WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.440 So if God is real, why is he so hard to find? 00:00:08.480 --> 00:00:12.759 It's a question that I've heard many, many times, a question that I've asked at various points in my life. 00:00:12.859 --> 00:00:15.780 If God is real, why is he so hard to find? 00:00:15.900 --> 00:00:18.260 Why doesn't he just make himself obvious? 00:00:19.740 --> 00:00:23.140 If he wants people to believe in him, why not remove all doubt? 00:00:24.780 --> 00:00:26.539 Why make it a guessing game? 00:00:26.539 --> 00:00:35.960 Seems like it would be so much easier to believe in God if we could just see him, have a conversation with him with our own eyes, hear him with our own ears. 00:00:39.519 --> 00:00:42.340 The question we're going to be considering this morning is this. 00:00:42.519 --> 00:00:45.659 What if the problem isn't that God is absent? 00:00:47.079 --> 00:00:53.700 What if the problem is actually that God is present, but that we simply don't recognize him? 00:00:53.700 --> 00:00:58.280 What if God is the one who shows up? 00:00:58.760 --> 00:01:01.380 And the question is whether or not we show up. 00:01:02.440 --> 00:01:05.620 In Luke 24, that's exactly what happens. 00:01:05.740 --> 00:01:08.799 This gospel reading that we just heard read by Hillary. 00:01:08.900 --> 00:01:11.320 We have two disciples who have followed Jesus. 00:01:11.480 --> 00:01:12.340 They know Jesus. 00:01:12.879 --> 00:01:16.620 They have experienced firsthand the ministry of Jesus. 00:01:16.620 --> 00:01:21.120 And yet he comes alongside them after his resurrection. 00:01:21.480 --> 00:01:23.280 He walks on the road with them. 00:01:23.359 --> 00:01:24.680 He has a conversation with him. 00:01:24.820 --> 00:01:28.160 And they completely fail to recognize that it's Jesus. 00:01:29.760 --> 00:01:38.560 In order for them to recognize Jesus, Jesus in this passage, as he does in nearly every post-resurrection story we have, 00:01:38.560 --> 00:01:45.320 in order for them to recognize that it's Jesus, Jesus has to make himself known. 00:01:46.600 --> 00:01:48.340 He has to reveal himself. 00:01:49.060 --> 00:01:50.780 So the question is, how does he do that? 00:01:50.840 --> 00:01:57.900 How do we go from being with God and not recognizing him to recognizing that he's been with us all along? 00:01:59.379 --> 00:02:01.379 Let's pray and we're going to open God's word together. 00:02:01.379 --> 00:02:04.439 Lord, we thank you for your word. 00:02:04.899 --> 00:02:06.640 And we thank you that you're all in here. 00:02:07.119 --> 00:02:15.000 And we thank you that we're not here to consider the thoughts or the words or the wisdom or the ideas of people who lived centuries ago. 00:02:16.139 --> 00:02:21.060 We're here to receive and to respond to the voice of the living God. 00:02:21.659 --> 00:02:23.740 Lord, there's a reason we ring these bells. 00:02:24.120 --> 00:02:25.819 And it's because you're alive. 00:02:26.259 --> 00:02:28.439 And so it's your voice that we seek to hear, Lord. 00:02:28.439 --> 00:02:32.240 We pray that by your grace you would speak and we would have the ears to hear. 00:02:32.479 --> 00:02:33.879 In Jesus' name, amen. 00:02:35.520 --> 00:02:38.840 So this is the afternoon of the first Easter Sunday. 00:02:39.159 --> 00:02:41.039 All of the events have taken place. 00:02:41.199 --> 00:02:48.939 The arrest, the crucifixion, the burial, the empty tomb, right, which these disciples have heard about. 00:02:49.300 --> 00:02:55.259 But Luke tells us that these two disciples, one named Cleopas, are actually walking away from all of that. 00:02:55.259 --> 00:02:57.359 They're walking away from Jerusalem. 00:02:57.359 --> 00:03:00.000 And we need to be clear on what this means. 00:03:00.120 --> 00:03:01.399 They're walking away from hope. 00:03:02.459 --> 00:03:05.840 They're walking away from their community, the community of disciples. 00:03:06.060 --> 00:03:09.340 They're walking away from everything they thought God was doing. 00:03:09.459 --> 00:03:11.319 In fact, it seems as though they've given up. 00:03:12.399 --> 00:03:18.599 And they're arguing as they go about how to make sense of the events of the last few days. 00:03:18.599 --> 00:03:27.719 It says in verse 15, as they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them. 00:03:28.419 --> 00:03:29.919 Verse 16, very important. 00:03:30.359 --> 00:03:34.259 But they were kept from recognizing him. 00:03:34.959 --> 00:03:36.219 Now, this is very important. 00:03:36.319 --> 00:03:43.039 If God wants us to believe in him, if Christ wants people to believe in him and follow him, why would he keep them from recognizing him? 00:03:43.039 --> 00:03:48.139 The risen Jesus is with them, walking alongside them. 00:03:48.599 --> 00:03:50.299 But he prevents their recognition. 00:03:51.060 --> 00:03:59.699 The reason is because he's showing us, he's showing them and through them us, how he wants to be known from this point forward. 00:04:00.079 --> 00:04:08.899 The way we encounter the risen Christ after the resurrection changes from the way the disciples interacted with him before his crucifixion. 