Sermon Manuscript050306
Sermon Manuscript – 4/30/2006 Robert Hutcherson, Jr.
Sermon: “What a fellowship”
TEXT
Luke 24:36b-48
A survey was conducted asking people what worship meant to them and what made it worthwhile and fulfilling and such. One older couple responded, “Sometimes we come to church because of the pastor and sometimes we come in spite of the pastor. You figure it out.” After some conversation a wise matriarch of the congregation said ”You know, I really just come to hear the benediction at the end of the service. Anything else is a bonus, that blessing is all I really need.”
We have gathered as the Christian Church for over two thousand years. Sometimes the worship is good and sometimes it is a little short of uplifting, but still people gather Sometimes there are such Sundays when the worship seems less than inspiring to me, yet someone else may tell me that that worship was just what they needed. They let us in on something important, that something significant is happening. Something that’s going on in worship that is far bigger than any of us. God’s Holy Spirit is moving among us as we gather… working wonders in lives, bringing peace to those in need of peace, bringing healing to those who hurt.
In today’s text, Christians are meeting. We know that Luke was written some 50 or so years after the resurrection of Jesus and it is interesting that the author felt it was important to include this incident in his account of Jesus’ life. People were obviously meeting 50 years after the resurrection and here they are telling a story of one such gathering when something miraculous happened – Jesus appearing in their midst. Looking back, they see the events of those early, exciting, disturbing days to be reflected in what they were doing then. The gathering was not always something amazing, but it fed them. Not always amazing, but sometimes “Yes!” Not always flashy but always carrying those words, “Peace be with You” and “May the Lord bless you and keep you, may the Lord make his face to shine upon you and give you peace.”
That miraculous appearance of Jesus among them is reflected in the gathering of Christians for those first 50 years…right up to our time, and on into our future. Let’s look at our worship in light of this text.
“Peace be with you.” V. 36
As Jesus came among the group of disciples who were startled and terrified, he comes among us, who are often ‘startled and terrified’ and he gives us his word, “Peace be with you.” Peace that touches the parts of our lives that are anything but peaceful. We gather each week and we bracket all we do with the gift of peace. We begin our worship with the words, “This is the day the Lord has made…I will rejoice in it and be glad.” We end our worship with the benediction, “Now may the grace of God, and the sweet communion of His Holy Spirit rest, rule, and abide with you all now, henceforth, and forevermore.” -- or words that are similar.
“Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” V. 39
Here Jesus says “Don’t be afraid…Check me out…this is for real!” The power of our gathering is often most real to us as we care for one another. We are the incarnation of Jesus not only to those around us in worship but also to those in our daily lives. How we speak to one another, how we treat each other with dignity and respect reflects our willingness to be Jesus to one another. Bear in mind that the only Jesus that many people may ever see… is you and me. We gather here so that we may experience that love from one another, to confess the times when we have failed to live that love and to hear words of forgiveness so that we can try it again.
“Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures.” V. 45
We read the scripture each week, and we say at the conclusion of each, “The Word of God…for the people of God” and respond, “Thanks be to God.” We take time to listen to the sermon where Pastor skillfully connects the words of the text to our daily lives. We set the Spirit free among us as the Word is read and proclaimed - not quite knowing what the ‘opening of the minds’ will mean to each of us. Sometimes the readings are heard as though for the first time, sometimes they are heard as comforting old familiar stories, and sometimes as words that unsettle us and sometimes motivate us. The Word of God, Jesus Christ, takes flesh among us and within us and we are strengthened for the coming week. We may be given hope to face an uncertain future, we may hear words of healing, blessed assurances when so much in our lives seems so uncertain. The sermon is not meant to explain as much as it is to open the text so we may move into it and it into us. To ‘understand’ is to know the text to be true from inside ourselves, and receive life from it.
“Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day.” V. 46
We place a large empty cross at the front of our worship space so that it is the first thing we see when we enter. We confess in our Creed that “He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. . . .On the third day he rose again.” In our celebration of the Lord’s Supper we repeat over and over again, “on the night in which he was betrayed, Jesus took bread. .” and in those words and in those actions that center around suffering and death we celebrate the resurrection of one who defeated fear and death for us for all time! These words are not dull repetition because they are the words, the events that give our lives hope and meaning. The cross is empty because Jesus has risen. We gather our voices in this weekly repetition precisely because we know there is hope, we know there is life beyond that which seeks to destroy us.
“Repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations”. V. 47
We repeat in our worship the words, “God has given us the ministry of reconciliation. Therefore let us be reconciled to God and to one another.” We confess our sins before God and hear the words of forgiveness, we pass the peace with one another and pray that our differences will be mended. We look for ways to create peace with God, with one another and with the world around us, and we know peace as we make small steps through our efforts supported by God and one another.
“You are witnesses of these things.” v.48
As we gather we rehearse the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection. We continually remind ourselves that these events give power and meaning to our lives. We place a cross in front of us and we celebrate his Supper with his death up front where we cannot ignore it. We baptize children with water, with the words “our gracious Heavenly Father liberates us from sin and death by joining us to the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We repeat these words over and over again because we are witnesses. These are the events that gather us week after week. These are the events to which we bear witness.
And so we gather. Sometimes what we offer to the time of worship is not very exciting, sometimes nothing seems to happen. But most times, when we come with the right heart and mind, it is a powerful experience, filled with energy. All the time it is a reminder of what God has done for us, what God promises to do for us today and assurances for what He will do for us tomorrow. So sometimes we may come “because of the pastor and sometimes in spite of the pastor” and sometimes we may come expecting nothing more than the benediction. But we come, because we know God is at work, God is busy showering us with His love and His grace.
Miracles are in store when we come together…as the Call To Worship says:
“I was glad when THEY said unto me, “Let US go into the house of the Lord.”
Let US remember….
When WE reach out………….HE reaches in
When WE pray……………….HE hears
When WE call………………..HE answers
When WE trust……………….HE blesses
When WE work……………....HE strengthens
When WE serve……………....HE inspires
When WE study……………...HE instructs
When WE listen………………HE speaks
When WE stray………………HE pursues
When WE fail………………...HE forgives
When WE fall…………………HE picks us up
God is promising us much needed peace and this is the place where together we know we can receive it, from Him…and from each other. Peace be with you. Please join hands with the person on each side of you…Let us pray….
(after prayer)
As the song says “What a fellowship”! However, there may be someone here this morning that has not experiences the joy of fellowship within God’s family. If this is you, let me invite you to taste what we know to be true about our Lord and His love for us…His love for YOU!! He wants nothing more than to be in relationship with you…will you open the door of your heart to Him? As much as He wants to be with you…He loves AND respects you enough to not come in unless He is invited. Won’t you invite Him today?