There is an eerie quality to the Resurrection appearances that I never paid much attention to when I read them primarily for their theological or pedagogical content. Now, reading them as much as I can as if for the first time, as raw accounts of events I have no preconceived notions about, it’s this almost science-fiction-y aspect that strikes me the hardest. Jesus mysteriously appears and disappears, like – well, like a ghost. His former followers don’t even recognize him at first, and then they do. (What’s that about?)
In this play about the two disciples who meet Jesus on the road to Emmaus, I try to capture that otherworldly strain, and combine it with the very earthbound fear the disciple felt as they hid out from the Romans, all their hopes shattered. There wasn’t much more for me to do, and I hope I did a satisfactory job.