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The Gospel of Matthew Bible Studies
The Gospel of Mark Bible Studies
The Book of Acts Bible Studies
January 2010
February 2010
March 2010
April 2010
May 2010
June 2010
July 2010
August 2010
September 2010
October 2010
November 2010
December 2010
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The 2nd Sunday of Easter (C) In the Name of Jesus Christ, our risen and living Savior! Grace, mercy, and peace be with you! Amen! On this second Sunday of Easter, the usual suggested gospel text is John 20:19-31 – about Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances to his disciples in the locked upper room and specifically to his disciple Thomas. But since we are especially focusing on the gospel of Luke this year, I have decided to instead use Luke 24:13-35 – the passage immediately following our gospel from last week on Easter Sunday. As a brief reminder, that text – Luke 24:1-12 – was about how some of Jesus’ women followers went to his tomb at early dawn on the first day of the week – only to find the stone rolled away from the entrance of the tomb and the tomb itself empty. Then “two men in dazzling clothes” told them that Jesus had risen – reminding them of what Jesus had told them while he was still in Galilee that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again. Then the women remembered Jesus’ words, and went to tell this to the eleven and to all the rest. But – as the gospel informed us – “these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.” (Lk. 24:11) And now today’s gospel continues the story. As we heard "That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened." Just like Thomas in John's gospel, these two disciples could not believe the women's report about Jesus’ resurrection. Even though they may have wanted to, they could not. Their discouragement and disillusionment was just too deep. How many of us have also gone through some very some discouraging times in our lives? When things just did not go as we had hoped and planned? Perhaps we did not get that job promotion we felt we deserved - or a relationship did not work out - or we have been afflicted with sickness or pain that never seems to get better - or we have been burdened down with a sadness or guilt that we just can't seem to get rid of. Almost all of us have experienced one or more of these things – perhaps some of us are going through these times even now. It is very easy to feel discouraged and depressed during times like these. It is very easy to become disillusioned with God when his promises to bless us don't seem to immediately come true. That is what it was like for those two disciples. As far as they could see, all of their hopes and dreams were gone. With the death of their Lord Jesus, the sun was setting on their life with God. Soon, it would be all over and they would be left with nothing but bitter memories of what should have been. It was at this point that Jesus drew near and walked along with them. I personally think the reason those two disciples failed to recognize him was simply because in the midst of their disillusionment, he was the last person they ever expected to see! I know that I personally sometimes fail to recognize a person simply because he or she was dressed differently or was not in the usual context that I was used to seeing him or her. How much more would that be if I had thought that the person was dead? So it was for those two disciples. To their thinking, Jesus was dead and would remain that way forever. They might have been struck by the physical similarity of this stranger to their Lord, but they could not bring themselves to believe that it could actually be him. What the stranger did, however, was to meet them where they were in their disillusionment, and then started to make sense of everything that had happened. He explained to them from the scriptures that their Lord’s crucifixion, far from being the death of their hopes and dreams, was actually a necessary part of God’s plan. He also taught them that there was much more to the story than just the apparent failure – but that the Messiah was to also rise again and then enter into his glory. What we need to understand here is that this was not new or unexpected information! Cleopas and his companion had heard all of this before from Jesus during his ministry with them in Galilee. Indeed, they had heard this just a few hours before from the women who had come from the empty tomb. Jesus was helping them to remember what he had taught them, and then apply it to their lives in the here and now. But what helped those two disciples to really remember and experience Jesus’ presence was when he took and blessed and broke the bread after they had invited him to stay with them for supper. It was nothing special, really – Jesus did it the same way that he had done it countless times before. But there was something about it – perhaps it was in the way he talked or in his mannerisms that they had come to love so well – which opened the eyes of those two disciples. In the midst of that simple act, Cleopas and his companion recognized that the stranger was truly their risen Lord! But as soon as they recognized him, he disappeared from their sight. What