00:04:08.900 --> 00:04:15.740 So Jesus asks in an almost playful way, what are you guys talking about? 00:04:16.720 --> 00:04:19.240 And Cleopas basically says, have you been living under a rock? 00:04:20.120 --> 00:04:23.600 Are you the only one in the whole region who doesn't know? 00:04:23.899 --> 00:04:25.160 Everybody's talking about this. 00:04:25.199 --> 00:04:26.680 This is the talk of the town. 00:04:27.939 --> 00:04:31.819 Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened here? 00:04:32.040 --> 00:04:34.319 And then Jesus says something totally unexpected. 00:04:35.939 --> 00:04:37.180 Oh, foolish ones. 00:04:37.180 --> 00:04:38.959 Now, this is a very playful, playful tone. 00:04:40.240 --> 00:04:42.800 And slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. 00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:48.459 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory? 00:04:48.680 --> 00:04:50.860 And verse 27, imagine this. 00:04:51.780 --> 00:04:57.860 And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, which is the entire, what we refer to as the Old Testament. 00:04:58.019 --> 00:04:58.819 Moses and the prophets. 00:04:59.360 --> 00:05:01.180 That's Genesis to Malachi. 00:05:01.340 --> 00:05:02.139 That's the whole thing. 00:05:02.139 --> 00:05:09.240 And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. 00:05:09.939 --> 00:05:14.800 And at this point, the disciples begin to realize there is a lot more to this stranger than meets the eye. 00:05:14.919 --> 00:05:17.759 So they eventually arrive at their destination. 00:05:17.919 --> 00:05:18.979 They arrive at their village. 00:05:18.980 --> 00:05:21.580 Jesus seems as though he's going to keep going. 00:05:21.939 --> 00:05:23.220 But they urge him to stay. 00:05:23.319 --> 00:05:24.819 Please stay the night with us. 00:05:25.640 --> 00:05:32.240 That night, verse 30, when he was at the table with them, he took bread. 00:05:33.319 --> 00:05:34.439 He gave thanks. 00:05:34.439 --> 00:05:36.639 He broke it. 00:05:37.680 --> 00:05:39.360 And he began to give it to them. 00:05:40.360 --> 00:05:43.740 And then their eyes were opened. 00:05:44.459 --> 00:05:46.160 And they recognized him. 00:05:46.879 --> 00:05:48.600 And he disappeared from their sight. 00:05:49.980 --> 00:05:55.439 Now, if the wording sounds familiar, it's because we've heard these words before. 00:05:55.439 --> 00:06:04.759 Two chapters earlier, in chapter 22, when Jesus institutes what we call now the Eucharist, the meal that we share at this table. 00:06:04.980 --> 00:06:14.879 When Jesus institutes this meal, when he commands his followers to continue sharing this meal until he comes again, it says this. 00:06:14.879 --> 00:06:16.699 And he took bread. 00:06:17.680 --> 00:06:18.680 Gave thanks. 00:06:19.740 --> 00:06:20.500 Broke it. 00:06:21.259 --> 00:06:22.360 And gave it to them. 00:06:22.360 --> 00:06:26.240 And there he says, this is my body given for you. 00:06:26.400 --> 00:06:28.560 Do this in remembrance of me. 00:06:29.800 --> 00:06:45.580 Luke is wanting us to connect this moment in chapter 24 with these two disciples in Emmaus to the Eucharist or the Lord's Supper or communion, whatever we grew up calling it to this meal. 00:06:45.699 --> 00:06:48.340 Luke is wanting us to see there's a connection here. 00:06:48.439 --> 00:06:50.060 What Jesus is doing with these disciples. 00:06:50.060 --> 00:06:55.319 He is meaning to show us this is the Eucharistic meal. 00:06:56.019 --> 00:07:06.319 And indeed, the early church fathers, all of the first Christians of the first few centuries, the leaders of the early church, they all recognize this as a clear reference to this meal. 00:07:07.100 --> 00:07:10.139 St. Augustine says in his homily on this, 00:07:10.139 --> 00:07:18.300 And no one should doubt that his being recognized in the breaking of bread is the sacrament, which brings us together in recognizing him. 00:07:19.060 --> 00:07:23.699 So let's just summarize all of this is an incredibly mysterious passage. 00:07:24.079 --> 00:07:25.659 But let's just pull it together. 00:07:25.660 --> 00:07:30.480 Jesus comes alongside these two disciples who are confused. 00:07:30.920 --> 00:07:32.380 They are dismayed. 00:07:32.620 --> 00:07:38.460 And he prevents them from recognizing him until two things happen. 00:07:39.460 --> 00:07:41.180 The scriptures are opened. 00:07:42.320 --> 00:07:43.960 The bread is broken. 00:07:43.959 --> 00:07:46.339 And the point is this. 00:07:46.419 --> 00:07:57.399 When we read the scriptures the way they were meant to be read, when we receive this meal the way it was meant to be received, we should expect to encounter the risen Christ. 00:07:58.219 --> 00:08:03.299 We should expect to recognize Christ who is with us. 00:08:03.300 --> 00:08:06.819 Now, some people might hear this and say, okay, that's great. 00:08:07.020 --> 00:08:07.879 You're wearing a robe. 00:08:08.120 --> 00:08:10.500 Obviously, you have high-fueled beliefs about all this stuff. 