Luke's story of what happened on the road to Emmaus is one of seven post-resurrection stories found in the Gospels. Like all the rest of them, it is a little ghostly-a stranger appears out of nowhere-on a garden path, through a wall, on a road. The stranger is not recognized at first, turns out to be Jesus, and then vanishes from their sight as soon as they know who he is.

The crucifixion stories are not like that at all. They are 100% solid-Jesus is nailed to the Cross with a nameplate tacked over his head, where he dies in front of a hundred witnesses. No case of mistaken identity on Good Friday. No sudden appearances and disappearances. His death is real and clear for all to know.

His Resurrection, on the other hand, is largely rumor. Someone said that someone said his tomb was empty. But that could mean almost anything. Maybe his body was stolen. Maybe he was revived and walked away. After all, it was women who first spread the story, and if they were not even considered authentic witnesses in a court of justice, could they be reliable witnesses for something as outrageous as "coming back to life?" Even those who saw him in the flesh had a hard time convincing anyone else it was true.

Thomas didn't buy it, not until he had seen for himself. And Jesus did not appear to every one before he ascended to heaven, which left plenty of people to weigh the evidence for themselves, to listen to the testimony of those who were there and to decide if and what they would believe. After all, seven resurrection stories would not go very far.

That, in a nutshell is the story of the post-resurrection church. It was the situation faced by Luke's church and the churches of the other Gospel writers. It was the situation Paul addressed to the churches in Asia Minor. It is the situation today. None of us was there, for the real death or the rumored resurrection. Therefore, all of us have a decision to make about the truth we have heard.

If the Lord is risen indeed, then we may base our decision on our own encounter with the living God. The question is: where/how do we do this? For Luke, the answer is: somewhere on the road between here and Emmaus. Luke is the only Gospel writer who tells us this story of that happened on that road, but every one of us has walked that road at one time or another.

It is the road we walk when our marriage fails. It is the road we walk when the results of the CATscan are not what we expected. It is the road we walk when our job is terminated. It is the road we walk when our loved one dies-the long road back to an empty house, to the piles of unopened mail, to life as usual, as if life can ever be "usual" again.

It is the road of deep disappointment, and walking it is the living definition of fear and confusion-no different than the two disciples in today's Gospel. Those seven miles took forever to walk, as they went over and over the events of the past three days in their minds.

And then this stranger comes up behind them and asks them what they are talking about, as if Rip Van Winkle finally woke up! Is he the only one in a 10-mile radius who has not heard what has happened? But they are glad for the company, so they walk with him-and He continues to walk with them (and here's some real Good News!) Jesus continues to walk with them, even though they are walking the wrong way! They're going away from Jerusalem, away fro their community, away from the very place where they can find sustenance. Isn't that great news? To know that Jesus will even walk with us, even if we are walking the wrong direction!

They tell him how things had looked so promising at first, when Jesus impressed everyone with his eloquence and mighty acts, and then how things had gone wrong, so wrong, so that there was finally nothing left for them to do but go back home, dragging their feet in the dust.

"We had hoped he was the one to redeem Israel," they say to him, admitting their defeat. "We had hoped!" Hope in the past tense is one of the saddest sounds a human being can make. We had hoped he was the one! We believed things might really change, but we were wrong. He died. It is over now. No more fairy tales. No more illusions. Back to business as usual.

But that is when their walking partner implodes upon them. "Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart!" In other words, you idiots! If you read your Bible with your heart, none of this would come as a surprise to you! It is right there in black and white. He then opens the scriptures to them as they continue walking.

When they arrive at their village and he shakes their hands good-bye, they will not let him go. They have not gotten enough of him yet, so they invite him to stay with them, and he does.

And this is the part that gives me goose bumps. He takes bread-blesses, breaks, gives-and through the torn, fragmented edges of the loaf He holds out to them, they look at him and know who He is. They know who he is! Finally, finally, all the rumors are no longer rumors. And those "...they said some said..." are no longer needed. The experience of the Risen One becomes real!

Were not our hearts burning? How do our hearts burn to hear the Good News and receive Jesus in the sacrament?

You see, from the earliest days of the church, this Emmaus story was recognized as the perfect description of how the post-resurrection church came to know the Risen Jesus, both then and now.

First it was the two disciples together; then it was the kindness to a stranger; then there was the way their hearts burned within them when He opened the scriptures to them; finally, they recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread.

The road to Emmaus is still the road we walk. We call it the journey of life! The Risen One still comes to join us on the journey, begun in Baptism. You know, those seven resurrection stories traveled pretty far, after all. They traveled throughout the whole world. They traveled more than 2000 years into the future, providing anticipation and expectation and hope. These stories continue to provide possibility for our deepest longings.

This has been the way of life for the church down to the present day. This has been the life of the People of God-walking the road of life, knowing in faith we do not walk alone. These stories, this story defines who we are. These stories define who we are. These stories define who we are. Amen.