Luke 24 - A Journey with Jesus

Luke 24.13-35 “A Journey with Jesus”

We are invited to join in a journey with Jesus from Jerusalem to Emmaus and back again. From fear, confusion & spiritual blindness to joy, understanding & new life. Some observations about this journey might help us & our neighbours on our own journeys.

Companionship

Two travel together from Jerusalem to Emmaus on day of resurrection. We find out one is called Cleopas. Other = his wife? Luke himself? Both are shocked, disappointed & confused by recent events, i.e. arrest, trial & execution of Jesus followed by strange report of empty tomb.

Life is often shocking, confusing and disappointing, which is why we need companions on the journey.

Often, as we accompany each other through crises, we find that Jesus mysteriously joins in…

Conversation

As they reflect on and argue about what has happened, Jesus takes an interest in their conversation, joins in and gently teaches them. He guides them to an understanding of the things which had confused them.

Question: I wonder how much real conversation goes on about the significant events and themes of our day? I suspect “not much” is the answer, in spite of the information overload we have.

But God designed us to journey together and to have conversations with friends and with the strangers we encounter. I believe that if our conversations are an honest search for truth, Jesus will join in and bring light and understanding.

Bible

When Jesus joins in the conversation in our story, the first thing he does is to make clear the importance of knowing our Bible, if we want to understand what is going on in the world and the significance of events.

This is why Christians in countries where the faith is discouraged are so desperate to receive Bibles.

In contrast, how tragic it is that in countries lilke Spain and some of our home countries, where Bibles and books which help explain the Bible are so easily and inexpensively available, so little attention is paid to it!

Could this be one of the main reasons the world is in such a mess?

We need to promote knowledge & understanding of the Bible. Unfortunately Jesus is no longer physically here to explain it all, but he has given us the Holy Spirit to “guide us into all truth” and he has gifted some people to preach and teach. These people need to be indentified, trained, encouraged and listened to.

Hospitality

The last feature of the Emmaus journey I want to highlight is the hospitality shown by the travellers at the end of their journey. We notice that Jesus is ready to continue his journey. He doesn’t go into their house until they invite him in. So hospitality is the fourth important feature of this journey, this model journey of faith.

Hospitality is an activity and an attitude which is important all the way through the Bible. For example in Hebrews 13.2 we read “do not neglect to show hospitality; by doing this, some have entertained angels unawares.”

Here at Emmaus it is during a shared meal that the disciples recognise Jesus, their eyes are opened, their hearts and minds understand.

Conclusion

Companionship, conversation, understanding the Bible and hospitality – put them all together and you have Church! If we do these things well, we build Christian community and are able to be salt and light in society.

Jesus joins us and we journey with him. We draw others into that journey by loving,
serving and listening to them . Jesus reveals himself to these others and so the Kingdom of God grows and bears fruit.

May we follow this pattern of the Emmaus Road and may this be our story.

How to sign in and leave comments...

A few people have told me they just get told "access denied" when they try to leave comments. If you click on "Sign in" on the blue bar at the top of the page (it might show in a different language - it is at the extreme right of the bar) you should be able to sign in with your "Google Account" user name and password. Your user name is usually just your email address. If you don't yet have a Google Account, you just click on "Get started" and complete a simple form. It doesn't cost anything and there is no risk as far as I can see.

Once signed in you should be able to leave comments on any posts on my blog - or any other within the Blogger system.

Looking forward to reading those comments!
Drew

Sermon - John 20.19-31

John 20.19-31
1st May, Easter 2

Context

It is the evening of the first Easter day. Mary Magdalene has seen and spoken with the risen Jesus. Peter and John have seen the empty tomb and John has ‘seen and believed’.

Later in the day, the mood of the disciples is a combination of FAITH and FEAR (see v19).

JESUS does not leave them to go through the night until he has personally revealed himself to them, reassured them and given them his peace and a new sense of purpose.

Peace

The PRINCE OF PEACE gives PEACE. He doesn’t just hope for peace like most people do today, he gives peace. In fact it would be true to say that his whole purpose is to make true peace and wholeness and reconciliation – with God and with each other, possibly for ALL people.

