He had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread

Laurie and I travel so much that our theme song is “On the Road Again,” by Willie Nelson. Every time we load up and head for Grapevine, one of us starts singing it.

We decided we needed something a little bigger for hauling so much stuff back and forth, so we bought an older Ford Expedition. When I was checking out the radio, I noticed that it had a jukebox function. Evidently, you can record a CD into internal memory and play it back without the CD.

Want to guess what song came up first in the jukebox? Yep, it was, “On the Road Again.” Coincidence? I think not!The story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus made me think of our theme song.

One of these disciples was Cleopas, who is not mentioned again in Holy Scripture, except that he may have been the same man mentioned in the Gospel of St. John in chapter 19, verse 25, which reads:

“Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.”

(Various Bible translations have it as Clopas, Cleopas, or Cleophas)

The other disciple is not named.

These men were not Apostles, but they were followers of Jesus. As they were walking, Jesus came and walked with them. They did not recognize him, because “their eyes were kept from recognizing him.”

Evidently Jesus wanted to hear what was being said about him without revealing himself, so the information would be more candid.

Cleopas says something that could be construed as rather sarcastic: “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” Jesus plays dumb, “What things,” he says.

Then Cleopas begins to recite the happenings, and then says something very telling:

“But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.”

“We had hoped” meaning they had lost hope.

He goes on to tell of the resurrection appearance, and how some women reported that the angels to them he was alive, but the men did not see him. As I have said before, I think women are more open to the spirit world than men, so of course it had to be women who saw the angels at the tomb.

Then Jesus tells the men, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe…”

You know, I can relate to Cleopas, and I bet some of you can, too. How foolish and slow of heart to believe I have been in my life.

On the long road of my life, how often have I lost hope? More times than I can count.

How many times was I just plain foolish, not recognizing the hand of God in my life?

How often was Jesus walking along beside me, and I did not recognize him?

I guess that’s a question we can all ask of ourselves. And just like Cleopas, I had heard the teaching, and the prophesy, and the testimony of others along the way. There were teachers in my life who really knew Jesus, and tried to open my eyes to see him. It took so long for me to accept Jesus into my heart and submit to his authority over my life.

The disciples listened to Jesus open the Scriptures to them, and they obviously hungered for more. Jesus was about to leave them when they asked him to stay with them. They said, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.”

Then when he was at the supper table with them, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them, at which their eyes were opened to see him

They recognized him, then he vanished from their sight. Why did he vanish? I suppose because he had taught them some lessons they would never forget.

He taught them that he was with them, even though they did not recognize him.

He taught them about how the prophesy of the Old Testament was about him.

He taught them to recognize him in the breaking of the bread, which we know as Holy Communion.

Our Sunday service follows this pattern. He is most certainly among us, though we do not recognize him. We strive to recognize him through the reading of Holy Scripture, of how the prophets spoke about him.

We celebrate the Holy Communion so that we can recognize him in the breaking of the bread.

We do these things every Sunday to keep hope alive in our hearts, and to recognize the Spirit of Christ within us.

There are many people out there who have lost hope, and don’t know where to find it again. It is found here in the faithful worship of our Lord and Savior that kindles our hearts.

In fact, this Gospel reading inspired a collective prayer, or a collect as we say, found in the service of Evening Prayer in our Book of Common Prayer. Listen and pray with me to Jesus:

A Collect for the Presence of Christ

Lord Jesus, stay with us, for evening is at hand and the day
is past; be our companion in the way, kindle our hearts, and
awaken hope, that we may know thee as thou art revealed in
Scripture and the breaking of bread.  Grant this for the sake
of thy love.    Amen.

Save

Save

Join our mailing list!

