The Rev. Frank Logue
King of Peace Episcopal Church
Kingsland, Georgia
April 14, 2002

Finding Emmaus
Luke 24:13-35 

Note: This sermon was preceded by an action-packed, one-minute video clip from Raiders of the Lost Ark.

I really like Indiana Jones movies. I don’t just enjoy the movies for the running, jumping, shooting, fighting action. I enjoy Indiana Jones movies for the stories. I love the idea of piecing together clues from musty old books and following them to life-changing adventure. I also like the idea of wearing a fedora and carrying a bullwhip.  But that’s not the main thing I like. The main thing I like in an Indiana Jones movie is the thrill of the chase, tracking down the clues, and beating the odds to make a discovery. 

I made an Indiana Jones kind of discovery this week. It might not seem that exciting at first, but the potential for something greater is there. Because this week, I followed clues pieced together from scripture and other books and found a lost city from Bible times. It all started with preparing for this sermon. As I researched this sermon, I discovered the location of Emmaus. I’ve discovered the place where we can meet the risen Lord.

Emmaus, mentioned in today’s Gospel reading, is an archeological site that pilgrims and scholars have been trying to find for centuries and I know where it is. Of course, I haven’t had the time to test out my theory. But I know that I know how to get there.  

You see when you travel to the Holy Lands today Emmaus is one of the sites likely to be on your tour. The problem is that they have found not one Emmaus, but at least three.  All three continue to be places that visitors to the Holy Lands are taken to when their tour includes Emmaus. The reason visitors to the Holy Lands want to go to Emmaus, is that it was there in Emmaus on Easter evening that Jesus appeared to two disciples. Since Emmaus is the place where you meet the risen Lord. Who wouldn’t want to go there? 

This week as I read up on Emmaus, I checked out what all the scholars said about the town. I also read an archeological guide to the Holy Lands to see what it had to say. And in looking at these sources, I found out where everyone had gone wrong. The clues had been right in front of them and they missed it.  

Now bear with me a minute here. I know this could sound a little academic. But, Emmaus is where we can meet the risen Lord. That’s a place I want to find. So finding Emmaus is far from academic. Finding Emmaus isn’t something for scholars and archeologist. Finding Emmaus should interest us all. It’s an important biblical site. 

The main clue found in scripture is the seven miles noted in the first verse of today’s Gospel reading. Luke records that two of the disciples were going to Emmaus, a village about seven miles from Jerusalem. To follow up on that clue properly, you have to look at the original Greek that lies behind our translation. The Greek text doesn’t use the term miles. That’s there for us in the translation. The best Greek texts of Luke say the distance was sixty stadia. A stadia is 600 Roman feet. That makes 60 stadia measure off at a little over seven miles. Everyone else got this clue, of course, but they got it all wrong. 

The scholars, archeologists and pilgrims all headed out of Jerusalem with a tape measure looking for Emmaus. They got out on the road and ticked off sixty stadia from Jerusalem and found at least two possible sites. Nice work, very convincing really, but they missed the point. The clues to Emmaus, the important clues, the real directions are found in the rest of our story. But it was too late for those other guys. The scholars and the archeologist were already out on the road measuring off stadia so that they missed it. 

Looking at the story of the road to Emmaus, we find the directions they missed. One clue that people routinely misread has to do with the nature of the disciples’ trip. Many people read this story and they key in on the fact that the two disciples are going away from Jerusalem. Now, I’ll admit that heading away from the empty tomb is a bad idea, but they had no way of knowing that yet. I think what is significant is that they were traveling together. They provided each other with fellowship at a time when it was sorely needed. As they walked, they rehearsed the events of the previous weeks. They thought back through Jesus’ ministry to sort out what Jesus’ ministry meant to them now that he had been crucified.  

So while they were leaving Jerusalem, they had not simply walked away from Jesus without a thought. These two disciples were together, supporting each other as they worked through a major crisis of faith. So while they were going away from Jerusalem, going away from the empty tomb, that’s not the whole story. The disciples’ fellowship is what matters here. So fellowship is our first clue in the search. 

