Two-Way Street: Deeper Fellowship with Believers & Deeper Union with Christ

It’s been said that great sentences—rather than whole books—grip individuals and bear the potential to change lives. One of the reasons I enjoy reading good books (perhaps it’s more honest to say that I discipline myself to read good books) is because of their ability to shape and form me. The authors and their content rub off on me. One book I’ve just started is Reading Backwards by Richard B. Hays. A short paragraph struck a chord with me regarding how most Christians most truly and deeply become secure lovers of Jesus.

Hays recounts the remarkable account (Luke 24:13-35) of the arisen Jesus meeting two disciples on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus (about a seven-mile journey). These two disciples were aware of rumors of the empty tomb, but had nothing to corroborate the reality that Jesus was alive. Luke tells us that they were bitterly sad in v. 21 (“We had hoped that he [Jesus] was the one to redeem Israel.”). Jesus, while keeping himself from being recognized by these two, proceeds to tell them that the entire Old Testament pointed to his coming, death, and resurrection. “Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interepreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.” (v. 27) Eventually they reach Emmaus, the two disciples implore Jesus to stay the night with them, and they sit down together to eat supper after a long day. Luke says, “As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.” (vv. 30-31)

Hays comments, “The moment of recognition comes only as they sit at the table and Jesus breaks bread with them….This point, too, is significant for understanding how the Gospels teach us to read the OT. We come to understand Scripture only as we participate in the shared life of the community, enacted in meals shared at table.” There were two ways in which Jesus “opened” their eyes, and Luke lists them in rapid sequence. Jesus opened their eyes to recognize him (v. 31), and he opened up their understanding of the Scriptures (v. 32). Both happened not immediately (they walked for several miles with the One whose death they were still mourning!), but only as they slowed down and “did life” with Jesus, welcoming him into their home and eating supper together.

So, what are some implications and applications we can take from this?

• “Lone Ranger” Christians miss out on something massive to their soul’s overall well-being.
• We are embodied and relational. We are embodied, meaning we are not pure brains on a stick. We are more than merely thinking-isms. And we are relational, meaning we become more fully who we are meant to be as we let others “rub off” on us, rather than attempting to self-sufficiently endure and handle all of life on our own.
• Growing in knowledge and relationship with God is not merely an intellectual pursuit. We cannot simply reason our way out of existential crises or into peace of mind. There is something about being in community with other believers that no amount of intellect will substitute for. We need the encouragement of others who love Christ. We need to borrow hope when we feel hopeless and discouraged. And we need the patient compassion of God made more tangible by the calm and untroubled reception our questions and complaints solicit from another Christian.

“A Christian will not understand God and Scripture as fully as one ought to by merely engaging in Bible reading and prayer. It is an others-oriented lifestyle and practice that mirrors Jesus, in conjunction with reading Scripture in Christian community, that one gains deeper knowledge of God and Scripture.”

Sources
Richard B. Hays, Reading Backwards, 15.
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Kent Capps, “Morning by Morning He Awakens Me: Finding Renewal Through Communion as a Way of Life,” 23.