Emmaus Worship Part II

I wanted to share with you a story from the meeting of the Pacific Islander and Asian American Ministries (PAAM -- http://www.paamncnc.com/) conference that I attended in Hawaii this August. I participated in the youth program of this conference which included youth from various churches around the U.S. One of the workshops focused on Identity among Asian American or minority youths. Since Asian Americans are such a small ethnic group in the U.S. and there are many even smaller groups within that main group, young people often begin to question their identity when they have trouble relating to both their ethnic heritage and mainstream culture.

This workshop focused on who Jesus was as a historical figure and how he would have been perceived by his contemporaries. We were asked to think about the human Jesus who was born into a Jewish family and grew up in Galilee. Since we recently celebrated Christmas, maybe you remember that Joseph and Mary were returning to their hometown for a census when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. We may also remember that after Jesus was born they fled into Egypt in order to escape Herod's orders to kill all the first born sons.

We were then asked to think about what language Jesus might have spoken in his time. Since his parents were Jewish we might guess that Jesus spoke Aramaic or Hebrew when he spoke to them or other Jews. But, in Galilee the dominate language in business and daily life would have been Greek since the Roman empire was so powerful. Also, the first formative years of the boy Jesus's life were spent in Egypt away from both Mary and Joseph's hometowns and this also probably had a profound effect on the way that Jesus saw himself and the people around him.

As the workshop went on we were asked to think about what color his hair might have been and what his voice might have sounded like. As we thought about the reality of this life as an ethnic minority, students participating in the workshop explored their own lives and the way that they perceive themselves and the way they may be perceived by their non-Asian American peers.

At this point one of the students in the workshop wondered aloud, "I wonder if Jesus spoke with an accent like me?" and yet another student wondered if Jesus was ever teased by other kids in school for looking or speaking differently.

The disciples on their way to Emmaus has spent a considerable amount of time learning from and sharing meals with Jesus while He was living among them and yet even they failed to recognize Him when He appeared to them on their journey. What about His contemporaries in Galilee? Even they may have found it difficult to believe that this strange looking foreigner with an accent was in fact the Savior prophets had predicted for many generations. Yet, they came to accept Him in their lives as they shared life and bread with this Son of Man.