We Had Hoped

We Had Hoped – Luke 24:13-35 Bascomb UMC / April 26, 2020 / 9AM Livestream Focus: The path of sacrifice and suffering Jesus walked for our redemption. Function: To challenge us to walk that same path of service and follow Jesus on the road to Emmaus or wherever we live. 5 Purpose Outcomes of the Church: Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship, Evangelism, Service Luke 24:13-35 CEB Encounter on the Emmaus road 13 On that same day, two disciples were traveling to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking to each other about everything that had happened. 15 While they were discussing these things, Jesus himself arrived and joined them on their journey. 16 They were prevented from recognizing him. 17 He said to them, “What are you talking about as you walk along?” They stopped, their faces downcast. 18 The one named Cleopas replied, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who is unaware of the things that have taken place there over the last few days?” 19 He said to them, “What things?” They said to him, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth. Because of his powerful deeds and words, he was recognized by God and all the people as a prophet. 20 But our chief priests and our leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him. 21 We had hoped he was the one who would redeem Israel. All these things happened three days ago. 22 But there’s more: Some women from our group have left us stunned. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 and didn’t find his body. They came to us saying that they had even seen a vision of angels who told them he is alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women said. They didn’t see him.” 25 Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! Your dull minds keep you from believing all that the prophets talked about. 26 Wasn’t it necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” 27 Then he interpreted for them the things written about himself in all the scriptures, starting with Moses and going through all the Prophets. 28 When they came to Emmaus, he acted as if he was going on ahead. 29 But they urged him, saying, “Stay with us. It’s nearly evening, and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 After he took his seat at the table with them, he took the bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he disappeared from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Weren’t our hearts on fire when he spoke to us along the road and when he explained the scriptures for us?” 33 They got up right then and returned to Jerusalem. They found the eleven and their companions gathered together. 34 They were saying to each other, “The Lord really has risen! He appeared to Simon!” 35 Then the two disciples described what had happened along the road and how Jesus was made known to them as he broke the bread. The Word of God for the People of God……………… Children’s Church Does anyone remember Tammy Faye and her husband, the televangelist? They got in big trouble up NC at their theme park: “Six Flags Over Jesus” or something like that. Turns out Tammy Faye had an entire room full of shoes and their pet had an air-conditioned doghouse; all bought with the offerings and profits from their “ministry.” Critics (like me) contend that televangelists (with their private Jets and high-end mansions) do not follow the example of Jesus to live sacrificial and simple lives. Our own Lewis Grizzard at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote a critical article about such religious extravagance when his mother was sick in the hospital. He was visiting her hospital room when her local UM pastor came by to visit. He was inspired to contrast that pastor with the televangelist. Who came to see his mother? Not the televangelist! Who wore the inexpensive, off the rack suit? Not the televangelist! Who drove a basic used car? Not the televangelist! It seemed to Lewis Grizzard that the local pastor was a genuine minister while the televangelist was ….well….if you can’t say something nice….. I tell that story because it relates to the drama we heard today. I loved that Grizzard story and told my Sr. Pastor in Watkinsville how much I loved that article. But then He leaned over his desk and asked, “Do you know who that local pastor was?” I did not. He meekly raised his hand. “It was YOU?” Wow did that blow my mind! (Now here’s the reference to today’s text) I was going on and on while the very object of my story was sitting right before me. Now imagine telling the entire Holy Week story to a stranger on the road only to discover at the end of the day that it was Jesus himself you were talking to! I think the story of the prodigal son has a good claim to be the finest story Jesus ever told but the Road to Emmaus narrative might be the finest scene offered us, and only in the gospel of Luke. Luke is the only gospel that tells this full story (Mark hints at it). As a story, it has everything: sorrow, suspense, puzzlement, and a gradual dawning of light. It is both a spellbinding tale and a model (and Luke surely knew this) for a great deal of what being a Christian, from that day to this, is all about. Let me explain. Here are two formerly unknown followers of Jesus heading home from Jerusalem on the same day Jesus was resurrected. These two, Cleopas (which tradition says was the brother of Papa Joseph, Mother Mary’s husband) - so Cleopas might have been an uncle to Jesus. The other person was a nameless friend (……hey, what if Luke wanted US in the scene – can you do that? put you or me in the scene?) ok, so WE were walking and talking about everything that happened over Holy Week when this STRANGER appears and begins walking with US. How is it we are kept from recognizing Jesus! I don’t know, at the tomb Mary thought Jesus was the gardener. The text just says we were prevented from recognizing Jesus. I think they were distracted, overcome by grief. There are so many things that keep us from seeing Jesus at work in our lives, and