Introduction
The people of Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Hickman, Neb., have organized a Spirit-Driven Task Force, bringing together almost three dozen members who have committed to a year of study, prayer, reflection, and deliberation to discern how God is calling the congregation to renewal for the sake of his mission.
This is the third of a series of weekly reflections with the aim to inspire reflection and encourage conversation among the members of the task force as we journey together in obedience to our Lord’s calling to serve him.
Meditation
This Sunday’s Gospel, Luke 24:13–35, takes us on a journey with a pair of travelers on the road to Emmaus. They encounter a man, share with him the earthshaking news of Jesus’ crucifixion and his appearances—raised!—to some women and several of his followers. The stranger, in turn, interprets the Scriptures to show them how they refer to the events of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.
At the end of the day, the travelers say to the man, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over” (Luke 24:29, New American Bible). He does. He shares a meal with them: “And it happened that, while he was with them, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that, their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight” (Luke 24:30–31, NAB).
The travelers remark to one another, “Were not our hearts burning [within us] while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32, NAB)
The Church sees in this Gospel the basics of its life: we encounter the risen Christ on the way—the journey of our lives—in the interpretation of the Scriptures and the breaking of the bread. Right here are the fundamentals of our worship: Word and Sacrament. These are the ways—the means, the methods, the media—through which God our Father has chosen to reveal himself to us in his risen Son by the power of their Holy Spirit.
When we gathered for our first time together as the members of the Spirit-Driven Task Force, we committed to immersing ourselves in God’s Word, to digging into the Scriptures, to asking ourselves what they say about the life God desires for our congregation and for us as individuals. We will be blessed when we do that. We are blessed as well by coming to the Lord’s Table and by feasting upon his Holy Meal, because there the risen Lord opens our eyes so we may recognize him.
Like the travelers on the Road to Emmaus, we too can invite our Lord to “stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” We too can say to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?”
These are the times and ways and places that our risen Lord has promised to be present in our midst and to give us the blessings of faith. When we attend to him and to his Word and to his Meal, then we will find ourselves driven by his Holy Spirit. This is all we need to carry out the mission we have received from God.
David M. Frye
Friday of the Second Week of Easter
May 6, 2011