Sermon - 2014-05-04

In today's Gospel lesson, we hear of two disciples who travel down the Road to Emmaus.  It is here on the road that these two disciples see, hear, and learn from their teacher, but they do not recognize him.  There are many times in our own life that God enters into our life, but the real question becomes, do we realize it?  The day in which we encounter the Road to Emmaus is really the journey of our own life.

The first thing that I want you to note is that Jesus seeks us out.  The two disciples do not expect to see Jesus after hearing the events of what has taken place.  They have heard the accounts of others but they do not believe in the words or events that Jesus has been raised from the dead. For it does not make sense to them and even to us.  Instead, they leave, and like so many of us, flee from judgement and what others may think or do against us.  They are running from their greatest fears because their faith is small, yet God comes to them in the midst of their fear, in the midst of the running away, to get them.

As the disciples begin to talk with this man who approached them, they do not realize that it is Jesus.  This man was even interested in what they were talking about, but their response was to discredit him by asking if he was a stranger.  Yet, this is so much like our own life, we do not recognize God in our life sometimes too..

As they are reminded of all the events that have taken place, Jesus enters into their life and actually shows them this is how and where God is at in their own life.  Things did not happen the way the disciples expected them to happen, but rather Jesus  reveals to them why these things had to happen this way.  Jesus shares with them the true reason that Jesus came to live among them, the reason that the Messiah had to suffer, and was even to be raised from the dead.  Though they had little faith in the words that Jesus and the other had shared with them, the events and promise still happened.   

Jesus explains everything, all from God’s perspective.  From the time that God gives the gift of the Law to Moses, until the gift of Jesus to the whole people of God.  Oh, how I wish that the disciples would have taken the time to write all that down.  Think how important that would be, think of how many questions could be answered, and how many doubts put to rest.  Yet these disciples knew that it was already written down in the scrolls of the Hebrew people and now it was up to them to share what Jesus had done.   We now can readily hear and enjoy this very story from our ancestors in the faith, and how it is a message of hope for our lives too.

So after reading the Scriptures, here is my attempt at weaving all the stories of the Bible together and trying to make sense of it all. “God loves you.”  Yep, that’s it.  Three words that make up a complete sentence, that is clear, direct and simple.  Of all the volumes and pages that are written, I think that all of those others scripture readings only help explain, and help people understand this great declaration from God.  

Those same disciples return back to Jerusalem and the other disciples.  The community of believers, who will care and support them in all that they know, believe, and understand.  God calls us to be in community, so that when we get together, we know how to help and care for one another.  As we gather together as a community, the church, we know the word and story of what Jesus has done for the world.  We know the answers to the questions on this side of the resurrection of why Jesus came into the world  That message has been revealed to us through the scriptures.  The Messiah came, suffered, and was raised from the dead for us.  Yet it is not until we bear witness to this with our own eyes, hear it with our own ears and receive it for our own hearts that we begin to understand the fullness of the love and gift that the Son, Jesus Christ truly is for us.  We experience all of this with the breaking of bread of communion, for we receive the very body of Christ, and the pouring of the wine to receive the blood of Christ.  And it is through Christ, that we receive forgiveness of sins and belong to our Heavenly Father. For in our baptismal promise, it says that Jesus came to “deliver us from death and the devil, and give everlasting salvation to all who believe. He who believes and is baptized will be saved.”  This is what God has promised.   However, we live out that Road to Emmaus every day of our life.  We search for how our faith is lived out and shared with others, along with how to care for other disciples as a community.  

For our broken hearts have been transformed into hearts filled with the Holy Spirit for their Lord! You see, hope has that powerful effect on us. It transforms ordinary people, like the Emmaus Disciples, like you and me, .into passionate witnesses of the risen Lord!  As we journey along and as we experience defeat, despair, and disappointment in our daily life let us welcome the stranger to joins us on our journey. May our hearts be warmed by the Holy Spirit’s company, and may our lives be ignited with passion to share with the whole world and all who believe that we have seen the risen Lord! In this season of Easter let us remember and say, “Christ is risen, Alleluia,” and respond to one another, “He is risen indeed, Alleluia.”