The following sermon was delivered by the Reverend John W. Howe at Truro Episcopal Church in Fairfax, Virginia on May 3, 1981. The title is, Their Eyes Were Opened, and the scripture reference is Luke, chapter 24, verses 13 through 35. 

Just about a month ago, we witnessed the attempted assassination of President Reagan and the wounding of three of his compatriots. It was a remarkable afternoon, wasn't it? If you were anywhere near a television or a radio, you had the experience of getting the news bulletins, the various bits and pieces of information, reporting, and conjecture, just as rapidly as did the network anchorman.

And it took quite a long time to put the story together, even though we had minicam videotapes from several different points of view, and saw it replayed, it seemed, endlessly. Wasn't it curious how much bad reporting crept into the story? At one point they said he wasn't wounded at all.

And then we heard they were having open heart surgery. And the nation panicked. And then they quickly withdrew that rumor and next told us that James Brady was dead.

I happened to be watching CBS and Dan Rather had a long moment of silence. And then there were several informal eulogies, only to find out that the report was somewhat premature. And he's doing relatively well.

Keep praying for him. I'm personally convinced that it's in answer to the prayers of millions of people that James Brady's life has been spared, and he's doing so very remarkably at this point. I don't know what your reaction was.

When I heard them withdraw that pronouncement of his death, I was full of skepticism. I said, why in the world are they trying to hide what the whole world now knows? The doctors are trying to protect themselves.

I don't know what your reaction was. Maybe you believed it more readily than I. Nobody was deliberately trying to lie. But we had all of those different points of view.

People were standing in various places. They saw different parts. of the story unfold, and that apparently happens in any news story, particularly when it's one as sensational as that.

And as I've already said, it took a long time to put the story accurately together. It strikes me that something like that is reflected in the Gospel accounts of that first Easter weekend. There are various witnesses reporting what went on, and each one of them saw it from his or her own particular point of view.

And they saw it differently. And those different perspectives are reflected in what we have recorded here. On Good Friday afternoon, we, along with millions of others throughout the world, celebrate the time Jesus hung on the cross and we rehearse again what we call the seven last words from the cross.

But you know, not one of the four Gospels has all seven. All four have some. All four have one or another that the others leave out.

But you've got to piece them together to get the whole picture. Even more so when we turn to the events of Sunday morning. We have such a variety of accounts of what's going on.

How many women went to the tomb? How many times did they go? Did they arrive singly or together?

How many people did they encounter? Was it one or two? Was it men or was it angels?

Were they in dazzling white or were they blinding in light? And what did they say? And who did they say it to?

And did they see the risen Christ or didn't they? One thing is sure, the tomb was empty. On that, everybody's agreed.

Peter and John ran to check it out for themselves. John looks in and he's convinced. He probably would have believed James Brady was alive too.

First time he heard it. Peter looks in. Foul play.

he says. The Sanhedrin and the Romans are accusing the disciples of being grave robbers and they're returning the compliment. One thing you can be sure of, Jerusalem is buzzing with bulletins by mid-afternoon.

Most of the disciples are absolutely terror struck. they don't know what in the world is going on but somehow this terrible travesty of justice which has taken their leader looks like it might be turned against them as well two of them they're not members of the innermost circle of Jesus followers but they're peripheral members two of them are making their way home like so many others they'd come to Jerusalem come to the city for the Passover celebration They stayed over through the Sabbath because they shouldn't be traveling on the Sabbath. Now it's Sunday. The Passover is over.

The Sabbath is over. And they're making their way back to the village of Emmaus. It's about seven miles down the road.

One of them is called Cleopas. We don't know the other's name. There have been all sorts of guesses about who it might have been.

Some have even said it may have been his wife. They've heard these rumors. They don't know what to make of it.

Some people, you know, will look at this and they'll say, well, the Bible can't even agree with itself. It just proves that it's untrue. I draw precisely the opposite conclusion.

It seems to me that something like that month ago experience is going on. And whereas it would have been possible for the apostles to harmonize their accounts, it would have been easy to do that. They took pains to report what the various witnesses were saying, even though the details differ according to what your experience might have been.

Here are Cleopas and his companion making their way back home, shaking their heads sadly, wondering, how in the world do you put it together? What is happening? Are we in danger?

And lo and behold, a stranger is trying to catch up with them. so they slow down even more and let him join them and who should it be but the Lord Jesus himself only they don't recognize him why not? I don't know some have said because their eyes were filled with tears they couldn't see him others have said maybe he had a hood over his head and his face was partially obscured I don't know why they didn't recognize him he didn't want them to recognize him but get the irony of it here they are talking about him as he's walking along with them how many times has Jesus walked along with us when we didn't recognize him when we didn't have eyes to see him you know the story of the lady who had the dream she saw her own footprints in wet sand.

She realized she was seeing a picture of her life and walking along beside her footprints were another set that had accompanied her. And suddenly she realized that she was standing next to the Lord Jesus. And then the penny dropped.

She realized it was His footprints that had accompanied hers. But as she looked more closely she saw a ways back on the trail one set instead of two. And she said to him, Lord, why was it that when the going got rough, you left me to walk alone?

And he said, I didn't leave you alone. In those hard places where there's only one set of footprints, I carried you. Only she didn't have eyes to see it.

How many times has Jesus joined himself to us entered into our circumstances, walked with us, carried us, only we didn't have eyes to see it. I want us to notice three things about this little encounter on Easter afternoon. The first is that it's an ironic fulfillment of Jesus' own promise where two or three are gathered together in My name, there I will be in the midst of them.