was going on here? Why did Jesus choose to disappear from them just at that moment? You see, Jesus was helping those disciples to make a transition - a transition from their having to physically see him to know that he was alive, to instead their experiencing his presence in another way through their "eyes" of remembrance. And this is what Jesus does for us today. He reminds us that he is with us even when we can’t actually see him. A wonderful story is told by Patrick Keifert, who was an ELCA pastor and a seminary professor at Luther Seminary. Let me tell you his story as he tells it in his own words in his book Welcoming the Stranger: "During the last week of my pastorate in a church in the city of Chicago, I was visiting a McDonald's, looking for a soft drink and fries and a chance to recover from the funeral I had just completed and to escape from the hot muggy air of a late July day in Chicago. As I started to eat my fries, a very large black man started toward the table. Being a racist, I immediately checked the security of my billfold and started to decide how much I would be willing to share with him. Without asking, he seated himself in the booth in which I was sitting, immediately across from me. Now I was really nervous. "How are you doing, Father?" he opened. I was wearing my clerical collar. "You look like you've had a bad day. Would you like to talk about it?" I admitted to having a tough day. The funeral had not gone well. To start with, we had driven to the wrong cemetery. Things at the cemetery had not gone better. I was tired and somewhat discouraged about how I had been as a pastor to the family and friends of the deceased. Then he reached across the table with his hand. Placing his index finger right in my chest, he asked, "Do you believe that stuff about Jesus rising from the dead? And do you believe it is true about you?" I was, to put it mildly, taken aback by this question. Even though one can expect almost anything on the streets of Chicago, I had never had this happen before. In fact, although I had attended Sunday school since I was three years old, been confirmed in a conservative Christian denomination, passed denominational exams in two different church bodies, and taught at a denominational seminary, no one had ever asked me that question. I answered, "I guess I believe it. At least on my good days I believe it. On other days, I don't even pay attention to Jesus, much less the resurrection. On other days, I can't bring myself to accept it, even when I want to." He looked satisfied and said, "I thought so." And then he left. A number of years later, when I was on sabbatical and reading the Gospel according to St. Luke and the Acts of the Apostles for my devotional reading, I came upon a passage in Luke 24. Two disciples...are walking to Emmaus, a suburb of Jerusalem. They are joined by a stranger...Not until these several years had passed did I recognize who the stranger was sitting with me in the booth at McDonald's...!! I don't know about you, but hearing that story sent chills up and down my spine! Patrick Keifert believes it to be true with every fiber of his being...and it is that experience that transformed his work from just being a career into being a mission of love! In the midst of his discouragement, he believes that Jesus came to him and reminded him of the "bottom line" - that we serve a risen and living Lord who loves us and is with us always! I haven't seen Jesus like that. Or then again, maybe I have! In my own life, there have been instances when I have been feeling really, really down and discouraged - when someone - perhaps a friend but sometimes even a stranger - offered me words of advice, encouragement, and even love. Even if I knew the person, perhaps it really WAS Jesus who was speaking with me! And perhaps I in my own ministry have brought the love of Jesus into the lives of others just when they needed it the most. Maybe Jesus has even spoken through me! Our Lord Jesus is alive and is with us! That's the real message of our gospel lesson today! And Jesus wants us to remember and experience his loving presence during our discouragements and disillusionments even when we can't see him. To some people, like Cleopas and his companion, or to Patrick Keifert – he has shown himself in brief glimpses just when they needed him the most. To others, like me, he shows himself through friends or even strangers who offer words of advice, encouragement or compassion just at those times when we need it the most. And to all of us, Jesus comes to us in a very special way through the breaking of the bread. When we receive him in Holy Communion, we remember and experience his presence. Just a glimpse, mind you! And not with our physical senses. But still in a way which fills us with courage and with peace and with joy! In the mist of the ordinary, Jesus comes to us with glimpses of the divine. To let us know that he is truly alive. To let us know how much he loves us. To help us to be able to love each other in the same way. And to help us to know that lo, he is risen indeed and is with us always, to the close of the age! Amen! -------------------- Pastor George Karres 418 W. Main St. Sidney, MT 59270
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