“Peace be with you!” is the key phrase in our reading (verses 19, 21 and 26).

The disciples have a personal encounter with the Prince of Peace and as well as peace he brings them three things and the promise of a fourth.

Proof

He brings them proof of the resurrection, as they – 10 of the original 12 men and perhaps some of the women too – are meeting together in a mixture of faith and fear.

He stands among them:-
• His execution and burial could not hold him
• Locked doors were no barrier to him
• Neither physical doors nor the doors of closed hearts and minds can shut Jesus out.

He shows them his wounds and, convinced that it is him, the disciples are glad.

He repeats “Peace be with you!” This is not just a friendly greeting; it is a statement of fact = “Peace is now yours!” It is of course because of the wounds he shows them, that they now have peace. As Isaiah 53.5 famously prophesies:

By his wounds we are healed.

The wounds of Christ are the proof of his resurrection, his victory over sin and death which brings us peace.

Purpose and Pattern

Then in verse 21 Jesus talks about the kind of peace he has given them and the purpose of it. He has given them peace for a reason and it is not just so that they can lie back on the sun loungers sipping cocktails… Jesus tells them:-

Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.

This is John’s version of the Great Commission. What does it mean for Jesus to send the disciples as the Father has sent Jesus?

• Like Jesus, the truth is revealed to them and through them
• Like Jesus, they are given authority to heal, to forgive and to reconcile

This is their PURPOSE. St Paul makes the same point in 2 Corinthians 5.18-19:-

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

The fact that the disciples’ mission is the same as the mission of Jesus means that as well as a clear purpose, they also have a clear PATTERN to follow:-

• A pattern of living in obedience to God’s rules and values
• A pattern of touching untouchables, healing the sick, fighting against evil
• A pattern of unselfishness, laying down their lives for their neighbours, including those they see as their enemies

As the Father sent Jesus, so Jesus sends Peter and James and John … and you and me and us. We have a purpose and we have a pattern to follow.

What else do we need? What are we waiting for?

Power is promised

Verse 22 tells us that Jesus breathed on them and said, ‘receive the Holy Spirit…

I don’t think they actually received the Holy Spirit at this moment – the book of Acts tells us they had to wait until Pentecost. What we seem to have here is an ACTED PARABLE, just like the footwashing before the Last Supper prophesies sins being washed away.

Along with the promise of the power of the Holy Spirit comes (in verse 23) a clarification of their mission as one of forgiveness and reconciliation:-

If you forgive the sins of anyone, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.

This verse is not a licence for any Church to decide to withhold forgiveness from anybody. It is actually a warning to the apostles and their successors (us) about the consequences of their forgiving or failing to forgive:-

My paraphrase of verse 23 is If you pass on to people the forgiveness of God, they will be freed from the power their sin has over them. If you fail to do so, they’ll still remain slaves to their sin.

People need to hear and receive the grace and forgiveness of God and it is through the disciples, the followers of Jesus that they are going to hear and receive it.

Surely, if we take the Lord’s Prayer seriously, it also has to be about giving people our forgiveness for the ways that they have wronged us. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us is what we pray daily, weekly.

The point is not that we have the RIGHT to withhold forgiveness, it is that we have the RESPONSIBILITY to give it.

• The greatest need in our world today is for reconciliation between people and each other and between people and God
• As far as I can see the New Testament never teaches that God needs to be reconciled to us.
• God’s problem is not primarily with SINNERS but with SIN.
• When God looks at us he doesn’t just see PERPETRATORS of evil who need to be PUNISHED, he sees PRISONERS of evil who need to be SET FREE (this includes those who ‘do’ as well as those who are ‘done to’).

God has forgiven us all and has achieved this freedom for us all in Christ and it is our key responsibility to show it to and share it with all people.


Conclusion

So how are we doing at St George’s?

• How is our faith/fear balance?
• What locked doors do we still have? Well Jesus can cope with locked doors. He can unlock them or he can walk right through them!
• What do we do when we are confused and afraid?
• Do we still meet together to pray and wait for God to reveal himself or do we wander off like ‘doubting’ Thomas?
• Are we still looking for proof?
• Are we clear about our purpose, our mission, the pattern we have to follow?
• Have we received the power?
• Do we know his peace and are we sharing it freely, bringing forgiveness and reconciliation?

