Luke 24:28-35 Stay With Us
LK 24:28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. 29 But they urged him strongly, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over." So he went in to stay with them.
LK 24:30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"
LK 24:33 They got up and returned at once to
The fifth grade class at a Christian school was studying different denominations and the teacher invited the students to bring in a symbol of their faith. Three students were sharing on this particular day. The first said, “I’m a Mennonite and this is a hymnal.” The next said, “I’m an Episcopalian and this is a prayer book.” The third said, “I’m a Lutheran and this is a casserole.”
But the casserole is an important part of our faith, and I’ll tell you why. The disciples had shared many meals with Jesus. The Christian community has always had meals together in which we enjoy fellowship with each other in the Spirit. In our church we have the Spring Luncheon, and the annual potluck, and the various groups have meals together. The Alpha Course has lunch every week. In July we will have a luncheon in honor of the 25th and 15th anniversaries of some of our staff. These are meals that we celebrate as God’s people. We share with each other and become closer over meals.
There is another kind of meal that Christians in the earliest times had together, and it was known simply as “the breaking of the bread.” It wasn’t an actual meal; it was a sacred action that we now call communion, or The Lord’s Supper. The Apostle Paul gave us the liturgy, the sacred words to say, based on Jesus’ words at the Last Supper, “Do this in remembrance of me.”
The scene we read today in Luke 24 is the sequel to the Last Supper. Here the disciples were assembled in maybe the same upper room. They had invited a stranger to stay with them, but they didn’t know him until he broke the bread.
When he walked with them, they didn’t recognize him
When he taught them, they didn’t recognize him.
But they asked Jesus to stay with them for supper.
When he broke the bread and gave it to them, that’s when they recognized the risen Christ.
The decisive moment in the recognition of Jesus was in the breaking of the bread.
This week I took my harp to a harp builder to make some repairs on it, and since he lives in Lincoln City, he said maybe I could meet him at his in-law’s house in Tigard because he would be there for his father-in law’s birthday. I said, great, but I don’t want to intrude. He said, no problem.
When I got there, the brother answered the door, and said, “Oh, you must be Christine, come right inside” (close enough) and everybody was gathered around the dining room table having cake. The brother said, “Would you like some cake and ice cream?” I said, no thank you, and he said, “Go on through, David’s in the kitchen.” I had to walk through the whole party. As I got to the kitchen, David’s wife said, “Would you like some cake and ice cream?” and as we stepped out the back door to get my harp, somebody else yelled, “Would she like to stay for some cake and ice cream?” Even though I didn’t, by the third time they asked, I actually felt welcome.
When you ask a stranger to stay, who knows what good might come of it?
On a whim one Friday, I asked my neighbor if she wanted to go out for coffee. We ended up having the most thoughtful, intelligent conversation about things like education and integrity. Maybe it’s something about coffee, maybe it’s just the occasion of focusing on the other person. I wouldn’t have had that conversation in passing on a Saturday working out in our yards. It happened because I asked her to stay a while.
Meals are important in human life. Just think about the memories you have created with your family – birthday dinners, Thanksgiving and Christmas, Mother’s Day. We gather around a table, share good food and conversation. You remember Mother clucking and scurrying in the kitchen, Grandpa with his jug of wine, Dad and sister washing the dishes together. Eating and memories go together.
Now educators are saying that children who eat dinner with their families are more likely to succeed in life. Another reason to ask your teenagers to “stay for dinner.”
When the early Christians came together, they gave thanks to God and they had a vivid sense of the presence of the risen Lord with them at their meals.
I went to dinner at a single lady’s house, and there was a third place set. I asked if someone else was coming. She said, “That’s for Jesus. He’s always here with me, and setting his place reminds me of that.” She was physically inviting Jesus to stay with her.
When we say grace before meals, we thank God for the food, but we can also invite God’s presence. There’s an ancient grace we say at our house, that invites God’s presence: “Be present at our table, Lord. Be here, and everywhere adored. These mercies bless, and grant that we may feast in
We even see this thinking in Revelation 3:20: Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and sup with him, and he with me.”
In the Lord’s Supper, we ask Jesus to stay. Do you sense God’s presence at communion? You may appreciate how Christ comes to you as you quietly meditate while you sit in the pew. Or you may have the joy of meeting Christ as you walk forward to the table. Trusting in these promises, we believe that Christ is present when we come together to break bread.
We are not remembering some one who is dead and gone. We are remembering someone who was crucified, dead and buried, and who rose again, someone who is gloriously alive. The memory turns into an encounter with Jesus.
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