Homilies

Back to Homilies menu

The episode of the mysterious encounter between the risen Lord and the runaway disciples on their way to Emmaus is one of the jewels of Biblical literature. I have chosen my text from the disciples’ reflection on this experience after the Lord had vanished from their sight.

The subject of Jesus’ conversation with the two disciples was scripture, and the effect of this conversations was that the disciples’ hearts burned within them. The knowledge which Jesus’ interpretation of scripture imparted was not abstract or theoretical but personal and existential. Scripture played the role of catalyst in mediating to the disciples a new insight into who Jesus was and why he had to suffer.

This experiential dimension of Bible reading is amply attested within the Bible itself. St. Paul declares that the Bible was written "that by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope" (Romans 15:4). The Bible’s power to move the human hearts, providing hope, encouragement, and consolation, is the reason why this book has remained the number one best seller, even in our secular culture. John Wesley tells of how his heart was "strangely warmed" while listening to an exposition of Paul’s Letter to the Romans.

Scripture is used for many purposes, such as establishing doctrine or reconstructing history. But the reason why it has the central place in our worship is because of its uncanny ability to transform our lives by helping us see reality in a new way. When we hear scripture read in this context, we do not stand over against the text but rather are penetrated by the text. Through openness and attention we experience a dynamic passivity which can border on the ecstatic or the transcendent.

Worship is not first and foremost a human undertaking by which we would put ourselves into contact with God. Worship is our response to the experience of God speaking his word to us through the spirit which fills our hearts. Our response is preceded by God’s utterly creative and gracious act of self-manifestation.

In the Anglican tradition worship has its two-fold centre in Holy Scripture and the celebration of the gospel sacraments. In today’s gospel Christ revealed himself "in the breaking of the bread" (Luke 24:35). But his presence was also experienced in the burning hearts of the disciples, as he explained to them the Scriptures.

Here at the Good Shepherd, at our principal service, we alternate between communion and Morning Prayer. There is no tension or rivalry between eucharistic piety and attention to the scriptural word of God. Scripture and the sacraments of the church both matter because in them the living word of God is made known, even as it was made known to the Emmaus disciples. Although they had walked all day long, they gained such new strength from their encounter with Jesus on the road and at table that they returned immediately to Jerusalem (Luke 24:33), to rejoin the community which they had abandoned.

April 7, 2002

back to top