Our purpose at St George’s is to grow together in all these ways. This is what we are trying to achieve in all our courses, programmes and events like our coming weekend away. This is what you are part of and what God may be calling you to join in with, wholeheartedly.

Chords for "Satisfied"

One or two people have been searching for the guitar chords to "Satisfied", my song expressing the Christian Universalist hope, inspired by a quote from Hannah Whitall Smith. So here are the chords and lyrics below. A rough recording on youtube is posted below at 21st March. The doodly bits are not hard once you know them and are all over an Em chord.

Em A Em C D Em
A day is coming soon when you will see and be satisfied
C D Em A7
Your Father's justice and his mercy are one
C D Em
And you will be satisfied


Em A Em C D Em
You came to save us all, allowed yourself to be crucified
C D Em A7
Your clear intention cannot be denied
C D Em
And you will be satisfied


Em A Em C D Em
A day is coming soon when all will see and be reconciled
C D Em A7
your love is perfect and your justice is sure
C D Em
and you will be satisfied
C D Em A7
your love is perfect and your justice is sure
C D Em
and you will be satisfied

Sorry, can't get it to show the spacing properly!

Anyway, WATCH THIS SPACE for a new Worship song I'm working on, provisionally titled "The Perfect Father"...

Resurrection: Rob Bell

Nice one Rob!

Happy Easter!

1. Transformation Quiz (for children)
• Acorns become …?
• Eggs become …? (no, not tortillas, birds!)
• Tadpoles become …?
• Caterpillars become …?
• All signs from God that new and better life is possible.

2. Metamorphosis of Butterfly
• One caterpillar to another - “You’ll never get me up in one of those things!”
• He was wrong – one day loses urge to eat and grow, forms cocoon around self, which hardens – looks dead – but later, a BUTTERFLY!
• Dries wings, flies, shows off colours, works for God POLLINATING.

3. Butterfly Quiz
• WHICH is the only continent which has no butterflies?
• WHAT part of its body does a butterfly taste with?
• WHAT colour can butterflies see, but bees can’t?
• (older child) EXPLAIN pollination; how & why it is important.

4. Great Illustration of Resurrection
• Disciples found J’s grave & burial clothes empty (like cocoon)
• J was alive in a new way, with new powers (like butterfly)
• Many disciples saw & believed sin & death would not be the final word for them either.

5. Why Easter Baptisms in early church
• Not just a day for bunnies & egg hunts but … BAPTISMS
• They realised God wasn’t just concerned for people to trust that he will give them new life after they die…

6. Living like Butterflies
• God wants people to live in a new way NOW (i.e. before they die)
• God gives Christians new abilities and powers for this life
• We have an important role in the world (like pollination?)
• =Sharing God’s love and mercy, Telling the good news about Jesus and Sharing the new life that God has so freely and generously given us.
Let’s end with a prayer.

Maundy Thursday - John 13

John 13.1-17, 31b-35 Maundy Thursday

The gospel stories of Holy Week are so familiar that we are in danger of losing the impact and shock which they originally held. Perhaps if we recover some of that impact it will help us clarify some of the priorities of the Church today.

The footwashing was such a shocking memory for the writer of John’s gospel that it overshadowed the words of institution of Holy Communion, which he does not record.

• KNOWING THAT HIS HOUR HAD COME – that all the preliminaries were over, the signs and discourses, journeys, conflicts, misunderstandings and so on. Knowing that he had very little time left with his disciples, time in which to explain the meaning of his approaching death and resurrection and their future responsibilities – Jesus began by CARRYING OUT THE SLAVE’s DUTY and washing his disciples’ feet.

• Things had not gone as the disciples had hoped. Their Master’s rejection by the religious leaders had been a setback, but to see him demeaning himself in this way was unbearable.

• Peter points out the inappropriateness. For Judas it is the final straw. The so-called Messiah of whom he had such high hopes, kneeling before him with water and towel, making himself unclean and devoid of dignity by washing the sweat and sand and soil from their feet.

