The Text for Pentecost Day 2017

First Reading: Acts 2:1-21

1When the day of Pentecost had come, [the apostles] were all together in one place. 2And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

  5Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”

  14But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

 17‘In the last days it will be, God declares,

 that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,

  and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

 and your young men shall see visions,

  and your old men shall dream dreams.

 18Even upon my slaves, both men and women,

  in those days I will pour out my Spirit;

   and they shall prophesy.

 19And I will show portents in the heaven above

  and signs on the earth below,

   blood, and fire, and smoky mist.

 20The sun shall be turned to darkness

  and the moon to blood,

   before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.

 21Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ ”

Psalm: Psalm 104:24-34, 35b

 24How manifold are your | works, O Lord!

  In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full | of your creatures.

 25Yonder is the sea, great and wide, with its swarms too man- | y to number,

  living things both | small and great.

 26There go the ships | to and fro,

  and Leviathan, which you made for the | sport of it.

 27All of them | look to you

  to give them their food | in due season. R

 28You give it to them; they | gather it;

  you open your hand, and they are filled | with good things.

 29When you hide your face, | they are terrified;

  when you take away their breath, they die and return | to their dust.

 30You send forth your Spirit, and they | are created;

  and so you renew the face | of the earth.

 31May the glory of the Lord en- | dure forever;

  O Lord, rejoice in | all your works. R

 32You look at the earth | and it trembles;

  you touch the mountains | and they smoke.

 33I will sing to the Lord as long | as I live;

  I will praise my God while I | have my being.

 34May these words of | mine please God.

  I will rejoice | in the Lord.

 35bBless the Lord, | O my soul.

  Hal- | lelujah! R

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13

3bNo one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.

  4Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 7To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

  12For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

Gospel: John 20:19-23

19When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

Greek Study of Acts 2: Pentecost

Greek Study Acts  2:1-13

2:1 εν τω + inf. "When" - forms either a temporal or an instrumental clause expressing means; "since it was the day of Pentecost, they were all together." 

την ημεραν (α) της πεντηκοστης (η) gen. ""the day of Pentecost" genitive is adjectival; "the day known as Pentecost."

συμπληρουσθαι (συμπληροω) pres. pas. inf. "came" - [when the day of Pentecost] draws near, comes, is fulfilled. The present tense may express ongoing action (durative).

v2 αφνω adv. "suddenly" - unexpectedly. 

ηχος (ος) "a sound" roar in Luke 21:25 the noise is of a roaring sea, wind-like.

φερομενης (φερω) gen. pres. part. "the blowing" - "a mighty wind which was driving in on them.

επληρωσεν (πληροω) aor. "filled" "sound" or "wind"?

τον οικον (ος) "the house" Given they were "sitting" and not "dwelling", the meaning here is possibly "the room." 

νσαν καθημενοι (καθημαι) pres. part. "they were sitting" - periphrastic imperfect construction emphasizing durative aspect.

v3 ωφθησαν (οραω) aor. pas. "they saw"  a divine passive, God does the revealing, so "suddenly there came from heaven ..... and tongues were revealed to them." 

γλωσσαι "tongues/languages"  specifically a divine gift which enables the disciples to communicate to people with different dialects and languages.

ωσει "what seemed to be" not, "looked like tongues", but rather, "a manifestation of tongues which looked like πυρος (υρ υρος) gen. " fire"

διαμεριζομεναι (διαμεριζω) pres. pas. part. "that separated" i.e. tongues which looked like a spreading flame.

v4 παντες adj. "all of them" – all present received the Spirit.

επλησθησαν (πιμπλημι) aor. pas. "were filled" – punctiliar; realizing 1:5 where the gift of the Spirit is expressed in the terms, "will be baptized."

πνευματος αγιου gen. "with the Holy Spirit".

ηρξαντο (αρχομαι) aor. ind. mid. "began" i.e. the disciples did something they had not done before.

λαλειν (λαλεω) pres. inf. "to speak" 

ετεραις dat. adj. "in other [tongues]" an instrumental dative, expressing means. Isaiah 28:11, referred to by Paul in 1Cor.14:21. The translation "foreign languages" is possible, but some form of ecstatic prophecy, miraculously, or otherwise understood by the crowd, is more likely. We are left to wonder why Luke gives us so little information about this phenomenon. "They began to forcefully prophesy ecstatically."

