Luke 24:13-35 (NRSV)
Now on that same day two of them were going to a village
called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other
about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and
discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were
kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What are you discussing with
each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. Then one of
them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in
Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these
days?” He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of
Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,
and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death
and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes,
and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place.
Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early
this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and
told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was
alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the
women had said; but they did not see him.” Then he said to them, “Oh, how
foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have
declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and
then enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he
interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.
As they came near the village to which they were going, he
walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay
with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he
went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread,
blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and
they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other,
“Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road,
while he was opening the scriptures to us?” That same hour they got up and
returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered
together. They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to
Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made
known to them in the breaking of the bread.
Nancy and I have been doing lots of reminiscing as we near
the end out our time serving together in active ministry.
And as I was pondering my sermon this morning I recalled a
story that took place just about 26 years ago.
It was the spring of 1989 and Nancy and I were serving at
Pretty Lake Trinity United Methodist Church on the West Side of Plymouth
Indiana. Really, it was out in the
country, but I didn't want to admit to that then.
The youth led the Easter Sunrise service each year and that
Saturday afternoon we had run through the service ---- It was a beautiful
spring day --- warm enough that after the run through we could walk over to the
Parsonage and play a little basketball.
The NCAA tourney was heading to the final four the next
weekend.
Easter evening Duke would beat top seeded Georgetown in the
East Regional Final to propel them to the Final Four.
Duke) lost in the National Semi-Final and Michigan won it's
only NCAA Men's Basketball championship, in a thrilling overtime game.
I had set up a basketball goal at the house, so a few of the
youth came over and we started playing basketball.
I was 29 at the time, and thought I had all the right stuff.
I remember this as if it happened yesterday.
I was driving to the basket, doing one of my best Michael
Jordan moves
I did a little shake and bake and went in for the easy
basket
As I soared for the basket --- out of nowhere --- Clyde, a
gangly teenager in the youth group --- came out of nowhere and blocked my shot
--- stuffing the ball in my face.
And I will never forget --- as I was picking my embarrassed
self off of the ground --- Clyde turned to me and said:
"You know --- if you had
jumped I don't think I would have ever blocked it."
Heck --- I jumped as high as I
could
So why have I embarrassed myself telling you this story of
my athletic prowess?
To make a point ---
And that point is that sometimes things happen right in front
of us and we don't even notice them
Clyde assumed I had not jumped!
While the
reality was just the opposite.
It reminds me of my favorite phrases that my mother always
used to say about losing things in plain sight
If it were a snake (she would say) ---
it would have bit you
Too often our lives become:
Too busy
too complicated
so confusing
that it becomes easy to fail to
notice all that is going on around you
Many of you know my friend Mark, the pastor at Crown Point
UMC, he tells a great story about a time when he was spending a semester of
college in Germany
During that semester he had been having a great time --- but
he says he remembers becoming very homesick
During the semester he had to have
his appendix removed and he spent quite a bit of time in the hospital
He had the opportunity to visit
East Germany (for those of you who don't remember --- this was before the wall separating
the East and the West existed and Germany was reunified)
That visit made him long for the
USA and home
During a break from school his
parents decided to come and visit him
His parents flew into Brussels and
Mark had to take the train to meet them
He recalls that he got there a
couple of hours after their plane was set to land, so he went directly to the
hotel they were staying at to meet them
When he arrived at the hotel he
found that they had yet to check in, so he left a note with the front desk that
he was going to go across the street to a little cafe and have some breakfast
and that they should come and join him when they arrived.
As he turned to head to the cafe
--- he saw his mother and father walking into the hotel
Mark says that he dropped what he
was doing and ran over and embraced his dad
His dad, so startled by the
experience called out:
"Please let go of me --- I am
just a tourist --- I just arrived"
His dad failed to recognize who it
was that was embracing him
I know --- you are all telling me that story is ridiculous
--- that it would never happen --- BUT IT DID
If you remember our Easter Gospel story from last week it is
virtually identical
Do you remember the story?
