as an act of welcome and hospitality\u2014exercising one\u2019s prerogative to be in control of what goes on in one\u2019s own home. How rude!<\/i> we might be thinking. What in the world is going on?<\/i><\/p>\n

The shift Jesus made from being the guest to being the host represents a significant turning point on the road between the now and the not-yet. It is the shift from the illusion that we are in control of our relationship with Christ and our spiritual journey to an absolute awareness that Jesus is the one guiding, controlling and sustaining our journey. Early in the Emmaus Road experience, Jesus was deferential and took his cues from the disciples. Taking the role of a stranger, he appeared to be tagging along, following their lead, engaging them in conversation at the level they were comfortable with. He let them set the limits, boundaries and pacing of the conversation and went only as far as they were ready and willing to go.<\/p>\n

But when he took the bread in his own hand, blessed it, broke it and started passing it around, there was no doubt who was in charge. With this act, he reclaimed his rightful place as their teacher, their Messiah, their risen Lord. As they received the bread from his hand, they were receiving him back into their lives as Lord and Savior. It was at that precise moment that their eyes were opened <\/i>and they were finally able to recognize Jesus for who he was.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When the Ordinary Becomes Extraordinary\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Just think\u2014if these three companions had not stayed together, they would have missed the culminating moment of the whole journey! One of the great themes in the Emmaus story is that in the ordinary moments of our lives, Jesus is simply delighted to show up and join right in. As we become more practiced at recognizing him\u2014on the way home after a long, hard weekend, during an ordinary conversation between friends, in the midst of mourning our losses, as we prepare food and share a meal together\u2014our vision of the present moment is transformed, and we ourselves are deeply changed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the heart of transforming community\u2014learning to recognize the presence of Christ in all of life, especially in those moments when you least expect it.\u00a0 In our <\/span>Christian tradition we call it \u00a0discernment<\/i>\u2014\u201cfinding God in all things in order that we might love and serve God in all.\u201d (St. Ignatius of Loyola)<\/p>\n

While discernment might sound like a mystical experience available only to the gifted few, the walk to Emmaus illustrates that it is more foundational than that; in fact, it is central to our life together in Christ. This increasing capacity to recognize and respond to the presence of Christ\u2014both in the ordinary moments and also in the larger decisions of our lives\u2014is exactly what Cleopas and the unnamed disciple were experiencing as they journeyed together with Jesus.<\/p>\n

And Then Their Eyes Were Opened<\/h2>\n

If you think about it, the entire Emmaus Road experience was really an exercise in discerning Christ\u2019s presence\u2014on the road, in conversation, in Scripture, during the meal. The issue never was whether Christ was present in all these moments, for he surely was! The issue was whether the disciples had the capacity to recognize him, and that <\/i>was something that developed by God\u2019s grace, over time, as they shared the journey. Their capacity for discernment actually progressed throughout the story: first they saw him as a stranger, then as a traveling companion, then as a teacher, then as a guest, then as a host, and finally as their Messiah and resurrected Lord.<\/p>\n

As it turns out, the physical journey from Jerusalem to Emmaus was nothing compared to the spiritual journey from \u201ctheir eyes were kept from recognizing him\u201d (Luke 24:16) to \u201ctheir eyes were opened, and they recognized him\u201d (24:31). There were obstacles to discerning Christ\u2019s presence on their road between the now and not-yet, as there are for all of us, and one of the primary functions of transforming community is to support one another in noticing and eliminating those obstacles.\u00a0 <\/span>In such supportive company, we might ask our ourselves:<\/p>\n