Holy Humor Sunday                    

Luke 24:13-35

Now on that same day two of [Jesus’ followers] 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, [Jesus] 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.

Life is a Journey

As we look at this story of the walk to Emmaus, we can see in their journey a metaphor for their emotional arc as they process the events of the previous few days, and their understanding of what actually happened. They start their journey confused and in despair, but by the end, they are rejoicing, because they have seen the Risen Christ. Metaphors like these are a common literary devise to help the reader understand the deeper truths of the story, and the metaphor of the journey is one of the most common of all.

Anytime I encounter a story about a journey, I can’t help but remember one of the most significant journeys of my own life, when I went on a two-month long road trip across the United States with my mom. I’ve spoken about this trip many times, because there are so many stories about the things that my mother and I saw and did on that trip. The story that I’m about to share is one of my favorites, but it’s a little embarrassing for my mom, so mom, if you’re watching, I’m sorry, but I think you know that I tell this story all the time, so it’s not really a secret, anyway.

If any of you have ever driven through Texas, then you know how big that state is. It’s almost 900 miles across at its widest point, and it ultimately took us a portion of three separate days to drive across it. As you might imagine, a lot of that drive is through large swaths of uninhabited wilderness.

It was around 7:00, and it had been at least two or three hours since we had last driven past any sign of civilization. We didn’t have a reservation to stay anywhere, and we didn’t have a specific destination for that night. So, since were weren’t familiar with the area, we decided that we should stop at the next inn or motel that we saw.

I think it was within the hour that we came across a small town that I don’t remember the name of. The motel that we found wasn’t part of a chain, like Motel 6 or Super 8, just a little no-name mom and pop kind of place. We went into the lobby, but there was no one there, and there was no bell to ring. We called out for someone so that we could get a room, but no one answered. We looked around outside, went back in and called out some more. We were about to start opening doors and poking around when this bleary-eyed man opened the door behind the counter, wearing nothing but an undershirt and boxer shorts, his hair all disheveled, asking if he could help us.

We were pretty surprised that we had woken this man, because it was the middle of summer, and the sun was still out, and it was apparent that no one else was working there, but we went ahead and got a room. When we opened the door to our room, the first thing we saw was a giant dead cockroach in the middle of the floor. It had to have been over two inches long. Hoping that would be the worst of it, I flung the cockroach out the door, but justifiably concerned about the cleanliness of the motel, my mom started checking the sheets. Not happy with what she saw, she gathered them up and brought them the front desk to ask for new ones.

I decided to start getting ready for bed, so I went into the bathroom, and found another dead cockroach on the counter. I decided not tell my mom about that one. She came back with the new sheets as I was brushing my teeth, and all of a sudden, I heard a scream from the bedroom, so I rushed out to see what happened. It was like a scene from a cartoon. My mom was chasing another one of those huge cockroaches around the room, like Wily Coyote chasing the Roadrunner. I had no idea how athletic cockroaches are. This thing was racing around the room, making these huge arcs across the wall, always keeping just out of my mom’s reach, and then all of a sudden, it was gone!

We just stood there for a moment, looking around, trying to figure out where it was, when my mom started jumping up and down, screaming and slapping her legs! The cockroach had run up her pant leg! I was trying so hard not to laugh, but it was literally the funniest thing I had ever seen in my life, and I just yelled, “Mom! Just take off your pants!”

And, she said, “I can’t! I’m not wearing any underwear!”

And, I couldn’t even respond to that because I was laughing so hard.

A few seconds later, she managed to slap the thing, and the stunned cockroach came rolling out of her pant leg.

You never know what you’re going to encounter on a journey. The men walking to Emmaus had no idea Jesus was going to appear to them, having come back from the dead. And, when Jesus did appear, they didn’t recognize him. They even told him about his own death, and how the women had found his empty tomb! And, even when he gets frustrated with them and reminds them about all of the prophecies of how what happened was supposed to happen, they still don’t recognize him. It’s not until he breaks bread with them, that their eyes are opened and they see who he truly is, only to have him disappear.

Being on a journey is a process. Being on a journey usually means learning something that you didn’t know before the journey started.

One day, on this epic road trip with my mom, we were in Florida, and my car was parked in front of our motel. I must have been trying to run some kind of errand, because my mom wasn’t with me when this happened, but when I tried to back up the car, I couldn’t get it to go any faster than maybe two or three miles per hour, so I stopped after a few feet, tried to go forward, and again, the car was just moving really slow. I went back and forth like that a few times, until I eventually parked it again, and got out to see if I could figure out what was wrong.

I walked around the car, but I couldn’t see what the problem was, so I started up the car again, and tried to back up. Same thing. Only this time, instead of driving forward again, I left the car where it was, and got out to see if I could figure anything out. And, that’s when I saw it. The concrete parking block that was supposed to be at the end of the parking spot was stuck under the fender of my car, and I was dragging it around with my tires rubbing up against it like a giant concrete brake. It must have broken free from the parking lot somehow, and I just stood there, staring at it, having no idea how I was going to get my car free from it.

I noticed across the parking lot that three young Latino men had started walking in my direction. They looked like they were in their early twenties, and they were headed right towards me. I started to get a little scared, because they honestly looked like they were part of a gang or something, and I didn’t know if they were going to rob me or hurt me. But, they must have been watching my struggle with the parking block, because two of them got on either side of the hood of my car and lifted, while the third pushed the parking block out of the way. The whole thing took probably thirty second. I thanked them profusely for their help, and then they just left.

I honestly don’t even remember them saying very much to me, so it’s possible they didn’t even speak English, or maybe they didn’t speak it very well. But, I didn’t recognize them for the kind and helpful human beings that they were when they were approaching. It wasn’t until after they had helped me that I saw them for who they were, and I had to come face to face with my own racism.

We are all on a journey of discovery, always learning more about ourselves, and constantly learning about how God is at work in the world. When Jesus was talking to the two men on their way to Emmaus, they told him that they “had hoped that [Jesus] was the one to redeem Israel,” not realizing that it was in fact Jesus who they were talking to. Well, Jesus didn’t just redeem Israel; he redeemed the whole world. And, his time with us changed everything. He taught us what was really important: love and relationship, justice and community. We all have Jesus inside of us, and we can all be kind and caring individuals. And, maybe as we learn to trust and hope as we make our way on the journeys of our lives, we can all begin to see people for who they truly are.

Amen.

~   Rev. Charles Wei