Another clue to unraveling the mystery is the hospitality the disciples showed to Jesus. When Jesus came near and asked what they were discussing, the disciples were taken aback. Their leader was dead. They were trying to somehow keep their hopes for the redemption of Israel alive in spite of his death. This was no time to deal with some stranger. But even as the disciples worked through the raw edges of their grief, they reached out to the stranger. Cleopas took the time to bring Jesus, who he couldn’t recognize, up to speed on all that had been happening. But they didn’t stop there. As the disciples reached Emmaus at sundown, they invited Jesus to join them for the evening. Even though Jesus walked ahead on the road, making it easy for them to let the opportunity pass, Cleopas and the unnamed disciple invited Jesus to join them for the night. So to fellowship, we add the clue of hospitality. 

Next we consider what Jesus was doing as they walked. Jesus explained to the disciples the Word of God in scripture. As he retold the predictions about the Messiah found in scripture, Jesus pointed out how these predictions all pointed to the Messiah suffering and dying. Jesus expounded on the Word to show that Moses and all the prophets predicted the very events the disciples found most troubling.  So the Word of God is a third clue. 

Finally we reach the moment of revelation. At dinner that evening, the guest became the host. Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to the disciples. Jesus acted in such a characteristic way, he acted so very Jesus, that the two disciples could not help but recognize him. Surely this was Jesus who had taken five loaves and two fishes, blessed them, broken them and given them to the disciples to feed the five thousand. Surely this was Jesus who had instituted the sacrament we now know as the Eucharist just a few nights before by taking bread, blessing it, breaking it and giving it to his disciples. In the breaking of the bread, the disciples recognized Jesus as their Lord. So our final clue is this breaking of bread, the sacrament. 

By assembling these four clues, I found out where Emmaus is located, the place where the risen Lord can be encountered. There are of course other ways to encounter the risen Lord Jesus, but going to Emmaus is a sure-fire method. Bring all the clues together—fellowship, hospitality, word and sacrament. Where you find these, you find Emmaus. Wherever the followers of Jesus meet for fellowship, extend hospitality to others, proclaim the Word of God and administer the sacraments is Emmaus. Our risen Lord, known to us through the power of the Holy Spirit, always wants to be where fellowship, hospitality, Word and sacrament come together. 

So you see all three towns in the Holy Lands thought to be Emmaus, could each be the real Emmaus. The important thing is not to measure off sixty stadia from Jerusalem and start looking for the town. As Emmaus is the place where we meet Jesus, it could be anywhere. Emmaus is in fact everywhere that Christians gather in Jesus’ name. 

If you think back on the Gospel reading for today, Emmaus, the town isn’t the point. The disciples didn’t even first meet Jesus in the town. It was on the road to Emmaus that the two disciples met Jesus. They hadn’t gathered with others for worship. The two were walking away from the other disciples when they encountered Jesus. But out of their fellowship, they offered hospitality to the stranger. In the Word of God as Jesus proclaimed it, they learned more about God’s plan for the Messiah and in the sacrament, they finally recognized the stranger they met on the road as their own risen Lord, Jesus. 

All the clues from my mystery this week point to King of Peace as Emmaus. Here at King of Peace, we gather in Jesus’ name. We welcome others into our fellowship and we reach out as a church to extend hospitality to this community. We gather here each week to listen to God’s Word in the scripture readings and through the sermons. And here at King of Peace the sacraments of baptism and Eucharist are administered. This very place we are gathered is Emmaus. King of Peace is a place where we can encounter our risen Lord.  

Now that doesn’t mean that the church service will always feel uplifting. Encountering God isn’t all about feelings. Encountering God is much more dependable than how you feel a given week. Sure some weeks the music is uplifting and the sermon inspirational. Some weeks you leave church feeling changed for the better. But even when you feel like nothing happens, God is here. You may miss a church service or a church meeting, but God doesn’t.  

The discovery I made this week points to new discoveries. You see our fellowship and hospitality should be ongoing. But each Sunday is the time to come together as the people of God and share Word and sacrament. And in coming to King of Peace faithfully, you will encounter the risen Lord. God will not let the people of God down. 

So there is a great discovery to be made here that would rival the exploits of Indiana Jones and you don’t even need a fedora or a bullwhip to join the adventure. You don’t have to travel halfway around the world to find Emmaus. The ancient road to Emmaus cuts right through Kingsland, Georgia. Who would have guessed, the Road to Emmaus passes right by the high school. The risen Lord is ready to encounter you here at King of Peace this week and every week. 

Amen.