εδιδου (διδωμι) imperf. "enabled" imperfect tense is durative. Luke does not clearly define the relationship between what is obviously a once only act whereby the Spirit is given to a believer for life, and the seeming action of the Spirit, at a specific time and for a specific purpose, to "fill" (empower?) a believer for ministry.

αποφθεγγεσθαι (αποφθεγγομαι) pres. inf. to utter out aloud - used of forceful, even inspired speech, which adds weight to the idea that this tongue-speaking had language content. We are left to wonder whether the Corinthian version of tongues had language content or bore any similarity to the Acts version.

v5 ησαν .... κατοικουντες (κατοικεω) pres. part. "there were staying" ευλαβεις adj. "God-fearing" – a word missing in some manuscripts; a technical term used by Luke, likely not in the original text as it grammatically refers to all the Jews and this obviously was not the case.

Ιουδαιοι "Jews" - Also missing in some manuscripts. Considered by some as originally a marginal notation. "Jews" in the sense of either race or religion. Possibly Jewish pilgrims from the Roman provinces visiting Jerusalem for the festival.

  
v6 γενομενης (γινομαι) aor. part. "when they heard" the speaking, not the wind.

συνεχυθη (συγχεω) aor. pas. "in bewilderment" - the word describes the total shock of those hearing the tongues.

αυτων gen. pro. "[each one]" - [each one] of them. This pronoun may go with εις εκαστος, "each one", serving as a partitive genitive, but more likely it goes with λαλουντων, so a partitive genitive must be assumed; "each one of them".

ηκουον (ακουω) imperf. + gen. "heard" - verb takes as its genitive direct object αυτων, "them = these men", or possibly an assumed "them", see above, such that the genitive substantive participle λαλουντων, "speaking", serves as an object complement; so each one of them heard these men speaking in τη ιδια διαλεκτω (ος) dat. their own language. At this point scholars divide. Was it different languages/dialects? Bruce suggests "manner of speech". The word is unclear. Was this a miracle of speech, or of hearing?

v7 λεγοντες (λεγω) pres. part. "[utterly amazed] they asked" ουχ "are not" negation is used in a question expecting an positive reply.

οι λαλουντες (λαλεω) pres. part. "[all these] who are speaking" Γαλιλαιοι "Galileans" - What identified them as Galileans? Some have suggested dress, more probably accent, which means it carried over into their tongue-speaking. 

  
v8 πως "how" - Interrogative. Serves to add a sense of confusion in the question.

εν + dat. "in [our own native language]" - clause is idomatic and takes the sense "in his own native tongue".

v9 The list of countries and races reflects common lists of the time which served to identify the extent of the diaspora.

οι κατοικουντες (κατοικεω) pres. part. "residents of [Mesopotamia]" 

  
v10 της Λιβυης (η) gen. "[the parts] of Libya"

οι επιδημουντες (επιδημεω) pres. part. "visitors from [Rome]" i.e. Roman citizens.

v11 Ιουδαιοι τε και προσηλυτοι "both Jews and converts to Judaism" - generally felt to be an early attempt to sort out a textual problem. Barrett suggests that the clause is in apposition to "Roman citizens" and intended to mean "temporarily resident in Jerusalem."

λαλουντων (λαλεω) gen. pres. part. "[we hear them] declaring" - supporting the view that the miracle is one of speech, not of hearing.

ταις ημετεραις γλωσσαις dat. "in our own tongues" dative is instrumental, expressing means; "by means of."

του θεου (ος) gen. "[the wonders] of God" a rare ablative, origin is a possible classification, again, emphasizing the language content of the tongues. The "mighty acts" are undefined, but given the context, they surely concern God's work of redemption recently completed in the death, resurrection and ascension of Christ.

v12 διηπορουν (διαπορεω) imperf. "[amazed and] perplexed" λεγοντες (λεγω) pres. part. "they asked" idiom "amazed the spoke to one another."

τι "what" on earth an interogative  θελει (θελοω) pres. "[does this]" ειναι (ειμι) pres. inf. "mean"? - infinitive is complementary, completing the sense of θελω, "I wish" 

v13 ετεροι adj. "some In v12 we are told παντες, "all", were amazed but here "some" makes fun of the situation. Some scholars claim "careless writing", others argue that the "all" is hyperbole. The point is clear; the behavior of the disciples mystifies the crowd, some of whom διαχλευαζοντες (διαχλευαζω) pres. part. "made fun of them” 

μεμεστωμενοι εισιν "they have had too much" γλευκους (ος) "wine"  so on one side people understood the prophetic nature of the "tongues", on the other there were people putting it down to intoxication - slurring of speech, mumbling – must be drunk!"