Here they are, two, gathered in His name, talking about Him, lamenting over Him, sorrowing over their loss, and He's right there in their midst. He entered into their sorrow and He burst the bonds of it just as surely as He burst the bonds of death that very morning. How often God would do that if we'd allow Him.

You know, Abraham didn't realize that it was the Lord who came to him and warned him about Sodom and Gomorrah? He thought it was just a man. Jacob didn't realize it was the Lord with whom he was wrestling until he blessed him at daybreak.

Gideon doubted that it was the Lord who was promising to deliver the Israelites from Midian until he put out his fleece twice. Gehazi feared the Syrian army. You remember the story?

He woke up one morning. He's with his master, Elisha. He looks out and he sees the Syrian army absolutely surrounding them.

And he says, That's a sort of a free translation. I've used that three times here and you still laugh. And Elisha prayed for him and it says his eyes were opened and suddenly saw, yup, the Syrian army has surrounded us, but the army of the Lord has surrounded them.

And he didn't know it. Mary Magdalene thought it was the gardener she was talking to. It was Jesus.

Saul of Tarsus, riding to Damascus, sees the blinding light. Who are you, Lord? And it's Jesus.

how many times would He enter into our circumstances, share our sorrow, burst our bondage, if we had eyes to see it. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, where it's too dark to see anything or anyone, I fear no evil, for you are with me. I didn't see you, but you were there.

When two or three are gathered in my name, there am I, whether you see me or whether it feels like it or not. How many of you know that he's here in our midst right now? I see a lot of folks who didn't raise their hands.

Whether you see it or feel it or not, I'm there. Let's learn a lesson from these two travelers on the way to Emmaus. Even in the midst of sorrow, they were talking about Him.

They're talking to each other about the Lord Jesus and He came into their midst. Scripture says when you rise up, when you lie down, when you walk by the way, in all circumstances, be talking about me. And let me enter into those circumstances.

I notice secondly, that they thought they knew so much about him, and yet they knew so little. Can you get the irony of trying to tell Jesus about Jesus? Are you the only one in Jerusalem who doesn't know what's happened?

yet how many times would we try to advise him no you wouldn't do that I would now Lord I know that you're all knowing I know that you're all wise you hold the stars in the palm of your hands you invented the second law of thermodynamics but if I were you do it my way somebody once said that all theology all theology is idolatry because our very best thought doesn't even come close he's so much bigger he's so much better than the best we can think about oh foolish men and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have said. Was it not necessary that these things should happen? And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

What a Bible study. Wouldn't you have liked to have been there? As He opens the Scripture, things that they'd known all their lives, things that they'd been hearing especially for the last three years and which were absolutely opaque and suddenly they begin to become transparent.

He opens the Scriptures. Wouldn't you have liked to have been there? You know there's no reason that you can't be.

If you'd give Him the time, He'll open the Scriptures to you and show you Himself in them, page after page. Some people say the Old Testament gives us a picture of God as angry, wrathful, fire and brimstone, New Testament God is all sweetness and light. The Old Testament is the only scriptures Jesus had to open.

And he said every word is written about me. Do you know that he's the true sacrifice behind every sacrifice that the Jews ever offered? He's the true high priest behind Aaron and all the high priests who ever lived.

He's the true deliverer and king of which every deliverer and king of Israel is just a little shadow figure? Do you know that He's the seed of the woman who would bruise the head of the serpent? That He's the one, Abraham's offspring, in whom all the nations of the world shall be blessed?

He's the true brazen serpent. He's the true scapegoat. He's the true Lamb of God.

He's the true bread from heaven. He's the one who pours out the living water. He's in every page.

He's in every promise. Every word is written about me, He said. child who was born unto us, whose name shall be Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

Would you let Him teach you out of this book? You can't do it unless you share it with Him. Hosea said, My people are dying for lack of knowledge.

Episcopalians read more Scripture in their services than any other branch of Christendom and less Scripture in their own private lives than any other branch of Christendom. Thirdly and finally I notice he appeared to be going further. But they constrained him saying, stay with us.

The day is far spent. And he stayed. Why did he appear to be going further?

Because he wanted them to constrain him. He doesn't force himself on us. He comes alongside.

He walks with us. He captures our attention. He tantalizes us with the truth about himself.

He throws out the bait. and then He waits for us to bite. The book of Revelation says, behold, I stand at the door and knock.

I don't blast through the door. I don't barge my way into your life. I wait for you to ask me to come in.

And then, He appears to be going on further. Until we constrain Him, we say, Lord, please stay. Please stay.

share my life share my fellowship come under my roof and suddenly in that familiar action surely they'd heard about the last supper undoubtedly they'd been there at the feeding of the 4,000 or the 5,000 how many times had he taken the bread and blessed it and broken it and suddenly they saw those nail scarred hands breaking the bread meeting their needs entering into their fellowship. And their eyes were opened. And then He departed.

Only said, Lo, I am with you always. It's not by sight anymore. It's by My Spirit.

You can walk out of this church this morning and you can leave Him behind. Or you can constrain Him. Go home with me.

Be in the breaking of bread at my table as well as this table. Share my life. He's waiting for you to ask Him.

Let's pray together. Lord, open our eyes that we might see You. cause our hearts to burn within us as you open the scripture and we see you there be in the midst of our fellowship we would constrain you to go home with us to share our life and transform it to the glory of your name Amen