Disclaimer:  I am going to use the word brown in this sermon. I use it as a color only and it has nothing to do with the color of anyone’s skin. I also use the word green and that too has nothing to do with the color of anyone’s skin and everything to do with the color green.

A friend of mine named Anna is a minister in a church and in her church Sunday School begins downstairs before the adults came and worship upstairs in the sanctuary. I want to share with you something Anna wrote that relates to today’s scripture: One Sunday I was sitting praying in the sanctuary by myself. In the middle of that quiet time, the doors opened and a stream of 3-to-5-year olds walked in with their Sunday School teacher. They quietly went to the huge stained glass window that depicted Jesus and the two on the road to Emmaus. Their teacher had read the story of  The Two On the Road to Emmaus  to them and now the class was looking at the beautiful window. The first question from the teacher was "What are the two people wearing?" "Dresses" they shouted. I had to smile. (OK, so the robes do look a little like dresses). The next question was, "Where are they?" And they answered in unison. "They are on the road to Emmaus," Well, everyone answered Emmaus except one little boy standing closest to Anna who said, "They are on the road to A MESS." (wisdom right out of the mouths of babes!).

These two are really on the road to a mess. Christ has died. The story of the empty tomb on Easter Sunday begins as a story of devastation. Christ has died and many great hopes and dreams have died along with that particular death of that particular hero as well. Cleopas tells us how shattered their dreams are. He says “Jesus was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people….But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day”, which means, “I ain’t seen nothing yet.” Everything still looks brown. I don’t see anything that’s green yet. These two travellers have
•         seen the violent crucifixion.
•         been told from some women that the tomb was in fact empty
•         been told that angels said it right out, “Jesus is alive.”
•         And they heard about others going to the tomb and finding it empty.

The evidence is everywhere around them. But these two are closed up with grief and disappointment. It has put them on a road to a mess where all they see is a bunch of brown dead stuff, and not even a good sermon preached by Jesus himself pulls them out of that mess.

But something does pull them out. We read that towards the end of the day the sun is setting and the town of Emmaus is coming into sight. The two turn one way and Jesus continues the other way. The Bible text says that the two of them urged Jesus strongly to stay with them. “Urged him strongly” is a very strong statement. It means they forced Jesus to stay. Have you ever visited someone and that person says as you’re about to leave at 4 o’clock,

“Oh stay for supper, please.”
 Oh no I didn’t come for supper.”
“No, I insist. Stay. It’s no trouble. It’s a big roast and there will be plenty.”
“Oh no. I need to get going.”
“No, we really want you to stay.”
“Oh no! I’ll be fine.”
“Stay!!!!”
So you stay!

And Jesus (who is still a stranger to them) stayed. When they were all at the table eating supper Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them. And it is in that moment that they realize the stranger they invited into their house is Jesus himself. Jesus showed up in the middle of their act of hospitality and they recognized him.

That’s how resurrection happens. It begins with people reaching out to others and in so doing, recognizing Jesus who becomes visible in their act of caring. In the middle of their generous act of hospitality to a stranger Jesus became visible and they recognized him as their hearts were warmed. If these two hadn’t offered this hospitality, Jesus would have continued on and there would have been no recognition, no appearance and no hearts strangely warmed. How would they know Jesus was alive? I’ll say it again. It is an important point. They recognized Jesus, and this recognition came out of the middle of their act of kindness.

And for us this is how resurrection happens. Maybe we might find ourselves on a dull and dreary day down on the floor cleaning the bottom cupboards in the kitchen, or maybe gazing out the window watching the snow melt and wondering how soon it will be until we can get back working those brown fields. And then all of a sudden, we find ourselves thinking about
•         our friend Jenny in the hospital,
•         our neighbour Molly who can’t get out much,
•         Uncle Henry down the way who is trying so hard to find ways of living with cancer on top of his arthritis.
•         our parents or our caregivers who loved us so much as we grew up.
•         Or all of a sudden we find ourselves thinking about the First Nations people and how so many suffered so much abuse at residential schools.
•         Or we find ourselves thinking about our sister who has gone through so much living in a bad relationship.
•         Or in a moment we find ourselves all of a sudden remembering how our new granddaughter’s or grandson’s face looked the first time we set our eyes on them in that nursery that day. And we think of all our grandchildren and how much joy and new life they bring.

And we find ourselves
•         getting in the car and driving over to the hospital to visit Jenny
•         or we go ring Margaret’s doorbell holding a plate of muffins
•         or we make our way over to Uncle Henry’s house and as we drive we prepare our minds and our hearts to be listening minds and hearts so we can really hear him well when he tells us how he’s doing.
•         Or we bravely set our hearts and our eyes to read a book written in the voice of a First Nations person that tells a heart wrenching story of oppression, and we bravely keep our eyes open so we can learn the whole story.
•         Or we pick up the phone and dial our dear sister and give her a listening ear for an hour (or two).
•         Or we get out the greeting cards and write a little note to our grandchild that begins with “I love you a thousand, million hugs.” And you draw a silly little picture that will make them laugh out loud. And then you put it in a mailbox.

And then it happens. Somewhere in that act of reaching out (of caring), Jesus shows up. Something happens and our hearts burn within us with love for everyone and everything when we see the risen Christ.

What starts out as the road to a mess where everything looks brown and dead, turns into a whole new world of green life, growing. Resurrection is the story of how brown turns to green.

That same little boy who named the stained glass window, “The road to a mess”, was leading the congregation one other Sunday, and they were saying The Lord’s Prayer, and he said, “Our Father who art in heaven. HALLELUJAH be thy name. That little boy knew something about the mystery of our faith that we proclaim in every Communion service:

•         Christ HAS died. Yes! Sometimes life looks like a mess where everything is brown.
•         Christ IS risen. Yes! Our eyes are opened and we recognize Jesus alive and moving out into our homes, in our communities, in our world, bringing new life and new hope.
•         Christ WILL come again. The recognition of the risen Christ among us burns a passionate love into our hearts and we proclaim a love, a resurrection faith by reaching out to others through acts of kindness of all kinds.
And now, when I get home I’m going to go visit Jenny. I wonder how she’s doing…

Jesus is alive! HALLELUJAH be thy name!