4 30 17 But theres more I Peter 1:17-23; Luke 24:13-35

There are three little words that can strike fear into many, hope into some,
and foreboding into most: Walk With Me. Especially when there is a power
differential between two people, the invitation to walk with me can be fraught.
Does she want to reprimand me? Will he mention the thing that we said we
wouldnt talk about? Is there some information that needs to be shared? It can
be a nerve-wracking proposition. // Walk with me can also be the beginning of a
journey of closeness. It may mean, lets get away from the hustle and bustle. It
may bring an opportunity for intimacy or a shared confidence. Unless you have a
regular walking routine with someone, the invitation to take a walk can make
your Spidey senses tingle just ever-so.
Many of us find it easier to have an intense conversation whilebwalking
side by side. It gives a bit more space to vent frustrations or express other big
emotions. I have a friend who refers to going for a walk as going for a rant. He
uses that setting to blow off steam and get things off his chest without it being
directed AT the person hes walking with. He wants company in order to be
heard, but doesnt want his venting to be misconstrued as a direct attack. For
people like my friend who work things out out-loud rather than internally, extra
care needs to be taken so those in hearing distance arent thrust into a defensive
posture, or put in a position of being hurt.
In our current societal climate, as we seek to sort out complex issues such
as gun violence, reproductive rights, equity in the workplace, stewardship of the
earth, nuclear warfare, and racism, we are in a tenuous position of figuring out
where to position ourselves as we engage in discussion.

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 When we take a contentious issue and talk about it side by side, we have
the opportunity to rant and to cajole, to be sarcastic and bombastic, sometimes
forgetting there is someone listening in. This conversation style ends up looking a
lot like the t.v. news panels of people that arent in the same room - just a
collection of parallel images on the screen. Walking side by side, we might run
the risk of losing touch with the personhood of the one keeping stride.
However, sitting down face to face can be even more daunting than being
invited to take a walk. Rather than texting or emailing or phoning, engaging
someone across a table or knee to knee implies vulnerability. The closeness
allows for a different kind of listening that incorporates our ability to read the
other persons face, reactions and responses. There is MORE that can be
understood when holding the gaze of the other.
So lets assume there is a complex issue youre not sure what to think or
feel about. It may be something immediate, like how to respond to someone
asking for money on the street. It may be how or if our city should become a
sanctuary city. It might even be an issue of the use of violence to stop a cycle of
violence. This may be a discussion filled with more questions than answers. It
may include more silences than pronouncements. Especially if you are talking
with someone you know well, you can use half sentences and make references to
inside stories, and be at ease sitting face to face or walking side by side.
But lets assume now that the person with whom you are talking is
someone you have never met. And this person knows nothing about this
convoluted issue you are trying to figure out. Your first reaction might be,
Really? You dont know about North Korea? or youre not from around here
are you? But if that newcomer is genuine about joining the conversation, and if

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you and I are going to welcome that person in, our language has to change. We
need to be clearer, and finish our sentences and explain the details and the
context, so that the stranger can get on board. This is more difficult do to when
side by side rather than across a table.
Here in Evanston over the last few years there have been various events to
encourage conversation with new people. One of these was an interfaith walk
with Peaceable Cities,1 where every block the walkers were instructed to change
partners and meet someone new. Recently, there is a regional effort called on
the table that brings people together to talk about social issues. We hosted an
event like this last year, and have the opportunity to participate again with the
Community Renewal Society on the topic of dismantling racism.2
The process of communicating with someone new is all the more difficult
when the issue being discussed has to do with faith, spirituality or religion. You
may start out by saying, well, in the Bible, Jesus said, turn the other cheek. What
does that mean for us today? And the stranger asks, who is Jesus? Yikes! How
far back do you go to answer that question? Who is Jesus to me? Who was Jesus
before the crucifixion or after? What do you mean?
This was the conversation Luke recounts about the walk to Emmaus: Two
people worried and frustrated about the events of what we call Holy Week, joined
by a stranger who is so clueless he needs basic information about who Jesus was.
In that process of explaining, the couple walking along the way had to sort out the
experience in a new way. They had to clarify for themselves and for the stranger
why Jesus was such an important figure in a context of social, political and
religious unrest. They had to hear themselves say out loud how it was that Jesus
1
http://www.ywca.org/atf/cf/%7B09E41378-901D-47D3-91DE-C700B1371B1F%7D/PeaceAble%20Cities%20Evanston.pdf
2
http://www.communityrenewalsociety.org/calendar/table-let%E2%80%99s-talk-about-dismantling-racism

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chose a non-violent path to confront power and oppression. As they taught, they
learned.
When Jesus finally spoke to the travelers, he made the context even larger.
He talked not about himself, but about the Messiah that the prophets foretold. In
his part of the parallel discussion on the road, HE got to rant as well. Just as the
journeyers kept saying to him, but theres more he was crucified! Theres
more the women found an empty tomb! Jesus said to them, no, no theres
MO-ORE. Walking along as the sun went down, Jesus became more intense,
explaining: This person, this event is connected to the entire history of the Jewish
people, and Gods intention for salvation from the limits of our humanity. In this
7 mile journey, Jesus expanded the space of the discussion as far back as Moses.
But theres still more. At the end of the road the travelers stopped and
extended the welcome to include a meal. In that meal they were no longer
parallel with each other, but facing each other. Face to face, there was room for
the sustenance of bread. Face to face there was community, and recognition of
mutual humanity. Looking each other in the eye there was a space created for
compassion and empathy. There is an opening for mutual understanding and
interchange.
When we walk side by side with others, we can learn, expand the space and
change our language. When we sit down with others face to face, there is more.
We can recognize Christ in each other across the table, and like the Emmaus
travelers, change our direction. Once the travelers saw Christ in the man sitting
at their table, they got up and went back to Jerusalem to tell the disciples what
they experienced. You and I are invited to stop and see the face of Christ across
our daily tables, and to take a walk in a new direction. Amen.

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Luke 24:13-35 Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called
Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all
these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus
himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from
recognizing him. And he said to them, What are you discussing with each other
while you walk along? They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose
name was Cleopas, answered him, Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who
does not know the things that have taken place there in these days? He asked
them, What things? They replied, The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was
a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our
chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and
crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and
besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover,
some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this
morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us
that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of
those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had
said; but they did not see him.Then he said to them, Oh, how foolish you are,
and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not
necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his
glory? Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them
the things about himself in all the scriptures. As they came near the village to
which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged
him strongly, saying, Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is
now nearly over. So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with
them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes
were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They
said to each other, Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to
us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us? That same hour they
got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their
companions gathered together. They were saying, The Lord has risen indeed,
and he has appeared to Simon! Then they told what had happened on the road,
and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
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