As often happens when I am reading Scripture, this week two lines from our texts jumped out at me today for the way that they have been set to music and used in the various liturgies of our church.
The first was a line from the end of today’s selection from First Peter, which shows up in our liturgy for morning prayer, or matins. We don’t have much occasion to use it here, as it’s meant to be part of a weekday rhythm of worship. But, when I was in seminary and we held daily chapel services, I came to know and love this service, especially sung by the community together in harmony.
This particular line from First Peter is included in that liturgy as a sung response to the readings for the day:
You have been born anew
It then leads right into the gospel canticle, which is traditionally Zechariah’s song following the birth of his son, who we know as John the Baptist.
I have to give a hat tip to the committee that compiled the lectionary, for these words from First Peter are a perfect companion to today’s Gospel reading. Through Jesus, who is indeed the living and abiding word of God, Cleopas and his companion are born anew as their eyes are opened - not only to Jesus’ presence, but opened to the ways God has been at work throughout salvation history. From Moses and the prophets to the death and resurrection of Jesus, God has been present with God’s people - leading and guiding, nourishing and renewing.
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| Hochhalter, Cara B.. On the Road to Emmaus, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57467 [retrieved April 19, 2026]. Original source: Cara B. Hochhalter. |
Now, I said there were two - the second of our Scripture-turned-liturgy that played in my head comes from our gospel reading and from the liturgy for Holden evening prayer. This setting, written by Marty Haugen, has been used at various times here, during midweek Lent or other evening gatherings. I’ve heard these words - and sung these words - many, many times over the years, in congregations and at camps, at retreats and campus ministry gatherings.
It’s included in this liturgy as part of the opening procession, as a lit candle is brought forward into the worship space. The dialogue goes like this:
Jesus Christ, you are the light of the world;
the light no darkness can overcome;
Stay with us now, for it is evening,
and the day is almost over.
Let your light scatter the darkness,
Stay with us now, for it is evening, and the day is almost over. This is the invitation that Cleopas and his companion give to the stranger who has walked beside them on the road. They have arrived at their destination, the sun is setting, and out of a sense of hospitality, they urge this traveler to come in and stay with them; to join them for a meal and a chance for rest. They are blessed by this act of hospitality, for as they sit at the table and Jesus breaks and shares the bread with them, their eyes are opened and they recognize him. This is not a stranger, not a migrant from another place, but rather the risen Jesus, their friend and Lord.
Now I said there were two places where I heard a song in the readings for today, but really it’s three. Because if we go back to Holden Evening Prayer, that opening dialogue goes right into the evening hymn, which includes this first verse:
Joyous light of heavenly glory, loving glow of God’s own face,
you who sing creation’s story, shine on every land and race.
Now as evening falls around us, we shall raise our songs to you,
As they walked that day on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus, Jesus sang creation's story to them. Not turned away by their foolishness or slowness of heart, Jesus opened the scriptures, telling of God's saving acts through the ages: of God providing for and restoring God’s people, sending prophets, renewing covenants, and even sending the son.
God of daybreak: At daybreak that morning, the women found the stone rolled away, and the tomb empty. They left it filled with bewilderment, and fear, and joy. Though Cleopas and his companion did not recognize Jesus along the road, his presence with them revealed this same God of daybreak; of resurrection dawn; of new possibilities beyond what we can imagine; of life and wholeness and hope.
God of daybreak, God of shadows: As Cleopas and his companion walk along the road, it is as if they are walking in shadows. They are walking in shadows of grief at the events of the past week - Jesus’ arrest by their leaders, his suffering, and his death on the cross. They are also walking in shadows of hiddenness and uncertainty, for Jesus’ true identity has not yet been revealed them as they journey together. And yet, even in the shadows of their grief and confusion, Jesus walks with them.
God of daybreak, God of shadows, come and light our hearts anew: As the word of God comes to them, it indeed lights their hearts anew, bringing life, hope, and freedom. Once Jesus is revealed to them at the table as the bread is taken, blessed, broken, and shared, they reflect back and say, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?”
While I often invite us to see ourselves in the text, today it's even easier to do so, as we consider ourselves perhaps a stand-in for that unnamed disciple who accompanies Cleopas on the journey.
As these disciples do, we, too, walk often in grief, and confusion, and pain, trying to make sense of all that is happening in the world. We, too, have hopes dashed and expectations upended. We, too, are foolish at times, and slow of heart to believe. And yet, like the disciples, we, too, are accompanied by our risen Lord, who is with us on the journey - in our shadows, in our daybreak, whether we recognize him or not.
In worship we gather together so that the Scriptures might be opened to us. In the word, read and proclaimed, and in the breaking of the bread in the communion meal, we see Jesus. Born anew in the waters of baptism, we are claimed as God’s own and we rejoice in this gift of life that comes to us through Jesus, the living and abiding word of God. From these encounters with Jesus in the word and sacraments, our hearts indeed burn within us, kindled by the fire of the Holy Spirit, as we experience God's presence with us. This God calls us to see the hope and promise of the resurrection, and sends us to share this good news with the world. For the gift of this presence; for the songs and Scriptures that fill our hearts, we give thanks and praise.
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