Scripture – Luke 24:28-31 (NRSV)

As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight.

Devotion

Today we continue our prayerful examination of the resurrection story known as “The Road to Emmaus.” So far, two disciples of Jesus were walking home from Jerusalem, conversing about what had happened to Jesus. They knew for sure that he had died and had heard rumors that he had been raised. As they walked and talked, Jesus appeared to them, but they did not recognize him. Nevertheless, Jesus explained to them from the Hebrew scriptures how his death and subsequent glorification were necessary.

As Jesus and his two disciples drew near to the village where the disciples lived, Jesus seemed as if he would keep on walking. But they implored him to stay with them and Jesus consented. When they reclined at the table in order to eat, a strange thing happened. Jesus, though the guest at the meal, assumed the role of host. He took the bread and blessed it, something that the host would have been expected to do. This must have been surprising to the two disciples.

Even more surprising was what happened next. When Jesus handed them pieces of bread, “then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him” (Luke 24:30). All of a sudden, they realized that the stranger who had joined them was none other than Jesus himself, raised from the dead. What a delightful shock that must have been!

But that wasn’t the end of the surprise. No sooner did they recognize Jesus than “he vanished from their sight” (Luke 24:31). Unfortunately, Luke doesn’t supply the details that our curiosity demands. We don’t know if Jesus became immediately invisible, or if he faded slowly, or if he walked quickly away while the disciples were distracted. All we know is that Jesus disappeared. We get the sense that his resurrected body was not constrained by the usual laws of physics (as in John 20:19, as well).

As Christians read this portion of the Road to Emmaus story, we understandably make a connection between what Jesus did with the bread and what he had done with bread at the Last Supper. You’ll recall that on the night when Jesus was betrayed, “[H]e took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to [his disciples], saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me’” (Luke 22:19). While in Emmaus, the resurrected Jesus “took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to [his two disciples]” (24:30). The parallelism between these two passages is striking. It suggests that one way Jesus reveals himself to his disciples – and that includes us – is through the breaking of bread in what we call Communion, the Eucharist, the Mass, or the Lord’s Supper. Though Christians have a variety of understandings and practices when it comes to Communion, almost all of us have in common the belief that this is one major way to know Jesus and his salvation.

I’m not suggesting that Jesus officiated at a communion service while in Emmaus. That reads more into the text than is there. But I am underscoring the fact that one of the chief ways we know Jesus is through sharing Communion with him and with our brothers and sisters in Christ. No matter what we call it or exactly how we do it, when we share together the bread and cup, we are drawn by the Spirit into a deeper and truer relationship with our Lord.

There is more, however, in the story of Jesus making himself known to his disciples through the breaking of the bread. I’ll talk about this “more” tomorrow. For now, let me encourage you to consider the following questions.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the High Calling archive, hosted by the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Present at the Table

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