David Bahn – Reflections

That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, ¹⁴ and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. ¹⁵ While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. ¹⁶ But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. ¹⁷ And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. ¹⁸ Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” ¹⁹ And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, ²⁰ and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. ²¹ 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 happened. ²² Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, ²³ and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive.  ²⁴ Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” ²⁵ And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” ²⁷ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

²⁸ So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, ²⁹ but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. ³⁰ When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. ³¹ And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. ³² They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” ³³ And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, ³⁴ saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” ³⁵ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

It proved to be a major turning point in my life, even though the fullness of the turn didn’t come until several months later. I was at the 1982 Colorado District LCMS Convention. I had been identified by the Conservative Laymen of Colorado as the candidate of choice for the District Board of Directors. Qualifications aside (I had only four years of experience as a pastor), I was seen as a warrior for the cause of true conservative ideals. For reasons I won’t go into now, every election at that convention went the “wrong way.” The “Right” men were not elected. The one exception was a man who was listed on the conservative list and the list put out by the other side!

I went around the campus of University of Colorado, Boulder singing, Built on the Rock the church doth stand, even when steeples are falling. I was convinced that steeples were falling.

Some months later I attended a Church Growth conference. Rev. Dr. Kent Hunter spoke about the urgency of the Great Commission. As he spoke, God’s word took root in my heart. That’s a better mission, I thought. Making disciples of Jesus, and removing obstacles to people coming to church and having an outward focus for ministry became my new mission focus. I didn’t have to abandon my strong biblical roots, my Lutheran theological foundations, or my conservative leanings. I did have to abandon a false mission of saving the Synod from the Liberals. I saw new opportunities and gained new energy for God’s work.

The encounter of Jesus with these disciples on the road to Emmaus was an even greater turning-point for them. They didn’t have to unlearn only a Jewish mindset. They had to abandon a belief that all had been lost. They had to let go of the idea that Jesus was dead: end of story. They had to rethink what the Old Testament (the only Bible they had) actually meant, and how it was to be interpreted.

That seemed to have happened in the moments of Jesus’ chiding and teaching. He chides them: “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe.” Then “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” 

Their minds were opened. Their horizons were expanded. They had a totally new perspective on life and death itself.

Sometimes we may need a bump in the road to gain a new perspective. The pathway there is made possible by Jesus’ resurrection. And we can gain that new understanding whenever we remember that the tomb is empty and Jesus is alive!