Sacramental Revelation on the Road to Emmaus

On the Third Sunday of Easter, Rev. Dr. Charissa Clark Howe explores the familiar story of the Road to Emmaus in Luke 24:13–35 through the poetic framework of 19th-century Black and Indigenous activist Olivia Ward Bush-Banks. The fight against systemic injustice and the violence of the empire often leaves us carrying the heavy, traumatized weariness of modern-day martyrs, blinded to God's presence by our own grief.In this message, we examine how the resurrected Christ meets the defeated disciples exactly where they are—not with quick fixes or theological debates, but with pure presence and a listening ear. Furthermore, as the congregation celebrates the baptism of Austin Brown, this sermon highlights how the physical, communal solidarity of the sacraments serves as the ultimate antidote to our exhaustion. It is through the breaking of the bread and the waters of baptism that our trauma is reframed, our hearts are rekindled, and we are given the collective resilience to turn around and return to the messy work of liberation.Original Poem can be found here: https://scalar.lehigh.edu/african-american-poetry-a-digital-anthology/olivia-ward-bush-banks-the-walk-to-emmaus-1899