The road to Emmaus again. Sometimes, I think the church never leaves that road. We are forever walking away from Christ crucified and buried, only to be met again by the Risen Lord and called back into community.
We walk away because the suffering is hard, and perhaps we can’t understand a God that demands that sacrifice. We celebrate Easter with hymns that proclaim triumph while preaching a legalistic theology of substitutionary atonement. We struggle with grace and guilt. Maybe it’s easier not to personalize it too much.
But then, Christ meets us on the road. And wonderfully, opens the scriptures to us. Isn’t it fantastic that Jesus spends his resurrection time with his followers in Bible study? He wants them to know the riches of the tradition which brought them to that place – because if they do, then they will have the ability to share the good news with joy and depth. They need a bit more than the moment – they need the context for revelation. They need pockets full to overflowing with Old Testament stories and songs. They need layer on layer of promise and fulfilment – that deep rhythm of covenant that runs through everything from Genesis onwards. They need the language. Because Christ – who they have known face to face – is now only going to be known in them. They are going to need every ounce of poetry and prophecy that they can muster. They are being called to live in a world where God isn’t visible.
As are we.
This isn’t an accident, a slip-up somewhere. This is the way history works. We’re called to be where the world isn’t aglow with angels and miracles. We’re called into daily life. And we’re called to keep our eyes open.
That’s the next beauty in this text. Jesus is revealed in the breaking of the bread. In that moment, suddenly the travellers’ eyes are opened and they can see Jesus with them. It’s a moment of memory and recognition at once, where the layers of reality overlap, and the disciples understand something profound and utterly altering. It changed not only how they say the present moment, but also how they saw the past and the future.
31Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight.32They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” 33That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together.
Maybe this moment trains us to look for insight and parables around us. We can’t summon a revelation from God, but maybe we can become more receptive to the moments around us. Moments of Christ in all that surrounds us – daily life, stories, history, everything.
So, I’ve been looking today. It’s been a hard day around here. The Spouse has been away for a week, and here at home we’ve been finishing off a two-week Easter break from school. He was to have come this morning after breakfast, but got stuck in New Jersey. The kids were pretty crazy over the weekend anyway, and after the phone call this morning, things got a little rocky. Today has felt like an especially long road. And I’ve been looking for grace.
My parables for today are sleep and banana custard.
Sleep, because it is surrender. At the end of each day, whatever the struggles and fears, we let go of ourselves. With the children, it takes a little time and confidence. It takes trust. There’s a mystery to falling asleep – we don’t understand it and yet, as we grow, we learn we can let go and we let ourselves rest in that. And it is essential surrender and strengthening. It seems a good metaphor for faith.
And banana custard because that’s the love my kids needed today. They needed something familiar and sweet, something so simple that they could do every step themselves, but we made it together.
Of course, the Spouse has the camera with him, so I’m afraid there are no food pictures today. But here’s the recipe. Absolutely nothing fancy here – just a simple baked custard that’s thick with bananas, but it’s awfully soothing and good for the kids.
Ingredients:
2 bananas
3 egg yolks
2 large spoonfuls of sugar
¼ cup cream
¼ cup milk
a little dusting of nutmeg
a splash of vanilla
How to:
Mash the bananas thoroughly. Wisk in the egg yolks and sugar, then add your dairies, nutmeg and vanilla. We poured it into the shallow lid of a pyrex bowl and popped it into a 350° oven for about 12 minutes. Sprinkle with lots of Demerara sugar and enjoy.