00:08:10.960 --> 00:08:14.160 Does this mean, are you telling me that this is the only way I can encounter Christ? 00:08:15.160 --> 00:08:20.400 That this means I can't encounter Christ when I'm on a run or hiking in the woods? 00:08:20.500 --> 00:08:25.000 Does this mean that I can't encounter Christ if I'm in my hospital room crying out to him? 00:08:25.060 --> 00:08:27.439 Can I encounter Christ in the grocery store? 00:08:27.439 --> 00:08:35.240 Or can I encounter Christ in a dream the way many former Muslim converts to Christianity say they have encountered the risen Christ in dreams? 00:08:35.299 --> 00:08:36.860 And I would say absolutely not. 00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:39.000 Of course you can encounter Christ those ways. 00:08:39.720 --> 00:08:40.379 Of course. 00:08:41.279 --> 00:08:42.700 And I think it happens all the time. 00:08:43.220 --> 00:08:44.340 Christ is all-powerful. 00:08:44.340 --> 00:08:54.019 If this really is the God who created the heavens and the earth, and if he has really overcome sin and death, then he can make himself known anywhere and anyhow he chooses. 00:08:55.240 --> 00:08:56.120 I think he does. 00:08:56.120 --> 00:09:02.519 I know people, there are people in this church who have had powerful encounters with Christ in all kinds of ways. 00:09:04.139 --> 00:09:12.620 But there are some ways through which Christ promises to make himself known. 00:09:15.399 --> 00:09:16.799 So it's not a maybe. 00:09:18.060 --> 00:09:19.179 It's an always. 00:09:20.759 --> 00:09:22.680 When the scriptures are opened. 00:09:23.519 --> 00:09:25.159 When the bread is broken. 00:09:26.120 --> 00:09:27.759 Christ makes himself known. 00:09:27.840 --> 00:09:34.460 In other words, this is the normative way Jesus intends for us to recognize him. 00:09:34.460 --> 00:09:37.960 This is the place he intends for us to find him. 00:09:38.320 --> 00:09:42.740 It's in the pattern of what the church refers to as word and sacrament. 00:09:43.460 --> 00:09:54.820 And this has major implications for, we could consider this all day, we're not going to be at ease, but we're going to consider a few of the most pressing implications. 00:09:54.820 --> 00:10:03.160 The implications for the implications for the way we read scripture, for the way we come to this table together, and for the way we worship in general. 00:10:03.159 --> 00:10:06.399 So let's talk about those three sets of implications. 00:10:06.399 --> 00:10:07.399 The way we read scriptures. 00:10:07.399 --> 00:10:09.639 The way we read scriptures. 00:10:09.639 --> 00:10:19.120 Modern society is full of people who have grown up in a kind of Christian or post-Christian or Christian adjacent world. 00:10:19.539 --> 00:10:21.240 And they think they know scripture. 00:10:22.100 --> 00:10:25.199 And yet they have never read it the way it was meant to be read. 00:10:25.200 --> 00:10:34.259 Because all too often people have an understanding of the Bible that it is simply meant to be turned into a catalog of do's and don'ts. 00:10:34.379 --> 00:10:35.140 Live this way. 00:10:35.460 --> 00:10:36.460 Don't live this way. 00:10:36.740 --> 00:10:37.520 Do the good things. 00:10:37.620 --> 00:10:38.680 Don't do the bad things. 00:10:38.960 --> 00:10:47.500 Or people grow up and they read books and they listen to podcasts and they come to think that scripture is essentially a resource guide. 00:10:47.640 --> 00:10:50.440 Or a toolkit for self-improvement. 00:10:50.440 --> 00:10:56.440 And there are so many products on the Christian marketplace that reinforce that. 00:10:56.800 --> 00:11:00.180 Moses becomes a guide for successful leadership. 00:11:02.220 --> 00:11:09.880 You know, Daniel's faithfulness in Babylon gets turned into a diet plan to help you lose weight. 00:11:10.980 --> 00:11:17.900 You know, David's defeat of Goliath is about facing our own giants and believing in ourselves. 00:11:17.899 --> 00:11:23.319 This is like standing at a large picture window. 00:11:23.899 --> 00:11:26.699 And there's this gigantic picture window. 00:11:27.220 --> 00:11:29.639 And you're looking at the windowsill. 00:11:30.039 --> 00:11:32.120 And you're focusing on the frame. 00:11:32.519 --> 00:11:34.199 And you're looking at the curtains. 00:11:34.360 --> 00:11:37.720 And maybe even you're looking at the glass. 00:11:38.679 --> 00:11:41.980 But you never bother to look through the window at the view. 00:11:41.980 --> 00:11:45.240 And the whole purpose of the window is the view. 00:11:46.580 --> 00:11:50.820 And you're missing it because you're looking at the windowsill. 00:11:51.879 --> 00:11:52.320 Right? 00:11:52.420 --> 00:11:56.120 All of the Bible, friends, is like the ultimate picture window. 00:11:57.399 --> 00:11:59.340 You're not just meant to look at it. 00:11:59.379 --> 00:12:01.279 Although there's a lot of value to be gained. 00:12:01.980 --> 00:12:03.120 You know, from looking at it. 00:12:03.180 --> 00:12:04.300 You're meant to look through it. 00:12:04.980 --> 00:12:06.860 You're meant to see what it all points to. 00:12:06.860 --> 00:12:12.240 You're meant to see the vista, the view, the beauty of Christ put on full display. 