Third Sunday of Easter

The Emmaus disciples are walking away from Jerusalem, and the critical detail is the phrase "we were hoping." We were hoping he would be the one to redeem Israel. The hope died with the crucifixion, and now they are going home. Jesus joins them on the road, and they do not recognize him. He opens the Scriptures. Their hearts burn. They invite him to stay. He breaks the bread. Their eyes open. They run back.

In your twenties, the "we were hoping" moments are real. You were hoping the relationship would work out. You were hoping the career would launch. You were hoping the faith would feel different by now. When the hope dies, you walk away from the place where it lived. The Emmaus story says that Jesus does not stay in Jerusalem waiting for you to figure it out and come back. He walks the road with you, even the wrong road, even the road that leads away from where you should be. He opens the word while you walk. He burns your heart before he reveals his face. And the recognition comes at the table, in the breaking of bread, in the company of someone you almost let walk on past.

Peter says you were ransomed not with silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ. In your twenties, the temptation is to treat the faith as free - something you can pick up or put down without cost. The Emmaus story and Peter's letter say otherwise. The faith cost blood. The Christ walking beside you on the road paid for the road with his life. You do not walk away from something that was purchased at that price without feeling the loss.

If you have been walking away from something - the faith, a community, a commitment - turn around this week. The Emmaus disciples recognized Jesus and set out at once for Jerusalem. They did not wait. They ran back. The road home is always shorter than the road away, because the Christ who walks both roads wants you back in the community more than you want to leave it.

Lord, I have been walking away from Jerusalem and you walked with me anyway. My heart has been burning and I did not know it was you. I see you now in the breaking of the bread. I set out at once. I go back. The road home is shorter than I thought. Alleluia. Amen.