Luke 24:13-35: recognizing Jesus

I talked a little bit in part one of this post about how Jesus is hard to recognize sometimes.  His disciples, who spent three continuous years with him, failed to recognize him at first on the road to Emmaus.  Eventually though, their eyes were opened to the identity of this stranger in their midst.  What led them to recognize him?  They recognized him in the breaking of the bread.
How fitting that Jesus' disciples recognize Him as they are gathered around the table.  This happy coincidence allows us to actually participate in the story, for we to gather around a table regularly with Jesus present.  I would suggest that we can learn a few things from the disciples experience with the resurrected Christ that can inform our own efforts to discern Christ in the breaking of bread.

• First of all, the fact that they recognized Him in the breaking of the bread implies that in some way His actions were familiar to them.  Perhaps it's the way he prayed.  Some suggest that the very actions of taking, blessing, breaking, and giving bread recalled to their minds Jesus' miraculous feeding of the 5,000.  Others suggest that it evoked in their memory a much more recent event, when the disciples had gathered together with Christ to celebrate the Passover.  Regardless of what it was that triggered their memory, it seems to me that the existence of those memories is the key.  In other words, the disciples had spent a lot of time with Jesus in the past three years and despite their failure to recognize Him at first, it was those memories of their time shared together that eventually reminded them of who he was.  It begs the question, how much time do we spend with our Lord?  At some point in our lives we will all fail to recognize our Savior.  Do we share enough time with Jesus to ensure that even in our weaker moments, eventually our eyes will be opened to who he really is?  
• Each week when we gather at the table, we are reminded of the characteristics of Christ, of His very nature.  We are reminded that we serve a God who will give everything, who has given everything, to redeem us.  Not even His own body and blood are too steep a price for our reconciliation.  Some might argue that we diminish the power of the story if we tell if every week.  I understand their concern, but I would suggest that we don't celebrate Communion every week, rather we do it every seven days.  It may sound like six of one, half a dozen of the other, but I think how we approach our time at the table contributes to how meaningful that time is.  I like to compare the Lord's Supper and its spiritual necessity to water and its physical necessity.  Many see water as being a rather dull beverage.  Indeed, when I am just sitting around, I want something that tastes a lot better than water.  In those times, I am not looking for something to replenish me, I am looking for something that dazzles my taste-buds.  However, in those times when I am really working out (which isn't as easy as it used to be), nothing will do but water.  There were many a day in high school when all of us would gather around the water fountain after a long run or a tough track work-out.  We didn't want sweet tea (shocking I know), and we didn't want Coke.  Oh, those are good when all you want is something that tastes good, but I wanted something that would really quench my thirst, I wanted something life-giving.  If we find our time around the table dull is it because it is in fact dull, or is it because our lack of spiritual exercise has us looking for something that delights the taste-buds, and not something that replenishes the soul?  
• Finally, I think it's appropriate to note the disciples travel itinerary.  We find them at the beginning of the story leaving Jerusalem heading towards Emmaus.  And yet, after their encounter with the resurrected Christ their plans change, and by the end of the passage they are returning to Jerusalem.  An encounter with Jesus quite literally changed the direction of the disciples lives.  Little did they know that very soon God would unleash the Spirit on Jesus' disciples gathered in Jerusalem.  It is true that our change of direction will not be physical in nature, but it should be just as real.  When we encounter the risen Lord, does it change our plans, does it completely reshape the way we live our lives?  Or, after our experience with Jesus do we continue walking down the same road, in the same direction that we were headed all along?  

It amazes me all the ways that we can relate to a simple story about Jesus' disciples and their interaction with a Messiah who transforms death into life.  It was an event that led them to Jerusalem to fulfill their calling as the first messengers of the good news of Christ and His resurrection.  Do you recognize Jesus when you see Him, and if so, where is your encounter with Him leading you?