00:12:14.220 --> 00:12:14.580 Right? 00:12:14.659 --> 00:12:16.620 So we're not just meant to look at it, but through it. 00:12:16.779 --> 00:12:21.560 So when we read about Adam, who was the first human who failed in his calling, 00:12:22.200 --> 00:12:23.820 we're meant to look through that. 00:12:24.639 --> 00:12:25.600 To Jesus. 00:12:27.080 --> 00:12:30.460 Paul gives us a hint in the New Testament when he refers to him as the new Adam. 00:12:30.800 --> 00:12:32.259 He's like, there's more to this story. 00:12:33.539 --> 00:12:35.960 Jesus is the one who succeeds where Adam fails. 00:12:35.960 --> 00:12:38.620 And he shows us what human beings are supposed to be like. 00:12:39.720 --> 00:12:41.400 We read the story of Noah. 00:12:41.540 --> 00:12:45.019 Noah built an ark and it delivered his family through the flood. 00:12:45.379 --> 00:12:47.360 There's a lot to be learned from that. 00:12:47.500 --> 00:12:49.759 But Noah points us to Jesus. 00:12:51.220 --> 00:12:56.400 You look through it and you recognize the true ark of history is not a boat. 00:12:57.240 --> 00:13:01.860 It's Christ who delivers us safely through the waters of God's judgment. 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:04.000 Marked in our baptism. 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:05.960 We look at the story of Abraham. 00:13:06.440 --> 00:13:11.659 Inspiring story of a man who leaves his family and his kindred and his land behind. 00:13:12.179 --> 00:13:19.919 And he goes to a place that's not his home to form a people who are then going to be a way that God blesses the nations. 00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:21.600 And it's an amazing story. 00:13:21.600 --> 00:13:36.500 But you look through the picture window and you see Jesus who leaves heaven above to come and live among us to form a new community, which we call the church, to bring salvation to the ends of the earth. 00:13:37.360 --> 00:13:37.800 Right. 00:13:37.799 --> 00:13:40.759 You have to look through Moses to Christ. 00:13:41.839 --> 00:13:49.740 Because Christ is the one who sets God's people free from bondage to sin and death and mediates a new covenant. 00:13:50.659 --> 00:13:50.799 Right. 00:13:50.979 --> 00:14:00.579 You look through King David to Christ who defeats the true Goliaths of sin and death and now sits on the throne of heaven. 00:14:00.580 --> 00:14:08.540 You look through Jonah who didn't go Christ who didn't go into the belly of a fish for three days. 00:14:08.740 --> 00:14:11.520 He went into the belly of the earth for three days. 00:14:11.620 --> 00:14:12.560 He went into the tomb. 00:14:13.160 --> 00:14:14.500 But he came out the other side. 00:14:14.500 --> 00:14:19.399 So Christ is not just a prophet who hears God's word. 00:14:19.659 --> 00:14:20.919 Christ is God's word. 00:14:21.220 --> 00:14:23.879 Christ is not just a priest who offers sacrifices. 00:14:24.279 --> 00:14:28.120 He's the great high priest who offers the one true sacrifice himself. 00:14:28.600 --> 00:14:30.100 He's not just a king. 00:14:30.200 --> 00:14:31.200 He's the king of kings. 00:14:32.419 --> 00:14:34.799 So the Bible is not just a book. 00:14:36.220 --> 00:14:38.639 The Bible is a place of encounter. 00:14:40.940 --> 00:14:43.620 We should open it with fear and trembling. 00:14:44.500 --> 00:14:49.799 We should open it with excitement and wonder and awe. 00:14:51.720 --> 00:14:54.779 Because when you open it, you're on dangerous ground. 00:14:55.120 --> 00:14:57.240 You're going to come face to face with the living God. 00:14:57.559 --> 00:15:01.059 And you realize all of a sudden this is no longer under my control. 00:15:03.240 --> 00:15:08.899 The entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation exists to reveal the risen Christ. 00:15:09.259 --> 00:15:14.399 So when we open the scriptures, don't just ask, what lessons can I learn? 00:15:14.500 --> 00:15:16.000 That's a valuable question. 00:15:16.320 --> 00:15:17.179 Don't stop there. 00:15:18.779 --> 00:15:21.440 Ask, how does this lead me to Christ? 00:15:22.080 --> 00:15:25.399 Ask, what is this saying to me? 00:15:25.500 --> 00:15:28.299 What is Christ saying to me through this passage? 00:15:28.960 --> 00:15:32.460 What is Christ revealing about himself through this story? 00:15:32.460 --> 00:15:38.120 Where is Christ calling me to deeper trust and faithfulness and reliance on him? 00:15:39.379 --> 00:15:45.120 The way we read scripture will determine whether or not we encounter Christ. 00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:51.340 The way we receive the Eucharist, the way we come to this table, second implication. 00:15:54.679 --> 00:15:56.100 I might ruffle some feathers. 00:15:57.159 --> 00:16:01.519 Or hopefully said more accurately, Luke 24 might ruffle some feathers. 00:16:02.620 --> 00:16:03.860 I hope that's the case. 00:16:03.860 --> 00:16:06.980 We all come from different backgrounds. 