NOTE: the word for wine is used of partly fermented new wine, but this is obviously not intended here so possibly wine preserved with honey, "sweet wine" or the kind of wine most of us use for communion (who knew that Mogen David had such an early origin?)

Sorry, out of time

The Texts for April 30th, the 3rd Sunday of Easter

First Reading: Acts 2:14a, 36-41

14aPeter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed [the crowd], 36“Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

  37Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” 38Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.” 40And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added.

Psalm: Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19

 1I love the Lord, who has heard my voice,

  and listened to my supplication,

 2for the Lord has given | ear to me

  whenever I called.

 3The cords of death entangled me; the anguish of the grave came upon me;

  I came to grief and sorrow.

 4Then I called upon the name of the Lord:

  “O Lord, I pray you, save my life.” 

 12How shall I repay the Lord

  for all the good things God has done for me?

 13I will lift the cup of salvation

  and call on the name of the Lord.

 14I will fulfill my vows to the Lord

  in the presence of all God’s people.

 15Precious in your sight, O Lord,

  is the death of your servants.

 16O Lord, truly I am your servant;

  I am your servant, the child of your handmaid; you have freed me from my bonds.

 17I will offer you the sacrifice of thanksgiving

  and call upon the name of the Lord. 

 18I will fulfill my vows to the Lord

  in the presence of all God’s people,

 19in the courts of the Lord‘s house,

  in the midst of you, O Jerusalem. Hallelujah! 

Second Reading: 1 Peter 1:17-23

17If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile. 18You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. 20He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. 21Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.

  22Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. 23You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God. 

Gospel: Luke 24:13-35

13Now on that same day [when Jesus had appeared to Mary Magdalene,] two [disciples] were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, 16but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. 18Then 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?” 19He 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, 20and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. 21But 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. 22Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, 23and 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. 24Some 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.” 25Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! 26Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” 27Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.

  28As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. 29But 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. 30When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 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. 34They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” 35Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

The Greek Text of Luke 24:13-35

Greek Study for Luke 24:13-35

v13  εν τη  μια των σαββατων "the first day of the week". Luke is describing the day as the day following the Sabbath, or the eighth day, rather than the first day of the week. It is the day which ushers in a new creation because it is the day during which Jesus rose from the dead. Luke touches on this imagery in 9:28. It was an imagery developed by the Church Fathers

Εμμαους "Emmaus" - This is the only mention of this village by Luke.

v14 ωμιλουν (ομιλεω) imperf. "[they] were talking" the imperfect is typically used for  speech since it is an ongoing action (durative).

των συμβεβηκοτων (συμβαινω) perf. part. "[everything] that had happened" – an idiom, read “current events”.  

v15 εν τω ομιλειν (ομιλεω) pres. inf. "as they talked [and discussed]" -"during their talking and" συζητειν (συζητεω) pres. inf. "discussed" – they argued, debated.

αυτος "[Jesus] himself" –a variant; the pronoun is emphatic. Evans notes that this resurrection appearance of Jesus is distinctive in that Jesus enters the scene as a normal person; and the disciples do not recognize him.

εγγισας (ενγιζω) aor. part. "drew near – was at hand, within reach" - Attendant circumstance so temporal. Jesus also was coming from Jerusalem and caught up to them. 

v16 εκρατουντο (κρατεω) Imperf. pas. "they were kept from" a divine passive i.e. the disciples were restrained by divine power from recognizing Jesus. It is also possible that the language of sight is used to align with faith that it is their own doubts and fears that have blinded them. The use of this word by Luke is intentional given that it is necessary to explain why two disciples, who travelled with Jesus in the past were unable to recognize him in the present. 

του μη επιγνωναι (επιγινωσκω) aor. inf. "recognizing" –a cognitive disconnect; 

v17 αντιβαλλετε (αντιβαλλω) pres. "are you discussing" – literally “what words are you tossing around, debating?”

σκυθρωποι adj. "their faces downcast" – an idiom, they were sullen. 

v18 ονοματι (α ατος) dat. "[one] named, Κλεοπας "Cleopas" – the Semitic name is Clopas, (Mary’s husband?) with the Greek (femaile) version being Cleopatros. Tradition has it that he was Jesus' uncle, brother of Joseph and his son Simeon took over the leadership of the Jerusalem church after the death of James (Eusebius).