Mary Magdalene has come to the tomb early on that first
Easter
She finds that the stone which had
blocked the tomb had been rolled away
While standing there perplexed she
meets a man at the tomb who asks her
"Woman, why are you crying? Whom do you seek?"
Mary was certain that it was the
gardener and so she asks him what has happened to the body of Jesus --- for she
wanted to go and prepare the body for burial
Mary FAILED TO RECOGNIZE that the
person she was talking to was actually Jesus
But that NEVER happens
Our Gospel story this morning --- Two men are walking home
after the death of Jesus.
There wasn't any reason to hang around in Jerusalem any
longer --- and it was probably dangerous to do so if you were one of Jesus'
followers
So they were
heading home
No doubt --- disappointed
Disillusioned
As they were walking along a stranger begins to walk with
them
They talk about everything that had been going on in
Jerusalem the past week
AND YET THEY
FAILED TO RECOGNIZE WHO IT WAS
Only when they broke bread together did they realize it was
Jesus.
Do you think you would recognize Jesus if he came alongside
you today?
How would you know it was him?
One year when I was working with the confirmation class I
asked that question and I loved their answers
They were of
course all over the place
But my favorite of all time has to
be when one of the students replied:
"That's easy, I would recognize
him because his clothes would be old and look funny."
But seriously --- how would you recognize Jesus today?
Frederick Buechner in his book The Magnificent Defeat
writes about finding Jesus when we fail to recognize him:
. . . it is precisely at such times
as this that Jesus is apt to come, into the very midst of life at its most real
and inescapable. Not in a blaze of unearthly light, not in the midst of a
sermon, not in the throes of some kind of religious daydream, but . . . at
supper time, or walking along a road. This is the element that all the stories
about Christ's return to life have in common: Mary waiting at the empty tomb
and suddenly turning around to see somebody standing there—someone she thought
at first was the gardener; all the disciples except Thomas hiding out in a
locked house, and then his coming and standing in the midst; and later, when
Thomas was there, his coming again and standing in the midst; Peter taking his
boat back after a night at sea, and there on the shore, near a little fire of
coals, a familiar figure asking, "Children, have you any fish?"; the
two men at Emmaus who knew him in the breaking of the bread. He never
approached from on high, but always in the midst, in the midst of people, in
the midst of real life and the questions that real life asks. . . . The sacred
moments of miracle, are often the everyday moments, the moments which, if we do
not look with more than our eyes, or listen with more than our ears, reveal
only . . . the gardener
Somehow we have to open our inner eyes
The eyes that
touch our heart
so that we will not just see a
stranger, not just see a simple gardener
But so that we might see Jesus
During World War II a Christian woman in Germany did all
that she could do to help save the Jews from persecution (and often death)
Because of her efforts she was arrested by the Nazis and
found herself sent off to a concentration camp.
While in the camp she begged the guards to let her hold an
Easter service for the other Christians in the camp.
After a great deal of debate she was finally allowed to hold
a service --- but was told that it could only last 5 minutes
They spent the five minutes singing hymns and reading the
Easter story --- and when the five minutes were over --- the guard came and
whisked the prisoners off to their cells
She too was thrown back into her cell --- and the door was
slammed behind her
As she lay on her cot in the bare cell --- there was a noise
at the window and a guard passed an Easter lily into her cell.
Jesus was real and present in that
moment
HOW DO YOU SEE JESUS?
Where do you
see Jesus?
Do you miss him, or do you find him in the little things?
In a few moments, I am going to invite you to come and share
in the Eucharist.
One of the things that I am convinced of --- is that Easter
was not a one and done experience.
Nor is it just a once a year celebration
Easter is WHENEVER we encounter Jesus.
at the tomb
walking along the road
at the grocery store
at work
in the midst of our family
whenever we break bread together
As you come to receive these gifts --- ask yourself --- can
I see Jesus?
Is Jesus real
to me --- here and now?
And if the answer is NO?
Open your
eyes --- for Jesus is all around you
And if you can --- don't keep Jesus to yourself --- share Jesus
with as many as you can
The good news --- as we journey through life --- is that the
story of Jesus is NEVER ENDING
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