Given By Rev. Anna Runion on October 29, 2017
As the day of the dead draws near, we remember our loved ones who have passed. The reading today tells the story about when some of the disciples were out walking as they grieved Jesus’s death. They were working through their sadness, anger, and confusion. A stranger joins them and asks why they are upset. The disciples are astounded that the stranger is unaware of the death of Jesus. They share their feelings of grief and the injustice of Jesus’s death. They recount the rumors that the women went to the tomb and found no body and that an angel was there saying Jesus was alive. They are confused. The stranger calls them foolish. Although upset, the disciples continue to listen. When they reached the village, the disciples urged the stranger to stay with them. As they were breaking bread, the disciples suddenly saw that it was Jesus. Jesus disappears. They were so revived in spirit that they ran back to tell the other disciples of this encounter. It was like they were resurrected too. Some scholars feel that this passage is more poetic rather than a physical event. It is more of an awakening of mind and spirit. With death, new life is possible. As Jesus lives in each of us, we live in Jesus. Those who have passed live on in us. Christ walks with us as we journey through life. Sometimes we are the stranger who helps us grieve. At other times, we are comforted by the people around us who listen. Life and death are intertwined.