In the Breaking of the Bread - Sermon for the Third Sunday of Easter Year A

In the Breaking of the Bread

Easter 3A

April 23, 2023

Christ, Preston, MN

Luke 24.13-35

During the Protestant Reformation 500 years ago  in the 1500s, there arose several squabbles which are now known as controversies. One of them was the Ubiquity Controversy. (Don’t you just love theological talk?) This controversy had to do with whether Jesus was physically present in Holy Communion, which had never been an issue until then. One faction in the Reformation said Jesus couldn’t possibly be physically present in Holy Communion because he has ascended to God’s right hand. Martin Luther, father of the Lutheran faction, responded in a way that would make biblical literalists proud: when Jesus says “This is my body, this is my blood,” that “is means is”

Then Luther makes an interesting move. Yes, he says, Jesus is at God’s right hand but the other faction has it backwards because God’s right hand is wherever Jesus is, not the other way around. He follows that by saying Jesus can be anywhere Jesus wants to be (thus the ubiquity in the controversy). But, ever the sacramentalist, Luther adds that, if we want to find Jesus he promises to be present within the body of believers, the preached word, the waters of baptism, and, of course the bread and wine of Holy Communion.

We hear in our text from Luke 24 today how “he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.” It’s still Easter Sunday and Cleopas with his unnamed companion are deeply in discussion on the road to Emmaus. They are trying to make sense out of the events from what we know as Maundy Thursday at the Last Supper to the crucifixion on Good Friday to the curious news from this morning. As they travel along, they are joined by a stranger who wants to know the source of their agitation.

Cleopas responds a bit snarkily, “Are you the only one that doesn’t know what happened?” But he nonetheless recounts the events, including their dashed hopes. The stranger, which we know to be Jesus, takes them back into scripture and integrates their story with God’s story. As they arrive at Emmaus and Jesus pretends to go on, the two disciples convince the stranger to stay with them, which he does. And in a turnabout, Jesus becomes both the host of the meal and the meal itself. When he does so,  he is made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

It’s amazing, isn’t it, as one observer notes, that on the eve of his greatest victory, Christ takes a walk and listens patiently to ones who don’t know what to make of life’s disruptions. Dare we hope for just such an encounter with New Life? Can we trust that the same Jesus who walked with those two disciples would take the time to walk with us in our broken existence?

In one of his books, Andrew Root tells a true story with fictitious characters. Woz is the unchurched and unbelieving grandson of a longtime, faithful church member who recently died. Out of respect for his grandmother, who often urged Woz to seek God, Woz does indeed go looking for God. He enters a Bible Study at his grandmother’s church, tells the story, and says he assumes they know where to find God. Sue, a member of the Bible study and leader in the congregation asks the question that is on everybody else’s mind: “Do we?” That begins a journey for Woz, her, and the congregation. They patiently walk together, trusting that God will show up somehow in some way, trusting their eyes will be opened to God’s presence.

My siblings in Christ, know that Jesus, the New Life, walks alongside you whether you know it or not, and that is true for you both personally and as a community of faith. If you can’t see that yet, also know that Jesus, both host and meal, will meet you today in bread and wine of Holy Communion. Hold on to the assurance that Jesus is Emmanuel, God with Us. For Christ is risen. Christ is risen, indeed, alleluia. Amen.

My sermons often preach a little differently than written and you can find the video here.