Luke 24: 13-35
This chapter was written by Christopher M. Leighton, Executive Director of ICJS.
“Numerous stories in the Hebrew Scriptures as well as Hellenistic lore reinforce the importance of providing hospitality. In these accounts, the stranger often delivers a significant surprise, most notably, the disclosure that he bears the divine presence. Stories of Abraham greeting the strangers by the oaks of Mamre (Genesis 18), Jacob’s encounter with the angel (Genesis 32), and the angelic annunciation to Manoah and his wife (Judges 13), all occur at the mysterious place where the human and the divine intersect. Each of these narratives indicates that God may break into our midst if we can discern the extraordinary within the ordinary, the sublime within the mundane, the wisdom hidden beneath apparent foolishness. For us, the particular question is whether the story in Luke [Luke 24, the encounter on the road to Emmaus] provides an opportunity to reframe the grief and sense of loss that besiege individuals and families afflicted with a terminal illness or with Alzheimer’s disease.
One of the most agonizing aspects of these afflictions is that they often transform those we love into strangers. But seeing our struggles through the lens of the narrative in Luke 24, we are challenged to regard someone who has become a stranger as a bearer of the divine. We are called to attend to a strangely familiar person with our entire hearts and minds. We are encouraged to perform the discipline of hospitality, to participate in the rituals of giving and receiving the most elemental of gifts. While there are never any guarantees in our encounters with the unknown, Luke 24 suggests that we might be stunned to realize that the one whom we love, the one who has become so difficult to recognize, bears a divine imprint and that we honor the Creator by seeing a reflection of the holy from someone who has become so easy and so convenient to overlook.”
Discussion and Study Questions:
- In verse 25, the Risen Christ does not seem to possess the qualities of an effective “grief counselor.” He chastises his disciples for being foolish and slow of heart. Why do you think Jesus responds in this manner? What do you think he is trying to accomplish? Why?
- To reframe the traumatic events of the recent past, the resurrected Christ directs the attention of the disciples to the Scriptures. He places his own story within the context of the Jewish Scriptures. Why is this necessary? What do these Scriptures enable the disciples to see and understand that would otherwise have escaped their comprehension?
- Table fellowship became essential within Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity, although “breaking bread” and “sharing meals” contain very distinct meanings within each tradition. How do the rituals and practices around eating affect the disciples? How does sharing a meal together transform the character of their grief?
- What is the pivotal moment when the disciples move from non-recognition to recognition? What were the dispositions that led to the disciples’ receptivity? Why was studying Scripture a necessary prelude for their recognition? Why was the practice of hospitality so essential in their discovery of the divine in their midst?
- What transformational possibilities may emerge if a caregiver thinks of him- or herself as a “host” and the person with Alzheimer’s as “the stranger”?
- Christians often read Luke 24 as a Eucharistic text. In other words, they use this passage to illuminate the transforming power of Communion. When Christians gather to read their holy scriptures and to break bread, they discern God in their midst. Through these sacred acts, the past breaks into the present, opening up surprising possibilities. As a way of reaffirming these connections, consider the extent to which we provide opportunities for people with Alzheimer’s disease to hear familiar hymns and sacred music, to recite familiar prayers, to participate in certain sacred rituals and to listen to familiar scriptural readings.
