"Thou Shalt Break Them..."

"... dash them in pieces, like a potter's vessel"

I was having a conversation a couple days ago, starting with the Road to Emmaus, and particularly On The Lord's Disappearing. You see, that was the Gospel Reading that day (Roman Extraordinary Calendar)

and someone else had recently primed me, putting forth words of Doubt re. the Lord's rising. Others, one Peterson in particular, have pointed out how Strange are the ways the Lord is present, post-resurrection... and it's sometimes spun by others into a case that the Resurrection was "simply" a collective or communal hallucination.

But before returning to the Conversaion, I want to point out that the Question of What the Risen Lord Looks Like, and whether it's Too Different from us still waiting to die the first time, actually aren't all that pertinent to the question of whether the Resurrection is a Fact. The Pertinent Facts as Reported are: Jesus not only died (unexpectedly! suddenly! "Pilate marvelled") three hours into a torment designed to last days, but he was bled dry and his heart pierced, in the sight of witnesses; and after being buried and sealed in by the labour of a Roman detail, staying thus sealed through two nights and into the Third Day, the tomb was found open, opened either by no-one or a single Angel, and Jesus' wrappings neatly folded, and Jesus himself Not There. If He was not raised, then his body was Still Somewhere, and quite unshrouded, just waiting for a clever Roman to find it.

Anyways. The Road to Emmaus. At the end of it, Jesus disappears from their sight. It's an unusual move, for an ordinary critter like me, but this is not the first time that Jesus has removed himself from view, in an unlikely way. I had thought of the end of the exchange in the Temple Courtyard, when the Pharisees took up stones to throw at Him, but He hid himself. But, then, how did He do that? And what did it look like? Then She My Friend pointed out also another time, when the crowd would have Taken Jesus and Made Him King. How do you hide, when you're out in the open? What does it look like?

And we talked about at what moment Jesus disappears: is it when he's recognized? (that's what seems to be happening at Emmaus) But in the Temple, it seems to be when the Pharisees refuse to see Him. Then again, as my Friend said, when the crowd would have Crowned Him, indeed He is their King, but they're seeing only the Man in the Son of Man, and not the Son of God.

My Friend also pointed out how, at Emmaus, Jesus seems not to be meaning to stop, but ready to be on His way --- He likes to be Invited, we agreed --- but it's as though He has a Place to Get To, and Things to Do... in fact, from Emmaus, He says elsewhere, he was going to Galilee, and at Galilee he had some other conversations, especially with Peter, lasting well after he was Recognized... But, still, Things to Do...

"Thou shalt break them" says the Psalmist; but also God tests the heart as fire tests gold, says the Proverbs... It turns out there are More Things that Fire does to gold than just clean it up and confirm its goldness: firing gold anneals it. Why do you anneal gold? Because if you hammer it when it's hard, it won't move as much; but more, hard means brittle. When brittle, you can break it, even like a potter's vessel... and then it won't take the shape you want. Clearly, that's No Good.

When the crowd would have seized Him, when the Pharisees would have stoned him, they had become brittle. There was no more work to be done by hammering; they must be put back into the fire, to soften them and purify, if it might be. At Emmaus, When they recognize Him, His work there is done; and at Galilee, Peter needed some work, too, and was ready for it.

... There was more in our chatting, but ... this here feels like a finished note.