00:16:07.080 --> 00:16:11.779 One of the great things about our community is that we have people from every stripe, every kind of background here. 00:16:11.960 --> 00:16:16.860 So some of us grew up in churches where we did the Lord's Supper and maybe you did it a few times a year. 00:16:17.159 --> 00:16:19.480 And it was a way to remember Jesus. 00:16:21.300 --> 00:16:22.320 Nothing more than that. 00:16:22.440 --> 00:16:25.159 And so maybe you did it a few times a year, but it wasn't really that big a deal. 00:16:25.580 --> 00:16:27.340 Really the preaching is where it was at. 00:16:27.340 --> 00:16:30.700 This was sort of a memorial that you do from time to time. 00:16:31.540 --> 00:16:37.320 Other people I know in our community, you grew up in a Roman Catholic background or you go to a Catholic school now. 00:16:37.820 --> 00:16:44.160 And you're taught that the Eucharist, the bread and the wine, are transformed into flesh and blood. 00:16:44.259 --> 00:16:45.940 Their very substance is altered. 00:16:45.940 --> 00:16:50.540 And that's a cornerstone defining belief for you if you're Roman Catholic. 00:16:51.420 --> 00:16:55.100 Some of you, I'm delighted that you're here because you didn't grow up in church. 00:16:55.100 --> 00:17:00.100 You have not the foggiest idea of what we're talking about right now. 00:17:00.360 --> 00:17:05.039 And you think the whole idea of a God revealing himself through bread is utterly bizarre. 00:17:06.339 --> 00:17:07.620 That's a crazy idea. 00:17:07.759 --> 00:17:08.980 Who thinks that, right? 00:17:09.599 --> 00:17:14.839 And I think that if we understand this passage correctly and the other passages that it refers to, 00:17:15.140 --> 00:17:19.059 I think it's going to ruffle all of our feathers a bit if we're in one of those categories. 00:17:19.059 --> 00:17:26.759 So for those of us who think that the idea of encountering Jesus through a meal sounds strange, it is. 00:17:27.859 --> 00:17:29.220 It is bizarre. 00:17:29.480 --> 00:17:31.460 But here's the thing that you need to understand. 00:17:32.359 --> 00:17:37.480 Christianity is not merely a set of ideas in your head or feelings in your heart. 00:17:37.480 --> 00:17:43.279 God meets us through ordinary physical means. 00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:45.000 Water. 00:17:46.220 --> 00:17:46.559 Bread. 00:17:47.640 --> 00:17:48.160 Wine. 00:17:49.140 --> 00:17:51.019 People gathering in his name. 00:17:52.140 --> 00:17:53.519 On the mission field. 00:17:54.299 --> 00:17:55.880 In times of prayer, right? 00:17:56.120 --> 00:17:57.980 These ordinary things that we do. 00:17:58.079 --> 00:17:59.079 These ordinary gatherings. 00:17:59.339 --> 00:18:01.880 The words of ordinary human beings spoken. 00:18:01.880 --> 00:18:07.400 The loaf of bread that Janice and the congregation baked yesterday. 00:18:07.880 --> 00:18:09.140 Being broken open. 00:18:09.440 --> 00:18:10.800 Something happens. 00:18:11.640 --> 00:18:14.000 And that's because God made the physical world. 00:18:14.740 --> 00:18:16.780 That's because God loves the physical world. 00:18:17.000 --> 00:18:21.120 And that's because it is God's great delight to use the physical world to make himself known. 00:18:21.960 --> 00:18:30.820 So God uses physical ends to accomplish, physical means to accomplish spiritual ends. 00:18:30.819 --> 00:18:35.659 One of the ways theologians talk about this is to say that grace perfects nature. 00:18:36.919 --> 00:18:39.059 It reminds us what the physical world was for. 00:18:39.179 --> 00:18:40.119 It's to make Christ known. 00:18:40.439 --> 00:18:43.720 In many ways, this entire physical world is one great sacrament. 00:18:44.220 --> 00:18:46.139 Meant to reveal the God who made it all. 00:18:46.819 --> 00:18:49.019 So why would it be so crazy that he would use a loaf of bread? 00:18:50.299 --> 00:18:53.559 The very mountains are meant to reveal his presence. 00:18:53.559 --> 00:19:04.819 For those of us who grew up in churches where the Lord's Supper was just a memory aid or a way to remember or mark what Jesus did 2,000 years ago. 00:19:06.220 --> 00:19:07.619 Let's ruffle some feathers. 00:19:08.279 --> 00:19:11.940 I want you to notice that this story is very carefully constructed. 00:19:11.940 --> 00:19:19.339 Once Jesus breaks the bread and their eyes are opened, he vanishes from their sight. 00:19:19.759 --> 00:19:21.179 This is not accidental. 00:19:21.339 --> 00:19:22.519 There's a message here. 00:19:22.519 --> 00:19:30.079 Christ withdraws his visible presence because he is now meant to be known sacramentally. 00:19:31.000 --> 00:19:35.720 He withdraws his visible presence because he wants to be known sacramentally. 00:19:35.799 --> 00:19:39.319 The mode of presence changes and the message is clear. 00:19:39.319 --> 00:19:50.579 He's saying from now on, church, you're not going to be seeing Christ bodily across the table. 00:19:50.679 --> 00:19:53.740 You're going to be receiving Christ sacramentally at the table. 00:19:53.740 --> 00:19:59.299 So this meal is far more than just a memory aid. 00:19:59.299 --> 00:20:06.379 This is why when the apostle Paul talks about this meal in 1 Corinthians 10, he says this. 00:20:06.379 --> 00:20:12.279 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? 