But Jesus knew exactly what he was doing and was completely in control, as John emphasises throughout his gospel. So why did he do this?

• He knew the power of a visual aid – long before the days of powerpoint! He knew that actions speak louder than words and so he began his final discourse by washing the disciples’ feet.

• Knowing that God had given all things into his hands Jesus did not choose the crown and throne but the towel and bowl of a slave. Had he no self respect? “Lord, you will never wash my feet – never!”

• Yet it was more than a visual aid. Jesus was not “dressing up” as a slave in order to make a point about humility. He was taking off his outer clothing and revealing himself as he really is. Jesus kneeling in the dust washing feet, Jesus hanging on a cross dying a criminal’s death. Jesus, having loved his own who were in the world, loved them to the utmost; he showed them the full extent of his love.

As with much of John, there are various layers of meaning. Here are a few of them:-

• Before leaving his disciples, Jesus wanted to assure them of his complete, extreme and unsurpassable love. This love of course does not just apply to the first disciples but also to the whole world, as we read elsewhere in John (For God so loved the world, etc). Jesus washed the disciples’ feet to show everyone the full extent of his love without limit.

• Jesus wanted to symbolise the spiritual cleansing which the disciples and subsequent believers would receive through his victory over death and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. As he said to Peter, “unless I wash you, you have no part in me.” The Church has always recognised the power and validity of this imagery of being washed by Jesus, and we preserve this idea in our baptism liturgy.

• Thirdly Jesus tells the disciples he has set them an example of how to behave towards each other – see verses 14 and 15. If humble service is good enough for the Master, it is good enough for the servant. If it is the mark of the one who sends, it is also the mark of the “apostle”, the one who is sent.

• Jesus ends this first part of our reading by saying “if you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” These last four words are very important when we are thinking about discipleship. Our knowledge of Jesus and his love has to be put into practice.
Our set reading then jumps past the episode of Judas being identified as the traitor and the dramatic moment when he leaves the room, to verses 31-35, in which Jesus announces his glorification through and beyond his suffering on the cross. The NEW COMMANDMENT follows naturally and logically…

“Love one another, even as I have loved you.”

• The unselfish love which the disciples are to show, beginning with each other, is a sign to the world that they are followers of Jesus. So Christian unity is important - a priority Jesus comes back to time and again during the farewell discourse (John 13-17).
So how does all of this apply to the Church today? How can we pull it together?

• Jesus’s awareness that his hour had come might challenge us. Knowing that his hour had come, he acted bravely, decisively and obediently. Much of what he did was of course once and for all BUT in terms of taking the good news of salvation and of the kingdom of God to the world, much remains to be done. Jesus handed on the baton to the apostles aand they handed it on to the Church.

• Perhaps the Church’s HOUR HAS NOW COME? And it should also act bravely, decisively and obediently. Many people think the Church has already had its hour, had its day and is now just an empty relic tied to the age of ignorance. Many in the Church concur and are happy to just shut the door and die quietly. But I don’t think that is what God is saying. I think he is saying to the Church – “Your hour has come. Now is the time!”

• Now is the time for what? For showing the full extent of God’s love to “those he has given us out of the world”. Who? People who are already Church members? Yet God is a missionary God who longs for every lost sheep to be carried home, and has called us to do the seeking and carrying.

• We live amongst the most broken, bewildered, lost and confused generation of all time. A generation desperately in need of hope, of salvation.

• And they won’t come to us. We need to go to them, humbly, taking off our outer garment – all the tat and privilege and rich trappings which hide what Christianity is all about. We need to put a towel round our waist and WASH THE FEET OF THE WORLD. Even those who hate us. Jesus has set the example for us to follow (even washing Judas’s feet) and it is only after following this example that we earn the opportunity to ask “do you understand what I have done for you?”

• KNOWING THAT the hour of the Church has come, we are to show the full extent of God’s love to the world.

• We are to do so in unity (verse 35) and with authenticity. We live in a world which is sick of hollow images and empty promises. A world which looks with suspicion at the Church, our profession of love and asks “is it real, is it authentic?”

• May we follow our Lord and Saviour and show real unity and real humble love as we take his good news to the world.