Gospel text for 3rd Sunday of Easter, 26 April 2020

Luke 24.13-35         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.

Reflection        Cleopas and his companion are grieving. They followed Jesus to Jerusalem believing he was “a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,” the one they hoped would “redeem Israel.” But the religious and political officials handed Jesus over to death. The bereft disciples have no idea where they are going, no picture for the future. They are grieving because all seems lost so they are walking away from Jerusalem, retelling the story of Jesus’ suffering and tragic death.

Are we not much like Cleopas and his unnamed friend, rehearsing the story of our suffering and death as we wander along?  As of today (Friday April 24th) there are 5,769 confirmed covid19 cases with 249 deaths in Arizona, 1,026 cases in Pima County with 70 deaths here. Worldwide there are 2.74 million cases with 192 thousand deaths. Twenty seven million people have filed for unemployment. Financial despair and social distancing have led to mental health crisis. Isolation policies have meant people die alone and loved ones cannot bury and formally celebrate the lives of their dead. And even those for whom covid 19 and stay at home orders  appear to change little  agree, nothing will ever be the same.

Today we  join Cleopas and his companion on the road to Emmaus. We have no idea where we are going. No clear picture for the future. And here is the good news. Jesus is walking with us, present in the midst of all the suffering, death and uncertainty. The question is, how do we recognize his real presence?

To help us along the way, we gather even remotely, at the table with Jesus. We remember the last Passover Supper when Jesus “took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” (Luke 22.19-20)  Then like Cleopas and his companion, the eyes of our hearts are open and we recognize the real presence of Jesus.

We recognize the real presence of Jesus by what he does. He breaks bread and he shares it. Everyone is fed. Everyone is cared for. We recognize Jesus in stories like this one, told to me by a hospice chaplain. The dying wish of a woman was to hear the symphony. Staff who learned the woman had been a cellist reached out to the local orchestra. Playing remotely from their separate homes a flutist, a violinist and a cellist fulfilled the dying woman’s wish. 

Jesus is made known through every healthcare and hospice worker, first responder, care giver and cook, folks who shelve or deliver groceries, house the homeless or sterilize shopping carts, deliver backpacks stuffed with books for children, call and send notes of encouragement to others, send money to the church to be used to help parishioners in need. We recognize the real presence of Jesus by what he does. As soon as our eyes are open we join Cleopas and his companion heading back to Jerusalem to tell our stories of how the real presence of Jesus is made known to us in the actions of self-giving love. 

Perhaps you would like to spend fourteen minutes considering the ways you have recognized the real presence of Jesus while listening to the music of Allegri. 

If you find this post to be meaningful please share by clicking on the icons below. Thank you.

Gospel text for Sunday, 27 April 2014

John 20:19-31        When it was evening on the day of Resurrection, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

Reflection       Don't you want to ‘see’ Jesus as did Mary Magdalene in the garden? Don’t you want Jesus to find you when you are locked into your own fear (as were the disciples in the upper room)? Don’t you want to feel Jesus breathe on you and receive his peace? Don’t you want to have your own experience of the risen Christ? Like Peter, don’t you want to put your fingers in Jesus’ wounds but wonder if perhaps you have shown up too late? 

For most of us, seeing is believing. So the question is, what are we looking for? If we insist on ‘seeing’ the physical body of Jesus and demand to put our fingers into his bloody wounds there is every chance we will be disappointed. But if we open the eyes of our hearts to see beyond the veil of flesh we will confess resurrection life abounds around us. 

You see, Easter services are not mere memorials of a singular resurrection event that happened two thousand years ago. Easter celebrates our whole new reality; we are Easter people. We live resurrection life now.   What does it mean to live out of this new reality? I believe Thomas puts his finger on it when he responds to the risen Jesus saying, “My Lord and my God!” The pivotal word  in that sentence is “my.”  Thomas is claiming his relationship, his very personal relationship with the risen Jesus. He takes possession of Jesus. Jesus is his Lord, his God. It is all about relationship and relationship is here and now, embodied in the life of people who claim God as their own. 

Every time we experience healing or forgiveness, peace in the midst of fear or uncertainty, hope in the face of grave news, restored relationships, revived churches, a glimmer of light in the midst of a dark, dark night, we experience resurrection life. Resurrection life is now. Every time we reach out and put our fingers into our own wounds, our loved ones wounds, the wounds of our communities and our world and offer peace, comfort or hope we are embodying resurrection life. Alleluia, Christ is risen, in every generation. Resurrection life is eternally now.

If you found this post to be meaningful, please share it with your friends by clicking on the icon below. Thank you.

Gospel text for Sunday 26 January 2014

Matthew 4.12-23       When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

"Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles--
the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned."

From that time Jesus began to proclaim, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."

As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea-- for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fish for people." Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him. Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.

Reflection       Eight hundred years  before Jesus , twenty eight hundred years before us First Isaiah explained, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness-- on them light has shined.” (Isaiah 9.2-3)  Which begs two questions? What is deep darkness? What is a great light?

I believe deep darkness is failure to recognize God with us and for us, right here and right now,. I believe deep darkness is weaving the net of our lives by our efforts alone while striving for security, esteem and power. I believe deep darkness is the reason so many of us experience isolation, alienation, anger, depression and fear. I believe deep darkness is the reason our world is under the siege of violence. 

Since World War II there have been over 250 mahor wars in the world in whcih 23 million people have been killed, tens of millions made homeless and countless millions injured and grieving. Our current global military spending is approximately $800 billion per year, more that the total annual income of the poorest 45% of our global population. Worldwide, a quarter of all women are raped during their lifetime.Three billion of the worlds people live in poverty. Still, there is good news.

Although we have lived in a land of deep darkness a great light has shined on us. And the great light is this. It is the light in the eyes of our hearts that recognizes the spiritual dimension as real and present, right here and right now. 

When we live in the darkness we are preoccupied with the comings and goings of all things visible. When we live in the light we recognize things visible as revelations of things invisible. The visible and invisible are not seperate and competing categories. The visible and invisible are two sides of one coin. They are the material and the immaterial, the human and the divine, each perspective essential to the apperhension of creation. . 

We are the people upon whom the great light has shined. The question is, will we allow our hearts (and behavior) to be transformed even before our minds catch up? Will we put down our nets, leave our old ways behind even when it means stepping beyond the box of the way we have always done things? Will we demand the end of war, the end of violence against all people? Do we dare to step beyond the status quo and redirect military spending to care for 43% of God’s people on earth who are living on less than $2. each day?

When Jesus called the first four disciples he called them to a heart stopping, mind boggeling, world changing life beyond the box of anything they could imagine. Jesus’ call upon our lives is no less radical. Shall we join the old prophet Isaiah and respond, “Here am I. Send me?” 

Please shate this post with your friends by clicking on the icons below. Thanks.