Pastor Koch and our organist & music director, Zita, had to leave right after church today to catch a plane to the annual Valparaiso Institute of Liturgical Studies, so Pastor asked me if I would like to lead adult education today, and if so what would I like to have as my subject.
I very quickly responded that I would like to do a session on the Emmaus story. We're in Year C, the year of Luke, and we don't get that passage this year on Sunday mornings, even though the passage appears exclusively in Luke. We only get it in Year A, the year of Matthew. (Although it appears every year in the lectionary for Easter Evening service.)
I've always felt a special affinity for the passage, and have blogged about it in 2004, 2005, and last year after the passage was read at my grandmother's funeral.
There are so many layers to this story, and I get something new every time I come back to it. This year I paid particular attention to the point made in one of the commentaries that the passage reflects Christian worship, with the Word and the Meal. Another commentary noted that Christ was only revealed in the breaking of the bread. Teaching is important, but it is in that direct relationship with God in which God is revealed.
Emmaus is not just a passage in Luke. Every one of us has the opportunity to experience our own Emmaus. And perhaps it's something that we experience more than once in our lives.
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