Flower Festival Communion

The Journey

Isn't it wonderful to be having our service in amongst the church looking so beautiful? theme ‘Village Life’..

A festival like this brings people together, brings sections of our community together and encapsulates for me all that is good about living in a village. It was a bit of a shock to me as I was a townie. .. everybody is related or knows each other !

I still , in my third year of being here am constantly amazed by the connections I make ‘so X is related to x’?!!!

There is literally nothing that goes on in a village that does not involve cake or wine .. social glue.

There are some wonderful displays here in church today by all kinds of community groups that for me bring out the best in what it means to live in a community. The upside is that nobody never has to feel alone in a village, and that sense of community is strong that is perhaps not evident in towns or cities.

There are some wonderful displays here in church. 

And on a personal level, we go through times when we get sucked into everyday life, Perhaps some of us here are doing it now, getting on with everyday life and never stopping for a moment to realise who is sharing that journey with us… who is with us all along. 

I have had plenty of grand days out with my family, lots of them at Butlins which is depicted in my wives display over there. We have had some howlers as well mind.

And we delved into this a bit last week.. and considered the times when we feel distant from God. We don’t feel like he is sharing this journey with us. 

Today’s gospel reading sits nicely alongside this today, its a journey with two people that know each other very well from a small, close, community that has just suffered from a tragedy.

One particular incident sticks in my memory - Sat Nav and go. A pub in a village to meet mum for bday dinner. Not there. Phoned. By cigarette machine. Toilet.  I ended up in a pub by the same name in a village 30 miles away! 

Of course, part of the problem for Cleopas and his friend were that they simply did not understand what had just happened. They had a good reason to think it was all over.

Draw your attention to picture on the front of your service sheet. The picture is entitled a ‘floral road to emmaus’ and I know little about it apart from that - but I love it. 

Draw your attention to picture on the front of your service sheet. The picture is entitied a ‘floral road to emmaus’ and I know little about it apart from that - but I love it. 

But surely we, as the church, should grasp the message that has been so carefully laid out for us in the gospels and lovingly presented every Sunday?  Even we, who hear the message every week can do so without that encounter with Jesus. Without realising he is walking along beside us. Cleopas mystified at the situation resonates so acutely with us today is that we can identify with it.

They were disciples of Jesus and even they did not understand. How little we surely do, even with this beautiful book, now easy it is to forget or to simply go through the motions without really engaging with Jesus and reminding ourselves of why we do what do. 

Many people may remember that in Wookey it was not that long ago that a man was found passed away in the bus stop. For a small community it caused shock, this stuff does not happen in a village! It caused uncertainty and a sense of unease. Its simular feelings s happening as here Cleopas and friend were walking along the Emmaus road.

Who was with Cleopas? Well, there is something about this strange very ancient story that Luke describes in such a personal way that many have thought that he was one of those on the Emmaus road that day with Cleopas.   

What was Jesus reaction to them? It almost sounded like a rebuke! And that rebuke in vs 25/26 can be better translated not as foolish, which is perhaps a little strong,  but how dull you are. A warning, surely to the church.  

Something about this account seems compelling, and draws us in to make connections with our own lives. 

And it is at that point where I think that those two were the luckiest people ever, their day turned into a very grand day as they had the worlds greatest home group with Jesus Christ!! 

Let's look at how Celopas, and possibly Luke were feeling that day. They were still in good Friday mode!

Just imagine, a bible study with Jesus as he lays out all the scripture as they walk with him? There rubbish day out turns into the best day out ever! The grandest day out! 

Imagine sadness they felt at what had happened, the shock, indignation they had felt when the body had gone missing.  You can sense it as you read the passage. This was no quick chat ether, the walk was around 7 miles and would have taken them at least two hours on that Easter afternoon, perhaps even longer than that as they dragged their feet in sorrow (24:17)' disappointment (24:21) and bewilderment (24:22-24).

But it was only when they recognised Jesus, only when they had that moment over bread and wine with him that these scriptures became alive! My favourite verse is 32 ..  were not our hearts burning on the road when he talked to us and opened the sciptures to us? (32). When Jesus is real to us the scriptures themselves make our hearts burn!

