ha'motzi lechem: bread bringer

What’s the buzz? Tell me what’s happening. I want you to grasp the Easter immediacy of what’s going on in Luke's gospel. Please sit down and let's talk.

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You heard the story! Visualize this. Place yourself as the disciples inside the gospel story. That’s us! Now on our way back home to Emmaus, we have been up to Jerusalem for Passover. Already knowing Jesus, we went early because Jesus was going to be there, and we wanted to see and hear him again. And we did! He spoke around the city, and in the Temple several Times. But - - day before yesterday,

on Friday, everything fell to pieces, and Friday, Saturday, Sunday, it's now the third day after that horrible Friday of Jesus’ death just day before yesterday. Still Sunday, in fact, it is Sunday afternoon of what generations to come will call Easter Day.

I want you to "get it" that all this has just happened and is still happening. You are there as part of it.

Sunday afternoon after the horror of Good Friday: two disciples, not of The Twelve, but ordinary disciples you and me, we were there, and now we are here, hurting, disappointed, grieving after the horrifying crucifixion and death of Jesus just day before yesterday. It’s all too fresh in our minds, and keeps playing over and over. We have left Jerusalem and are making our way to Emmaus, a walk of about seven miles, maybe a bit over three hours.

Visualize with me. A lovely day, springtime, lengthening hours of daylight. Sunday afternoon we leave Jerusalem, where we had gone joyfully to celebrate Passover, now leaving the city early enough to arrive before dark, by suppertime. 

We walk along excitedly, gesticulating, What's The Buzz, Tell Me What’s Happening, the talk in the city ever since early this morning. Women are saying they saw angels declaring Jesus is alive. It’s incredible, ridiculous, who could believe such nonsense? But they’re insisting it’s true, and the people saying it are Jesus’ closest friends. It’s ridiculous, it cannot be! It's not the way Creation works. Or maybe Creation is turned upside down!

As we walk along talking about it, someone - - a stranger whom we had not noticed - - where did he come from? we'd not realized he was there, but he must have been there, must have been walking up behind us - - suddenly joins us and asks, “What are you talking about, why are you so excited?”

"What? Are you kidding? Like us, you’re coming from Jerusalem and you’ve not heard?"

"Heard what? I don’t know what you mean."

"Jesus of Nazareth. We thought he was the Messiah, and we went up to Jerusalem early to see and hear him again. It was sensational, but he was drawing crowds that were noisy and rowdy, so the authorities arrested him and put him to death; and now his friends are saying he’s alive again, they’ve seen him alive. You haven’t heard the rumors, the talk?"

"Oh!," the stranger says, “Oh, okay! Sure! Let me tell you about it. It was supposed to happen just this way. Let me tell you about it!!”

And for the next couple of hours, all the rest of the way, this guy explains to us that this was all God’s plan from the beginning, foretold in the Bible, it was supposed to happen this way. - - Who is this guy anyway?

Arriving, we invite him to come in and stay the night - -  have supper and spend the night. At supper, usual Jewish hospitality, we invite him as our guest to say haMotzi, the prayer over bread: he Takes the bread, says the Blessing,

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה', אֱ-לֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, הַמּוֹצִיא לֶחֶם מִן הָאָרֶץ.

Barukh ata, Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha'olam, ha'motzi lechem min ha'aretz.

Blessed art thou O Lord our God, king of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.

He Breaks the bread, Gives it to us, and suddenly we see, we know! We realize who he is, we know him in the breaking of the bread, and just as suddenly as he appeared earlier this afternoon, he vanishes from our sight! The bulb lights up, the light comes on for us like the heavens exploding - - it's Jesus himself. He IS alive! We've seen him! The rumors are true, he’s alive! We’ve seen the Lord. Christos anesti, Christ is risen! Hallelujah!!!

It’s three hours back to Jerusalem, but we jump up and rush back to tell the others - - we’ve seen the Lord, he met us on the road to Emmaus, he spoke to us, we knew him in the Breaking of the Bread. Can you believe it??!!!

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I believe it - - he may meet you when least expected, wherever you are in life, in happiness and light, in darkness, anguish and grief. My personal witness is this: in my own Time, he has spoken to me in my anxiety. And every Sunday I know him in the breaking of the bread.

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Homiletic endeavor by the Rev Tom Weller in Holy Nativity Episcopal Church, Panama City, Florida on the Third Sunday of Easter, Year A, April 23, 2023. Text: Luke's story of the walk to Emmaus:

The Gospel

Luke 24:13-35

Now on that same day two of Jesus' disciples were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. 

Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.” 

Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.

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. They 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?” That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.