παροικεις (παροικεω) pres. "are you [only] a visitor [to Jerusalem]” The the question rests on the meaning of this word. Most  opt for "visitor", but the question could be sarcastic with the word meaning "stranger",  i.e. Have you been living under a rock?”

v19 ποια "what things" – αυτοις dat. pro. "he asked" 

περι "about [the things] Jesus of Ναζαρηνου (ος) "Nazareth" – Luke loves to serve up details, place and people names as a way of inviting others to check the story out for themselves.

προφητης (ης ουτ) "a prophet" - apposition to ανηρ, "a man".  The two disciples understand Jesus was the long promised messianic prophet, like Moses, who would serve as Israel's liberator.  Luke is not critical of their understanding of Jesus as a prophet, the problem lie in failing to understand it was necessary for the messiah to suffer and die and in failing to take Jesus' promise seriously that he would rise on the third day.

v20 παρεδωκαν (παραδιδωμι) aor. "handed [him] over" θανατου (ος) gen. "to death". We have the beginning of a liturgical response to the question “who was this Jesus” – a sort of proto creed.

v21  ημεις ηλπιζομεν (ελπιζω) emphatic imperfect “We had personally hoped"

ο μελλων (μελλω) pres. part. "the one who was going" 

λυτρουσθαι (λυτροω) pres. inf. "to redeem [Israel]" – more proto creedal language.    

v22 εξεστησαν (εξιστημι) aor. "disturbed [us]" the word carries a  touch of awe, supposing a pre-faith response but given the debate,  "disturbed" may be better.

v23 μη ευρουσαι (ευρισκω) aor. part. "they didn't find [his body]" – an adverbial participle forming a temporal clause. This states a fact, "some women disturbed us when, after they went to the tomb early in the morning, they were unable to find his body."

εωρακεναι (οραω) perf. inf. "that they had seen" - a vision of angels." Luke now tells us that what the women saw maybe pointing to a non-Lukan source for this tradition (as the Luke accouint has two ‘men’).. The words of the angels are also different.

ζην (ζαω) pres. inf. "[he] was alive" not risen (ανεστασισ) - the  angels say "he lives." 

v24 τινες "some" - only Peter who goes to the tomb to confirm the account; Luke seems  aware of the Johannine tradition of both Peter and John visiting the tomb!

v25 ανοητοι adj. "foolish" read "stupid", some scholars suggest "obtuse" as better.  I leave it to you, would Jesus say “How obtuse” or ‘How stupid of you!”  

βραδεις adj. "slow" τη καρδια (a) dat. "of heart" a Semitism?  For Hebrews the heart that was the seat of the intellect.  For Greeks, the heart was the seat of emotion.  Here Luke seems to the intellectual assertion.  Slow of heart” is an idiom for “not the sharpest knife in the drawer…” you get the picture. 

του πιστευειν (πιστευω) pres. inf. "to have faith" – an epexegetic i.e. it explains the "foolish" and "slow of heart" to whit; "How stupid and slow you are to have faith."

v27 αρξομενος (αρχω) aor. part. "beginning" - expresses the manner of explanation; "beginning with Moses and proceeding to all the prophets he explained".

v28 προσεποιησατο (προσποιεω) "Jesus acted as if" - sometimes translated “Jesus appeared to be going further", or the more bluntly "he pretended to go further.” 

v29 παρεβιασαντο (παραβιαζομαι) aor. "they urged [him] strongly/pressed him. 

λεγοντες μεινον μεθ aor. imp. "saying stay with us” a plaintive cry.

προς εσπεραν εστιν" it is nearly evening" - it is toward evening (late afternoon).

κεκλικεν ηδη η ημερα "the day is almost over" – idiom; the day has tipped.

v30 Luke now records "how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread" (v35), v30-32. The head of a home would normally say the grace over the meal, but Jesus takes the lead which  may imply they are staying at an inn. In acting as host, Jesus is recognized. Luke would have us see this recognition as divine initiative, supported by a miraculous disappearance. It seems Luke wants to make the point that the Christians of his day were able to have the living Lord made know to them in a manner analogous to the Emmaus experience at the eucharist. 

