One of the readings for Easter Sunday, The Resurrection of the Lord, is the account of Cleopas and the unnamed disciple on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35). I love this reading, for it is a perfect example of Jesus’ loving presence even when we are not aware that he is near, that he is with us. Jesus approaches the downtrodden disciples and basically asks them, “why so blue?” Well, specifically he asks, “What are you discussing with each other as you walk along?” (24:17). In his sadness, Cleopas begins to explain the events of the crucifixion, while Jesus, with a well-timed question, draws out of them what they need to express. It is clear that Cleopas and his friend are stuck in the past-tense: “but we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel” (24:21). Hoped, not hope. Cleopas says this even in light of the report of the resurrection brought by some of the women to the apostles and the other disciples, which he dutifully passes on to Jesus. Jesus continues walking with them, explaining himself through the Scriptures, but they do not recognize him. Finally, in the breaking of the bread, their eyes are opened, the eyes of faith, and they recognize Jesus, the Lord, resurrected from the dead. They return to Jerusalem to join with the other members of the Church, and find that they too know that the Lord is risen. He has conquered death forever. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is now. It is not past-tense. It is present-tense. It is hope. And so he is with us even now.

John W. Martens

John W. Martens is an associate professor of theology at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minn,where he teaches early Christianity and Judaism. He also directs the Master of Arts in Theology program at the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity. He was born in Vancouver, B.C. into a Mennonite family that had decided to confront modernity in an urban setting. His post-secondary education began at Tabor College, Hillsboro, Kansas, came to an abrupt stop, then started again at Vancouver Community College, where his interest in Judaism and Christianity in the earliest centuries emerged. He then studied at St. Michael's College, University of Toronto, and McMaster University, with stops at University of Haifa and University of Tubingen. His writing often explores the intersection of Jewish, Christian and Greco-Roman culture and belief, such as in "let the little children come to me: Children and Childhood in Early Christianity" (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 2009), but he is not beyond jumping into the intersection of modernity and ancient religion, as in "The End of the World: The Apocalyptic Imagination in Film and Television" (Winnipeg: J. Gordon Shillingford Press, 2003). He blogs at  www.biblejunkies.com and at www.americamagazine.org for "The Good Word." You can follow him on Twitter @biblejunkies, where he would be excited to welcome you to his random and obscure interests, which range from the Vancouver Canucks and Minnesota Timberwolves, to his dog, and 70s punk, pop and rock. When he can, he brings students to Greece, Turkey and Rome to explore the artifacts and landscape of the ancient world. He lives in St. Paul with his wife and has two sons. He is certain that the world will not end until the Vancouver Canucks have won the Stanley Cup, as evidence has emerged from the Revelation of John, 1 Enoch, 2 Baruch, and 4 Ezra which all point in this direction.