00:20:12.279 --> 00:20:17.000 And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? 00:20:17.139 --> 00:20:20.319 So he's not saying, is this not a way of remembering Christ? 00:20:20.399 --> 00:20:22.839 He's saying this is a participation, right? 00:20:23.339 --> 00:20:29.299 Participation implies actively sharing and experiencing something, communing with Christ himself. 00:20:29.299 --> 00:20:35.659 So there's far more going on here than mere memory. 00:20:37.960 --> 00:20:49.220 Now, if you come from a Catholic background or go to a Catholic school where you're taught that the bread and the wine are changed into the actual body and blood of Jesus. 00:20:49.220 --> 00:20:52.160 Let's let's let's let's let's ruffle some feathers. 00:20:52.339 --> 00:20:56.200 OK, Jesus is truly present at this table. 00:20:56.279 --> 00:20:57.299 There's no denying that. 00:20:57.299 --> 00:20:59.559 But notice how he is present. 00:21:01.180 --> 00:21:02.579 He's the celebrant. 00:21:03.400 --> 00:21:03.960 Right. 00:21:04.120 --> 00:21:05.720 He's the host of the meal. 00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:08.319 He's the one who takes the bread. 00:21:08.660 --> 00:21:09.640 He blesses it. 00:21:09.720 --> 00:21:10.519 He breaks it. 00:21:10.779 --> 00:21:11.720 He gives it. 00:21:11.839 --> 00:21:13.279 And then he vanishes. 00:21:13.799 --> 00:21:18.940 And through that action, the disciples eyes are opened and they recognize him. 00:21:19.680 --> 00:21:22.980 So Jesus clearly connects himself to the bread. 00:21:23.279 --> 00:21:25.539 He uses the bread to make himself known. 00:21:25.839 --> 00:21:27.420 The bread is a vehicle for that. 00:21:28.680 --> 00:21:30.500 But it is spiritual. 00:21:32.420 --> 00:21:36.019 Luke does not say that the bread stops being bread. 00:21:36.880 --> 00:21:42.660 Luke does not say that the bread turns materially into Jesus's flesh. 00:21:42.660 --> 00:21:47.740 He doesn't give any indication that the substance of the bread was changed at all. 00:21:47.740 --> 00:21:57.140 And I would I would say with all due respect, if if that were the central point of this text, we would expect loose Luke to give some indication of that. 00:21:58.200 --> 00:21:59.380 But he does not. 00:21:59.380 --> 00:22:07.920 In fact, there's not a single verse in all of scripture that says the substance of the bread changes in any way. 00:22:10.020 --> 00:22:13.900 Instead, Luke shows us something both simpler and more profound. 00:22:13.900 --> 00:22:20.540 When it comes to the bread, Christ is really and truly present in it. 00:22:20.540 --> 00:22:21.060 Right. 00:22:21.660 --> 00:22:25.040 He gives himself to his people through it. 00:22:25.220 --> 00:22:27.280 So when we receive it, we receive him. 00:22:27.279 --> 00:22:30.619 And this is what the church believed. 00:22:30.619 --> 00:22:42.379 If you look at the early church fathers, if you look across the centuries for a thousand years, the church believed in what we refer to as the real presence of Christ in the meal. 00:22:42.380 --> 00:22:47.780 But by that, the church meant the spiritual presence of Christ in this meal. 00:22:49.340 --> 00:22:56.240 The belief that the bread is transformed into flesh, what we call transubstantiation, arose later. 00:22:56.960 --> 00:23:04.680 Medieval Catholic theologians were trying to understand this mystery, to penetrate the mystery. 00:23:04.680 --> 00:23:10.259 They're trying to find a way to explain exactly how is Jesus present. 00:23:10.600 --> 00:23:11.440 How does it work? 00:23:11.519 --> 00:23:12.779 What are the mechanics of it? 00:23:14.400 --> 00:23:23.019 It's like when we read Genesis 1 and 2 and we think that we're getting a cosmological account of how the universe was physically actually created. 00:23:23.600 --> 00:23:28.320 We're reading it as a science text rather than recognizing this is a liturgy. 00:23:28.580 --> 00:23:29.220 It's poetry. 00:23:29.539 --> 00:23:30.320 It's theology. 00:23:30.319 --> 00:23:35.939 They were trying to penetrate the mystery on a scientific philosophical level. 00:23:36.319 --> 00:23:40.839 When they did that, again, with all due respect, I think they lost something along the way. 00:23:43.359 --> 00:23:52.679 Trying to define exactly how Christ is present in the meal is like dissecting a bird to understand its song. 00:23:54.079 --> 00:23:57.899 By trying to understand the parts, you lose the music. 00:24:00.319 --> 00:24:01.259 I would offer this. 00:24:01.359 --> 00:24:03.480 The point is not to solve the mechanics. 00:24:03.480 --> 00:24:09.220 The point is simply to receive the gift and allow it to be the mystery that it is. 00:24:09.220 --> 00:24:16.600 This also impacts, finally, friends, the way we worship. 00:24:17.920 --> 00:24:24.519 The entire purpose, if we are reading this correctly, of Christian worship, what we're doing here now, is not entertainment. 00:24:24.720 --> 00:24:26.559 Though, of course, we hope it's engaging. 