 εν τω κατακλιθηναι (κατακλινω) aor. inf. "when [he] was at the table" 

λαβων (λαμβανω) aor. part. "he took [the bread]" – 

κλασας (κλαω) aor. part. "he broke [it]" - all of this action seems a bit to formulaic to be referring to an “agape feast”, it is too close to the actions Paul describes in Corinthians.  

v31 διηνοιχθησαν (διανοιγω) aor. pas. "[their eyes] were opened" – another theological  passive, i.e. God does the opening. 

αφαντος adj. "[he] disappeared]" - There are a number of post resurrection appearances, but this is the only time Jesus disappears without a word. 

v32 καιομενη η∴ν "were [not our hearts] burning" – a "burning mind" is awkward so it may be an idiom, “weren't we excited..."

v33 ανασταντες (ανιστημι) aor. part. "they got up" αυτη τη ωρα dat. "that very hour" It may have been too late for Jesus to travel, but mot for them to return to Jerusalem!

ηθροισμενους (αθροιζω) perf. pas. part. "assembled together" - object of the verb "they found” the eleven “[who were] gathered there with their companions".

v34 οντως "it is true!" ηγερθη (εγαιρω) aor. pas. "He has risen" 

Here it is expressed in the terms of a recounted kerygma rather than  a more grammatically correct expression of the words used at the time of speaking.  Luke's language is similar to first Corinthians 15:3-5a. (again)

Σιμωνι (ων) dat. "[and has appeared] to Simon" Why "Simon" rather than "Peter"?  Only here among the synoptics is an appearance to Peter mentioned. Paul was aware of this tradition, as recorded (again) in first Corinthians 15 Are we dealing, once again, of those things that are “passed on as of first importance”?

Stay with us!

If one might be permitted: Let us for a moment give Luke the right to have been writing in a bit of a mystical way. 

Eventually, the church must walk away. Away from Jerusalem, away from the familiar workings and machinations of the faith out of which it was born. The Temple recedes in the history that Luke writes. Less and less of the story has anything to do with the Temple and, eventually, they get kicked out of Jerusalem all together. (Acts 8) The Gospel of Luke begins in the Temple with Zechariah and ends there as well with the Apostles giving praise to God. Acts is the story of the apostles moving out of the Temple and into the world.

The road to Emmaus is maybe a prefiguring of that movement. We are walking away from Jerusalem and away from Temple and place of memory. The tomb is empty. It will be a few years before it becomes a site for pilgrimage and even in the face of the possibility to do so, most Christians today have never and will never go to Jerusalem. The tomb was meant to stay empty, the cross was meant to remain bare, the lower rooms in the house in Bethlehem was meant to return to be the habitat  of the critters for for that it was built. 

If so, if indeed we are to be a Faith on the road and on the move, “Where then,” it has to be asked, “where is this Lord? Can we go on without knowing? Can we go on without hearing? Can we go on without touching the Holy?” 

True human life is not lived in compartments. Today I will live in my soul, starting Monday, I will live mainly by my intellect and Tuesday night I will go to the gym and be all physical. We are “one” in soul, mind, and body and the Lord will address all of us, not just a bit of us. The Temple and its ritual and meaning was not a bad idea, it was merely not God’s last idea. The New Jerusalem has no Temple. (Rv 21:22)

We find ourselves on the road and we hear the story that moves within us as it is told. We take shelter from the dark and in the breaking of the bread there is revelation of the Holiest of Holy: The Lord. “Where not our hearts burning?” Where not their eyes opened. The two have met: the story and the lifting of the bread and in it, the Lord has somehow come. 

The mystic reads: “Stay with us Lord,” with a heart that longs deeply and achingly. “Stay with me, Lord, Stay with me in this darkness, on this long road, through ship wreck and flights to the third circle of heaven.” It is a prayer: “stay with me, Lord.” Maybe John Paul II was right it was part of a liturgy once. A liturgy made not for Temple dwellers or seekers of holy places but for the common places and the impromptu moments when the Lord is heard and comes to seek his temples: his own, his disciples. (I Co 6:19)

This is that shift, that change, that Luke might be wanting for us to see. Once Zechariah and the apostles came to seek the Lord in Holy of Holies of the Temple. Now the Holy comes to them. Once the Lord bade them come now they bid him “stay.”

The Road to Emmaus

There is a reflection on the emmaus story we published three years ago. You can find it here.