The Road to Emmaus

We set out for Emmaus,
Cleopas, my friend and I,
And as we walked, we spoke of events
That had caused our teacher to die.

Our minds were confused and troubled
As we thought of our great loss,
For they called our Jesus a blasphemer
And they nailed him to a cross.

We were deep in conversation;
One pondered and the other replied,
So neither of us noticed
The stranger who came alongside.

"Of what things do you speak' he asked,
"And why are you so sad?"
"Are you a visitor to Jerusalem," Cleopas replied,
"Have you not heard the news, so bad?

"For Jesus of Nazareth was a prophet of God,
Mighty in word and deeds.
He spoke as one with great authority
And he met our deepest needs.

"We had hoped he was Israel's redeemer,
Come to set the nation free,
But the priests and rulers delivered him up,
And he was crucified for all to see.

"What makes things more confusing
Is that three days have now passed.
If you think the story ends right there,
You haven't heard the last!

"For certain women of our company
Went to his tomb early this very day,
And much to their distress they found
The stone had been rolled away!

"His body could not be found,
When in the tomb they did arrive,
But a vision of angels greeted them
And declared he was alive!

'They rushed back to our gathering,
These strange tidings, with us to share;
So, some of our men ran to the tomb,
And found he wasn't there!

"0, foolish ones and slow of heart",
The stranger did us chide.
"To enter into His glory,
Must not the Christ have died?"

So beginning with Moses and the prophets,
He recounted the scriptures of old,
About the promised Messiah,
And of all that had been foretold.

As we drew into the village,
Toward the close of day,
We offered our hospitality,
And constrained him, with us to stay.

Now it came to pass, at the table,
As we shared a meal that night,
After he broke the bread and blessed it, our eyes
Were opened, then He vanished from sight!

"It was Jesus who had been our companion
On the road to Emmaus", we did learn,
"And as He spoke and taught us the scriptures,
Did not our hearts within us burn?"

So, rising that very hour, we returned
To Jerusalem with much speed,
And finding the eleven, and those gathered with
Them, we proclaimed, 'The Lord is risen indeed !'