00:24:26.980 --> 00:24:28.279 It's not inspiration. 00:24:28.500 --> 00:24:30.640 Though, of course, we hope people leave inspired. 00:24:30.940 --> 00:24:33.120 The point of this gathering is encounter. 00:24:34.180 --> 00:24:35.360 It's encounter. 00:24:35.359 --> 00:24:44.639 So, for those of us who are Christians, for those of us who have been going to church for a while, let me ask us this. 00:24:44.959 --> 00:24:48.579 Does this change the way we think about worship on Sunday mornings? 00:24:48.659 --> 00:24:58.719 If we really believe that by coming here and doing these things, these ordinary, mundane, physical acts, that we could encounter the risen Christ, 00:24:58.720 --> 00:25:03.920 would that change how we approach worship on a Sunday morning? 00:25:04.200 --> 00:25:07.120 Imagine that you have the opportunity to meet your favorite celebrity. 00:25:07.240 --> 00:25:11.480 I don't know who it is, Taylor Swift, you know, Leonardo DiCaprio, Barack Obama. 00:25:11.600 --> 00:25:13.200 I don't know who your favorite person is. 00:25:13.380 --> 00:25:18.200 But whoever your person is, imagine that somebody told you on a particular Sunday morning, 00:25:18.480 --> 00:25:19.960 this person is going to be here. 00:25:20.100 --> 00:25:23.420 And if you show up, you're going to get a chance to meet this person and shake their head. 00:25:23.420 --> 00:25:26.960 You know, I know how some of you feel about some of these people. 00:25:27.100 --> 00:25:29.440 And I know exactly what would happen. 00:25:29.600 --> 00:25:31.700 You would clear your schedule to make sure you're available. 00:25:32.200 --> 00:25:34.300 You'd probably show up early, right? 00:25:34.900 --> 00:25:37.820 You'd probably agonize over what you were going to wear, right? 00:25:37.880 --> 00:25:40.720 You'd make sure that you were clean and presentable, right? 00:25:41.140 --> 00:25:45.240 And most of all, you would probably show up with a sense of expectancy. 00:25:45.240 --> 00:25:49.359 You would show up and you'd be like, where is she? 00:25:49.640 --> 00:25:50.980 Where is she here yet? 00:25:51.480 --> 00:25:52.279 Where is he? 00:25:52.440 --> 00:25:53.519 Can you see him? 00:25:53.559 --> 00:25:53.839 Can you see? 00:25:54.059 --> 00:26:00.120 And your whole posture would be waiting for that encounter to happen, right? 00:26:00.180 --> 00:26:07.880 So if we would do this for some celebrity, how much more should we do this when Christ 00:26:07.880 --> 00:26:11.240 promises to meet us here through word and sacrament? 00:26:11.240 --> 00:26:15.799 You know, I've thought about myself and how there are so many Sundays when we're, you know, 00:26:15.839 --> 00:26:22.279 we're up late on Saturday night and I wake up and I'm tired and I think, man, I guess 00:26:22.279 --> 00:26:23.839 I've got to go because it's like my job. 00:26:26.500 --> 00:26:30.180 But there are times when, you know, or there are times when you're battling your kids and 00:26:30.180 --> 00:26:34.079 it's so hard and you're like, let's just take this Sunday off because, oh, we already had 00:26:34.079 --> 00:26:37.960 this travel soccer and we just got back late last night because we were, you know, we were 00:26:37.960 --> 00:26:41.319 playing a soccer game in Missouri and we just got back here. 00:26:41.640 --> 00:26:44.799 And so we're, you know, let's just, let's, we'll go next week, you know? 00:26:44.920 --> 00:26:46.460 And it's so, we've all done that. 00:26:46.519 --> 00:26:47.480 We've done that, right? 00:26:48.579 --> 00:26:53.539 But you think if we truly believed that we could come here and encounter the risen Christ, 00:26:54.960 --> 00:26:57.720 you know, I think about, I would prioritize that over everything else. 00:26:57.840 --> 00:26:58.880 I would come early. 00:26:58.880 --> 00:27:03.520 When the scriptures read, I would be, you know, I would turn everything off and I would 00:27:03.520 --> 00:27:04.640 be with rapt attention. 00:27:06.480 --> 00:27:12.800 When I'm invited to come to the table, I would be, I would be, I would feel a mixture of excitement 00:27:12.800 --> 00:27:14.520 and reverence and awe. 00:27:15.220 --> 00:27:18.980 And I would be standing in that line and I would be like, it's three people in front of 00:27:18.980 --> 00:27:19.060 me. 00:27:19.080 --> 00:27:19.800 I'm almost there. 00:27:19.880 --> 00:27:21.400 And I would be waiting for that encounter. 00:27:24.020 --> 00:27:27.800 You know, I sent a pastoral letter out this week on our common worshiping life. 00:27:27.799 --> 00:27:29.659 It was too long of a letter. 00:27:30.220 --> 00:27:33.460 So it's, but, but I don't do the TLDR too long. 00:27:33.559 --> 00:27:34.460 Don't read version. 00:27:35.419 --> 00:27:37.399 I would encourage you to take a moment to read it. 00:27:38.099 --> 00:27:40.440 I wrote it as I was in this text. 00:27:40.539 --> 00:27:41.440 I wrote it from my heart. 