On the day of the resurrection, two disciples took an afternoon walk to Emmaus. As they walked and talked about all of the heartbreaking things they had seen and the unbelievable good news they had heard, Jesus came and walked with them. Luke tells us that he talked with them about himself and about the Scriptures, and that their hearts burned within them as he did so. At the end of their journey, Jesus sat at table with them, took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them, and in that moment they recognized him, even as he vanished from their sight. Overcome with joy, they immediately got up, retraced all seven miles of their journey, and told others “what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.”

This story informs the identity of the Emmaus worshiping community. We gather in the evening on Sundays, the day of Resurrection. In silence, in contemplative song, in conversation and in Scripture, we reconnect with one another and with Jesus. We share with each other the stories of the heartbreaking things we have seen, and of the good news we have heard. We ask Jesus to open the Scriptures to us, and we feel our hearts burn within us as he does. We offer our thanks and praise as he comes to us again in the breaking of the bread. Nourished and renewed, we once again take our place on the road, to tell this good news to others.

The Emmaus worshiping community gathers at 6 pm on Sundays at Salem Lutheran Church, 119 N. 8th Street, Lebanon, beginning October 9th. Emmaus is a joint ministry of the Lebanon Lutheran Cooperative Ministry and Holy Trinity Lutheran Church.