The Walk to Emmaus gets its name from the story in Luke 24:13-35 , which provides the central image for the three-day experience and follow-up. Luke tells the story of that first Easter afternoon when the risen Christ appeared to the two disciples who were walking together along the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus. Like Christians and churches who are blinded by preoccupation with their own immediate difficulties, these two disciples’ sadness and hopelessness seemed to prevent them from seeing God’s redemptive purpose in things that had happened.

And yet, the risen Christ “came near and went with them,” opening the disciples’ eyes to His presence and lighting the fire of God’s love in their hearts. As they walked to Emmaus, Jesus explained to them the meaning of all the scriptures concerning Himself. When they arrived in Emmaus, Jesus “took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them,” and their eyes were opened. They recognized Him as Jesus, the risen Lord, and they remembered how their hearts had burned within them as they talked with Him on the road. Within the hour, the two disciples left Emmaus and returned immediately to their friends in Jerusalem. As they told stories about their encounters with the risen Lord, Jesus visited them again with a fresh awareness of his living presence.

However, the story of Jesus’ resurrection does not conclude with the disciples’ personal spiritual experiences. Jesus ascended to the Father, and the disciples became the Body of the risen Christ through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. The disciples were sent forth by the Spirit to bear witness to the Good News of God in Jesus Christ. They learned to walk in the spirit of Jesus, to proclaim the Gospel to a disbelieving world, and to persevere in grace through spiritual companionship with one another.

The Walk to Emmaus offers today’s disciples a parallel opportunity to rediscover Christ’s presence in their lives, to gain fresh understanding of God’s transforming grace, and to form friendships that foster faith and support spiritual maturity. While Emmaus provides a pathway to the mountaintop of God’s love, it also supports pilgrims’ return to the world in the power of the Spirit to share the love they have received with a hurtful and hurting world.

The Walk to Emmaus is designed for Christians who are active church members and their leaders who want to rekindle their faith or renew their vision. Less active church members who are seeking to renew a relationship with God, to grow spiritually, or to discover firmer foundations for their lives may also benefit from Emmaus. Emmaus is for people who want to grow spiritually and mature as disciples of Jesus Christ, who want to build up the church in love and contribute to its ministry. Emmaus is not an evangelistic outreach to non-Christians. While the Lord always works His wonders during Walks, the primary purpose of Emmaus is not to heal individuals, marriages or relationships of physical, emotional or social dysfunction or illness. It is not for working through grief or psychological problems. Emmaus teams are not trained for counseling or group therapy. If you tend toward preoccupation with working through personal dilemmas, consider waiting to go to Emmaus when you feel freer to focus on the message of the Walk.

The Walk to Emmaus is mainstream in theological outlook. The content of the Walk assumes and builds on familiarity with and belief in the basics of the Christian faith and tries to build on each person’s positive relationship with the church. Emmaus has room for a great variety of Christians who seek to grow, share, and give themselves to a three-day walk with Christ. Emmaus is a common meeting ground for the great diversity of Christians in our churches who celebrate their unity in Christ and feel they can learn from one another. Emmaus is for fostering unity in Christ, not for theological debate and arguments about denominations. Emmaus tries to foster appreciation and openness to the different faith-perspectives of the participants. Bring a spirit of Christian tolerance and charity toward others, including members of other denominations. If you cannot affirm your unity with other kinds of Christians, if you tend to define Christianity narrowly and legalistically or are intolerant of those who see things differently, then Emmaus is probably not for you. Emmaus is a concentrated three-day course in Christianity, not a relaxing retreat. Don’t bring work from the office or have hopes of taking an afternoon off to read. Except for break times, Emmaus is a very full experience. Come with empty hands and open hearts, planning to give yourself completely to the Emmaus Walk. Plan to meet with Jesus, to walk with Him, to talk with Him, and to be changed forever by Him.

WHY THE WALK TO EMMAUS
The above story provides the image for Emmaus, an Upper Room program that calls forth and renews Christian discipleship. Like its predecessor, Cursillo de Christiandad (Spanish for “short course in Christianity”), the Walk to Emmaus is a three-day experience which takes a New Testament look at Christianity as a lifestyle. It is a highly structured weekend designed to strengthen and renew the faith of Christian people, and through them their families, congregations and the world in which they live. Emmaus is a combined effort of laity and clergy toward the renewal of the church.

The “Walk to Emmaus” is a 72-hour experience. The weekend begins on Thursday evening and ends Sunday evening. At Emmaus you will spend three busy but very enjoyable days, usually at a retreat center. You will live and study together in singing, prayer, worship, and discussion. Discussions center around fifteen talks given by laity and clergy. These talks present the theme of God’s grace, and how that grace comes alive in the Christian community and expresses itself in the world. You’ll also discover how grace is real in your life, and how you can live in the life of grace, bringing grace to others. You will have the opportunity to participate in the daily celebration of Holy Communion, and to begin to understand more fully the presence of Christ in his body of believers. You will experience God’s grace personally through the prayers and acts of service of a living support community.

1. Expand their own spiritual lives through study and congregational participation;

2. Become more active disciples of Christ in the world through their churches.

To nurture this process of discipleship, the Emmaus movement offers specific opportunities. First, reunion groups of four to six people meet weekly to reflect on their quest for spiritual growth and encourage one another in their discipleship. Second, there will be monthly meetings called “Community Gatherings.” All people in a particular Emmaus community or area are invited for fellowship, worship, and informal instruction. Third, through a newsletter, members become aware of support needs for upcoming Walks to Emmaus and there are opportunities to work during future weekends in a variety of ways.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER EMMAUS?
One of the primary strengths of Emmaus is the follow-up. Your weekend lasts only three days, but you are invited to build on it for the rest of your life. Those who attend a “Walk to Emmaus” are encouraged to do two things following their weekend:

HISTORY OF EMMAUS
Originating in Spain in the late 1949, Cursillo moved to America in the late 1950s. It was primarily a Roman Catholic movement until the 1970s. As Catholic centers started accepting applications from Protestants, efforts began among some groups to make the Cursillo experience available to all Protestants, In the late 1970s, The Upper Room (a unit of the Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church) formed The Upper Room Cursillo Community in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1981, by mutual agreement between the National Secretariat of the Roman Catholic Cursillo movement and The Upper Room, the name of the Nashville Protestant community was changed to Emmaus. The Emmaus movement is ecumenical.
Emmaus is open to members of any denomination.

WHO SHOULD GO TO EMMAUS
Emmaus is for the development of Christians who: wish to strengthen their spiritual lives; may have unanswered questions about prayer, study, and sharing their faith; understand that being a Christian involves responsibility; are willing to dedicate their everyday lives to God in an ongoing manner; have positions of responsibility in the church and the world.

PURPOSE OF EMMAUS
The focus of Emmaus is God as known in Jesus Christ and how that finds expression in the local church. The objective of Emmaus is to inspire, challenge, and equip local church members for Christian action in their homes, churches, and places of work. Emmaus lifts up a way for our grace-filled life to be lived and shared with others.

A JOURNEY WITH CHRIST
The Gospel of St. Luke relates the story of the risen Christ appearing to two who were going along the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus. Two friends were walking together sharing their hearts deepest concerns. The risen Christ joined them and explained the scriptures as they walked, how it was ordained that Christ should suffer and so enter his glory. This experience on the road was a heart warming experience as the risen Christ walked and talked with them. The illuminating climax of the experience was when Christ took bread and said the blessing, then broke it and gave it to them. The two had their eyes opened and they recognized him as the risen Christ and they rushed back to Jerusalem to tell the others. (Luke 24:13-35 ).