WORSHIP WITH US

SUNDAY
– Holy Eucharist 10:30AM
– Christian Education 9:30AM

WEDNESDAY NIGHT
– Life Group 6:00PM

1000 South Berry Street
Burkburnett, Texas 76354
(940) 569-3558

Upcoming Events

  • March 19, 2024
    • Maundy Thursday EucharistMaundy Thursday EucharistTime: 6:30 pm
      Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday is the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Washing of the Feet (Maundy) and the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles, as described in the canonical gospels. "Maundy" comes from the Latin word mandatum, or commandment, reflecting Jesus' words "I give you a new commandment."
      Maundy Thursday initiates the Paschal Triduum, the period which commemorates the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus; this period includes Good Friday and Holy Saturday, and ends on the evening of Easter Sunday.
  • March 20, 2024
    • Stations of the CrossStations of the CrossTime: 6:00 pm
      Also known as "way of the cross" or "via crucis" this devotion consists of 14 stations, taken both from Scripture and tradition, since the 18th century when the Church officially approved the now common Lenten practice. Through the stations, we are able to spiritually journey to the via dolorosa (Latin for "way of sorrows" or "way of suffering"). Beginning with Christ's condemnation all the way to his body being laid in the tomb, each "station" allows us to pray and reflect in prayer. Afterwards we meet in the Parish Hall for a Lenten study and meal.
    • Wednesday Life GroupWednesday Life GroupTime: 6:00 pm
      We meet each week at 6:00 pm for a meal and study. We hope you can join us!
  • March 21, 2024
    • Maundy Thursday EucharistMaundy Thursday EucharistTime: 6:30 pm
      Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday is the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Washing of the Feet (Maundy) and the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles, as described in the canonical gospels. "Maundy" comes from the Latin word mandatum, or commandment, reflecting Jesus' words "I give you a new commandment."
      Maundy Thursday initiates the Paschal Triduum, the period which commemorates the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus; this period includes Good Friday and Holy Saturday, and ends on the evening of Easter Sunday.
  • March 22, 2024
    • Maundy Thursday EucharistMaundy Thursday EucharistTime: 6:30 pm
      Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday is the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Washing of the Feet (Maundy) and the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles, as described in the canonical gospels. "Maundy" comes from the Latin word mandatum, or commandment, reflecting Jesus' words "I give you a new commandment."
      Maundy Thursday initiates the Paschal Triduum, the period which commemorates the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus; this period includes Good Friday and Holy Saturday, and ends on the evening of Easter Sunday.
  • March 23, 2024
    • Maundy Thursday EucharistMaundy Thursday EucharistTime: 6:30 pm
      Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday is the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Washing of the Feet (Maundy) and the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles, as described in the canonical gospels. "Maundy" comes from the Latin word mandatum, or commandment, reflecting Jesus' words "I give you a new commandment."
      Maundy Thursday initiates the Paschal Triduum, the period which commemorates the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus; this period includes Good Friday and Holy Saturday, and ends on the evening of Easter Sunday.
  • March 24, 2024
    • Christian EducationChristian EducationTime: 9:30 am - 10:15 am
      Join us as Fr. Munson leads us through the Discover the Bible Study.
    • Holy MassHoly MassTime: 10:30 am
      St. John is located in the small town of Burkburnett, just north of Wichita Falls. We worship in the Anglican tradition and use the 2019 Book of Common Prayer. We would love for you to visit us on a Sunday morning. Come as you are, worship with us, and grow with us in the knowledge of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
    • Maundy Thursday EucharistMaundy Thursday EucharistTime: 6:30 pm
      Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday is the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Washing of the Feet (Maundy) and the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles, as described in the canonical gospels. "Maundy" comes from the Latin word mandatum, or commandment, reflecting Jesus' words "I give you a new commandment."
      Maundy Thursday initiates the Paschal Triduum, the period which commemorates the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus; this period includes Good Friday and Holy Saturday, and ends on the evening of Easter Sunday.
  • March 25, 2024
    • Maundy Thursday EucharistMaundy Thursday EucharistTime: 6:30 pm
      Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday is the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Washing of the Feet (Maundy) and the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles, as described in the canonical gospels. "Maundy" comes from the Latin word mandatum, or commandment, reflecting Jesus' words "I give you a new commandment."
      Maundy Thursday initiates the Paschal Triduum, the period which commemorates the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus; this period includes Good Friday and Holy Saturday, and ends on the evening of Easter Sunday.

Join our mailing list!

Archives

TrustedSite Secure