Have you ever felt like that about the world we live in? You know, it becomes so tiresome just to walk. Physically and spiritually. 

At that moment, when they recognised Jesus and who he was everything changed. And I mean everything.

And as they walked along this long road they meet Jesus and do not even realise it is him! How can this be? The Greek in this passage suggests that this was no accident, Jesus did not just look a bit different or have a shadow on his face, somehow his identity was masked from them so that they could not see who he was.

It’s the same for us today.We may hear others tell of their new lives. We may read of new life in the Bible. We have been reading of it in Luke’s Gospel. But new life begins when we see Jesus and come to know Him. Come to realise he is sharing this journey with us. Our new life is found only in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who died for us, and who rose again.

When the world becomes tiresome, as busyness takes over. We miss things. Isn’t everyone busy these days? Always something to do? i have often wondered if we ourselves walk with Jesus without realising it? Its an intriguing thought. 

And as we journey through life, we can be sure that however our relationship with God is that Jesus is always here, walking alongside us waiting to be invited in, recognised so that we can have that life changing moment as those two disciples did.  

Even as a church it is possible that we could sometimes get on with doing things , organising events for the community, preparing for worship and millions of other things that need to be done. Especially this weekend! We can walk the walk, talk the talk but never really may miss that encounter as our two disciples did on the Emmaus road. 

Let us pray .. Lord help us to realise that you are walking with us now, and everyday of our lives. Through our doubts and fears deepen our relationship with you. And help us to have our own emmaus road experience.. not just once but often though out our lives. Amen. 

So this is why this service is good that it comes during this weekend to remind us of why this wonderful building stands at all.

And on a personal level, we go through times when we get sucked into everyday life, Perhaps some of us here are doing it now, getting on with everyday life and never stopping for a moment to realise who is sharing that journey with us… who is with us all along. 

No wonder then there are times when we feel distant from God. We don’t feel like he is sharing this journey with us.  We can feel alone and when the journey goes a bit wrong its only then we stop and say, who’s walking this with me?

Of course, part of the problem for Cleopas and his friend were that they simply did not understand what had just happened. They had a good reason to think it was all over.

But surely we, as the church, should grasp the message that has been so carefully laid out for us in the gospels and lovingly presented every Sunday?  Even we, who hear the message every week can do so without that encounter with Jesus. Without realising he is walking along beside us. Cleopas mystified at the situation resonates so acutely with us today is that we can identify with it.

They were disciples of Jesus and even they did not understand. How little we surely do, even with this beautiful book, now easy it is to forget or to simply go through the motions without really engaging with Jesus and reminding ourselves of why we do what do. 

What was Jesus reaction to them? It almost sounded like a rebuke! And that rebuke in vs 25/26 can be better translated not as foolish, which is perhaps a little strong,  but how dull you are. Thats pretty stark standing in amongst these vibrant flowers today. A warning, surely to the church.  

And it is at that point where I think that those two were the luckiest people ever, their day turned into a very grand day as they had the worlds greatest home group with Jesus Christ!! 

Just imagine, a bible study with Jesus as he lays out all the scripture as they walk with him? There rubbish day out turns into the best day out ever! The grandest day out! 

But it was only when they recognised Jesus, only when they had that moment over bread and wine with him that these scriptures became alive! My favourite verse is 32 ..  were not our hearts burning on the road when he talked to us and opened the sciptures to us? (32). When Jesus is real to us the scriptures themselves make our hearts burn!

At that moment, when they recognised Jesus and who he was everything changed. And I mean everything.

It’s the same for us today.We may hear others tell of their new lives. We may read of new life in the Bible. We have been reading of it in Luke’s Gospel. But new life begins when we see Jesus and come to know Him. Come to realise he is sharing this journey with us. Our new life is found only in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who died for us, and who rose again.

And as we journey through life, we can be sure that however our relationship with God is that Jesus is always here, walking alongside us waiting to be invited in, recognised so that we can have that life changing moment as those two disciples did.

Lets pause for a moment to acknowledge it and celebrate how God works through our communities and our lives.  

Let us pray .. Lord help us to realise that you are walking with us now, and everyday of our lives. Through our doubts and fears deepen our relationship with you. And help us to have our own emmaus road experience.. not just once but often though out our lives. Amen.