00:27:41.559 --> 00:27:45.159 I wrote it because I love our church and I wrote it because I think this is something that 00:27:45.159 --> 00:27:45.680 we need to hear. 00:27:46.659 --> 00:27:47.639 So please read it. 00:27:47.680 --> 00:27:52.079 If we actually believe that Christ has risen, that he's here, then the way we come to worship 00:27:52.079 --> 00:27:53.319 should reflect that. 00:27:54.940 --> 00:27:56.240 Final, final word. 00:27:57.799 --> 00:28:01.559 For those of us who are here who are not Christians, who are trying to figure out what 00:28:01.559 --> 00:28:08.000 you believe, who are still think all this is weird or strange, who maybe you are a Christian 00:28:08.000 --> 00:28:12.019 or you were at some point in your life, but you feel like you're for years, you've been 00:28:12.019 --> 00:28:13.539 very distant from God. 00:28:13.639 --> 00:28:15.500 You feel like maybe God is absent. 00:28:16.500 --> 00:28:19.220 If there is a God, I've never felt any connection to that God. 00:28:19.480 --> 00:28:20.119 God is absent. 00:28:20.119 --> 00:28:26.959 Here, I would submit to you, is the most beautiful thing about this story. 00:28:28.819 --> 00:28:32.899 The disciples in this story are not seeking Jesus. 00:28:34.379 --> 00:28:36.639 They're walking in the opposite direction. 00:28:37.819 --> 00:28:37.959 Right? 00:28:38.079 --> 00:28:39.119 They've given up. 00:28:40.279 --> 00:28:43.219 They're like, God, if there is a God, has abandoned me. 00:28:43.220 --> 00:28:45.400 God is absent. 00:28:45.920 --> 00:28:50.839 Whatever I thought God was up to, he let me down and I'm not going to trust him anymore. 00:28:51.079 --> 00:28:51.240 Right? 00:28:51.380 --> 00:28:53.980 They're going the other way. 00:28:55.000 --> 00:28:56.519 Here's the most beautiful thing about this story. 00:28:56.799 --> 00:28:58.600 Jesus is the one seeking them. 00:28:59.480 --> 00:28:59.620 Right? 00:28:59.960 --> 00:29:02.440 Jesus is the one who comes alongside them. 00:29:03.039 --> 00:29:05.500 Jesus is the one who reveals himself to them. 00:29:05.500 --> 00:29:10.920 You know, St. Augustine, in his confessions, he says, you know, most of my life, I would 00:29:10.920 --> 00:29:13.299 tell people that I've been seeking God, that God hasn't shown up. 00:29:13.680 --> 00:29:16.359 And he says, but then I came to realize I was never seeking God. 00:29:16.779 --> 00:29:18.819 If I'm really honest, I wasn't seeking God. 00:29:19.039 --> 00:29:20.859 He says, my only hope is that God was seeking me. 00:29:21.500 --> 00:29:22.819 And that's what we see here. 00:29:23.640 --> 00:29:32.140 So even if you feel like God is absent, friends, if you hear nothing else, God is never absent 00:29:32.140 --> 00:29:32.640 from you. 00:29:32.640 --> 00:29:36.600 God is never absent from you. 00:29:37.460 --> 00:29:38.380 Christ is here. 00:29:39.400 --> 00:29:40.500 And Christ is with you. 00:29:41.240 --> 00:29:46.660 And chances are, if somehow you got tricked into coming into this room, he's been walking 00:29:46.660 --> 00:29:48.500 alongside you for a long time. 00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:51.440 He has come alongside you. 00:29:51.480 --> 00:29:57.860 If there's any prickling in your heart, any movement inside, any of the slightest interest, 00:29:57.859 --> 00:30:03.299 I guarantee you it's because your heart is beginning to burn because he's already there. 00:30:03.299 --> 00:30:06.059 And I guarantee you this. 00:30:06.639 --> 00:30:11.980 If there's one point the entire Bible makes clear is that he wants to make himself known 00:30:11.980 --> 00:30:12.440 to you. 00:30:13.159 --> 00:30:15.159 You have only to say yes. 00:30:15.519 --> 00:30:17.039 You have only to receive him. 00:30:18.019 --> 00:30:18.500 Let's pray. 00:30:18.500 --> 00:30:25.640 Our friends, we gather here in the name of our living Christ. 00:30:25.640 --> 00:30:30.020 And Lord Jesus, because you are here, we can pray for you. 00:30:30.660 --> 00:30:35.920 And Lord, because of that, we know that anything we bring to you, if you are willing to go into 00:30:35.920 --> 00:30:41.340 the depths of the earth, or if you are willing to endure what you endure on our behalf, then 00:30:41.340 --> 00:30:46.300 we know that your love is the kind of love where we can bring anything in for you. 00:30:46.299 --> 00:30:49.019 And simply, Lord, we ask, make yourself known. 00:30:49.240 --> 00:30:54.539 Lord, we go to encounter you, to see you, to receive you, to be changed by that encounter. 00:30:55.079 --> 00:31:02.019 Lord, I lift up those who are here in particular who may be suffering or feel that you're distant 00:31:02.019 --> 00:31:05.940 or struggling in some way, Lord, that maybe only you know. 00:31:06.379 --> 00:31:11.839 Lord, I pray that in this time, even over these next minutes as we pray and sing and confess 00:31:11.839 --> 00:31:17.220 and come around your table, Lord, I pray that you would have a palpable sense of your presence 00:31:17.220 --> 00:31:18.119 through the Holy Spirit. 00:31:18.720 --> 00:31:21.279 I pray that you would minister in ways that only you can do, Lord. 00:31:22.339 --> 00:31:25.199 And we pray this in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 00:31:25.639 --> 00:31:25.839 Amen.