“As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going further. 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.” (Luke 24:28f)
“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20b)
The encounter with Jesus by the disciples on the road to Emmaus is probably my favourite of all the resurrection appearances. It is one phrase in the story that I particularly love to pause over: “he went in to stay with them.” I am well aware of the final verse of Matthew’s gospel and also of the significance of the name Immanuel but somehow Luke’s words feel warmer, more intimate and more personal. In so many of the gospel encounters, Jesus is pictured as “passing through”. There are other moments of course when he enters the homes of various people for a meal, a discussion, a celebration, or a healing. Yet Luke’s phrase just seems gentler and more enduring: “he went in to stay with them.” It conjures an image for me of more than a brief visit. Yes – I know He disappears the from sight the very instant Cleopas and his companion recognise him – but that phrase, “he went in to stay with them”, feels like a glimpse of a qualitatively different moment. Now, every time Cleopas and his companion sit at their table they will remember the moment Jesus accepted an invitation to stay with them and entered their home and broke bread with them. Jesus in the domestic. Jesus in the ordinary. Jesus in the home. Jesus who has come in to stay.
Pray again, “Stay with me”.
And He will.