Bread for the Road
Two tired disciples walk away from Jerusalem, and a stranger walks with them. They only recognize him when he breaks the bread.
- Series
- Road Stories
- Reading
- Luke 24:13–35
- Preached by
- Rev. Anna Whitley
- September 20, 2026
It is seven miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus. Long enough to tell the whole story twice, and long enough to get it wrong both times. Cleopas and his friend are not running away, exactly. They are going home, which is what people do when the thing they hoped for has ended.
And then a stranger falls into step beside them. He asks what they are talking about, and they stop walking. Luke says they stood still, looking sad. It is one of the most honest lines in the Bible.
Recognized at the table
The stranger explains the scriptures all the way home, and still they do not know him. It is only at the table, when he takes the bread, blesses it and breaks it, that their eyes are opened.
That is why we keep coming back to this table on Sunday mornings. Not because we have worked it all out on the road, but because this is where he keeps making himself known — in ordinary bread, handed from one tired person to another.
Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road?
This week, notice who is walking beside you. It may be the very person you have not recognized yet.