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| Easter 3 Luke 24:13-35 April 14, 2002 I spoke last week, though not at this service, about the lens of belief through which disciples behold the Resurrection. The reading from John’s Gospel that we heard last Sunday illustrated our need for this lens of belief both for seeing clearly the new life of Christ ourselves and for projecting the Resurrection for others to see – the lens of belief works both ways. It is a means of personal spiritual enrichment, and it is a means of proclaiming the Good News. This morning, Luke illustrates for us how that lens is held up by and for disciples so that they can use it, how by Word and Sacrament belief is imparted to and received by those who long for redemption and salvation. You probably noticed a familiar pattern of activity in today’s Gospel: Scripture is opened, bread is blessed and broken, and Jesus’ presence is revealed. You undoubtedly recognize this as the pattern of our worship, the pattern of the Eucharist. That’s no accident. Sometimes I think that we Christians set ourselves up when it comes to religion. Many of us have had a kind of conversion experience, a moment we can recall when we became aware of and overwhelmed by God’s love for us. The feeling of new birth or release, that the world seems new and newly alive, these are and have always been part of the Christian tradition. We set ourselves up though, firstly by mistaking our conversion experiences as the only times God is really present in our lives. We set ourselves up secondly by treating the conversion experience like something akin to a favorite vacation destination, as if we can revisit this awesome event if we try hard enough. Friends, this is setting ourselves up for disappointment in God and/or ourselves. Because either our experience of God is limited to just a few moments in our lives because he’s that stingy with his affection, or because we didn’t try hard enough to ascend the heights often enough. “Jesus himself came near [to the disciples] and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.” Our Gospel this morning describes a presence that is not at first comprehended, but a presence that is very real nonetheless. So you see, God’s presence in not limited to our conversion experiences. He is with us on our journeys regardless of whether we sense his presence. And our sensing his presence is something for which Jesus himself must prepare us disciples – something that we disciples welcome. Surprise! The realization in our minds and hearts of Christ’s already real presence in the world doesn’t require a lot of sweat and tears. It doesn’t require a wall of TVs or foot-tapping music. I don’t guess there’s anything really wrong with any of that, but this morning’s Gospel and thousands of years of Christian practice tell us that Christ’s presence is realized in our minds and hearts in the opening of Scripture and the breaking of bread. Opening scripture and breaking bread might seem rather ordinary and easily doable. This pattern doesn’t place a lot of demands on the disciple other than openness and thankfulness. Perhaps that is the point. Perhaps the earthiness of this pattern is meant to tell us something of God’s generosity in his love for us, something of his how He wants us to experience Him. God doesn’t save His love for us for special occasions. He pours out His love for us at all times, and simply gathering for the Eucharist can bring us to an awareness of that fact. Similarly, God doesn’t want us to experience Him only in the miraculous or the majestic. He wants us to experience Him in His humility, and Eucharistic worship in its essentials is very down to earth: Scripture is opened, and bread is blessed and broken. Yet down to earth as it might be, Eucharistic worship is what makes us who we are, it defines our community and shapes our activity. It is how we gaze through that lens of belief that opens our eyes to the Resurrection and reveals us as co-heirs with Christ in the Resurrection. Amen |
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