for Luke, neither God nor Christ can be known except by revelation. If you want to find Jesus, what must we do? SEEK! Faith is not revealed to the unprepared. In the Gospels the risen Christ appears to disciples, not to unbelievers on the street, nor in the synagogues. God is not willing to scare us into faith – that would NOT be a genuine, authentic faith. Just like me telling a Lewis Grizzard story to the actual object of the story, we, walking the Emmaus road, proceed to tell Jesus all about Holy Week! We cannot believe he hasn’t heard. You’d think he had been living under a rock or something to not know about Jesus! But then we get a treat few people have ever known; we get an entire Bible study – an entire overview of the OT scripture from Jesus himself. The OT reveals all the necessary events of the Messiah’s life. Imagine signing up for a Bible study with Jesus as the teacher! I had a couple in the Watkinsville church: Papa Joe (JOE) and Mamma Jo (JO). They sang in the choir and told people that was their secret to being married over 50 years! However, Papa Joe would go to Bible studies with his “authorized 1611 King James version” (he called it the same Bible that JESUS read) and then he would say to every teacher “that’s not what my Bible says.” We loved him, but that got OLD at times. How does God deal with all the “experts” that get to heaven and promptly begin arguing with God about “this or that?” I wonder if Papa Joe would argue even if Jesus himself was the teacher! So, we walk the seven miles to Emmaus and Jesus explains why the events they witnessed had to happen. How disappointing do you think it was for Jesus to hear those sad words “We had hoped he was the one who would redeem Israel.” We had HOPED? We HAD hoped? Had we given up? Were we returning to our home to resume our normal lives? WOW – So, Israel was not to be redeemed so everybody quits and goes home? Like Papa Joe, it seems everybody in Israel is reading the Bible through the wrong end of the telescope. What happens when you look through the wrong end? Telescopes bring objects closer until you look through the wrong end – now things are even farther away! Using the wrong end of a telescope in this text, we see the OT as the story of how God would redeem Israel FROM suffering, but turn that telescope the RIGHT way and you’ll see; Jesus was how God would redeem Israel through suffering; the suffering would be taken on by Israel’s representative, the Messiah. Tell me, how do we turn THAT into a “name it and claim it - prosperity gospel? When this text says that “Jesus interpreted all the things about himself,” he doesn’t mean that Jesus collected a dozen isolated texts – NO - Luke understands the whole story, from The LAW, the Prophets, the Writings - the entire narrative of Israel pointed forwards to a fulfilment which could only be found when God’s anointed ONE took Israel’s suffering, the world’s suffering, onto himself. Our faith is not so trivial to be reduced into some form of religious entertainment. Jesus died under the weight of suffering and AGAIN I say: God had him rise again as the beginning of God’s new creation, the first of God’s new people. This is what had to happen; and now it has. So, ask yourself, when was the last time your felt your heart burning inside you when it wasn’t the coffee & sausage you had for breakfast? Our own John Wesley was inspired by this story when he sat at Aldersgate Chapel. His heart was strangely warmed. It changed his whole outlook on ministry. John took his “Methodists” out onto the road of England’s life. If we would seek Jesus, we must understand that Jesus will be revealed in mission and ministry. Our hearts are warmed and surprised by Jesus when we put ourselves out there. For instance, we made a difference in a homeless couple’s lives. We always need thrift store workers and support for the food pantry. Our local mission team is growing more active – we’ll be inviting others to help. Where else would Jesus be? …but with those in need! And finally, it was at the table of fellowship that Jesus revealed Himself. The altar of the family where we account for our day, consider our roses and thorns. We ask ourselves where we saw Jesus at work and notice, when they discovered Jesus was in their midst, they had to tell others right away! Pay attention to what this meant for us disciples. I walk 4 miles or so a day and it’s exhausting. Seeing Jesus inspired Cleopas and company to walk another seven miles right back to Jerusalem. They were used to walking, but remember it was late and for them to go back to Jerusalem meant that they walked 14 miles that day. Returning to Jerusalem to report is vital in Luke’s understanding of the church. Jerusalem is the center of the Christian mission and the apostles are in positions of authority in the Christian fellowship. Christians scatter to Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, but they return with reports; they return to Jerusalem. You come here to this campus, this Jerusalem and report what Jesus is doing through you out there. What is Jesus doing through you? Jesus moves toward Jerusalem; the gospel moves out from Jerusalem. You move toward the church and then you move out from the church. My advice? Whether you are walking toward home and into our local culture or you are walking into the church….let Jesus lead. Let me reverse the title of this sermon. Imagine God … the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit saying – “We had hoped,” God had hoped that we would follow Jesus and choose to live out this saving gospel on the road to wherever we live. God had hoped that we would be the body of Christ in the world – there is no plan “B” for the gospel. We are IT! So, God forbid that the church should be the ones living under a rock. How about we get on the road? - out there where we are sure to encounter Jesus! “We had hoped” – God says, and what is our response? Let us pray…….. Sending Forth Christ is Risen! Christ Is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!