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Hope
Week One reading: Luke 24:13-28
The Road to Emmaus
reflection and discussion questions:
Re-read verses 18-21 - 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. (Luke 24:18-21 NRS)
1. “But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.” Can you hear how disappointed and discouraged the disciples were about what had happened in Jerusalem? In your own life, what are some hopes and expectations you've had that God would act in a certain way?
2. Jesus gently rebukes the two disciples in verse 25 – “Then he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared!” Take a minute and think about the phrase “slow of heart.” What does that mean? What is Jesus telling them, and what might he be telling us?
3. In verse 26 – Jesus, in that gentle rebuking tone, says – “Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?" I wonder if they began to remember the things Jesus had told them in the last three years. I imagine that they (and probably us too!) would have been very uncomfortable with the idea that suffering is linked to glory. How does that make you feel?
4. At the end of this story, Jesus reveals himself to them through the breaking of bread. And they recognized not only him, but what had stirred in them as he opened the Scriptures to them. What does that look like for you? Can you remember an epiphany like that? – where your eyes were opened to the reality of Christ with you? If you are going through these questions with other people, take a minute to share that. If you are doing this on your own, take some time to write this out in your journal or any other way you record your encounters with God.
5. Finally, read Psalm 146 as a way to enter into hope. Verse 5 says – “Happy are those whose help is in the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God.”
Questions and ideas to share with children:
This week’s theme is hope. Sometimes when we wish for something we say “I hope…” What’s the difference between making a wish and hoping in something? (Use the idea of a gift wish list. We want those things but we may not get them)
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Object lesson idea: take a flashlight with the batteries out into a room that you can make totally dark. Share that a flashlight without batteries is like a wish. Turn off the lights, and show that the flashlight won’t turn on. We wish for something, but don’t really believe it can help or that we will get it. Then put the batteries in. Explain that the batteries are like faith. We can’t see them in the flashlight, but we know they are there. Then turn off the lights and turn on the flashlight. Faith and hope will help us see Jesus, the light of the world in the things around us. Share that Jesus will come again some day, just like he did long ago. Turn off the flashlight and ask if they think it would work if it turned on again (yes) why? (Because the batteries are still in there). We still have faith that the light will come again. Turn the flashlight on again to demonstrate. Ask how it felt to be in the dark. Remind them that even when things around us seem hard and dark, that we know Jesus is with us ready to shine a light and hope, just like the flashlight. ​
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If you’re reviewing the story of the road to Emmaus with children - ask this: Jesus’ followers were disappointed that their plans did not turn out how they had thought. Think about a time when you were disappointed that something didn’t happen the way you wanted (perhaps recall a time together as a family this happened, i.e. a vacation gone wrong, sudden change of plans, starting something new). What helped you when you felt that disappointment? How does God help us when we feel this way, just like Jesus helped his friends?