We can sure get stuck in a rut!
As someone who writes a sermon message every week
It is something that could happen to a pastor preacher
How to come up with something new and creative
each time?
There are so many things that could go wrong
I imagine it is that way with any part of our lives
We get stuck in a rut, we don’t see the big picture
Just go back to the same old thing in life
It’s easy to keep our heads down
Go along with society
It’s easy to mess things up
It seems the disciples were on their way
On just such an occasion
On their journey,
Stuck in a rut
Going back to life as usual
Wasn’t it just that morning
that the women had gone to tell them
Wasn’t everything going crazy
All the signs were there
They had been hearing Jesus talk about
what would happen to him
But, they couldn’t really comprehend it
Because it was something beyond their paradigm
Outside of what was possible
with the way they were viewing the world
They had taken in all this information
But were missing some connections
Their eyes were truly opened
and they could understand who Jesus was
As he broke the bread,
as they shared a meal together
As they stopped the business, and the activity
Kind of like the movie The Parent Trap
We watched both versions recently
The twins met each other at summer camp
They looked exactly alike,
But they actually became enemies for it for a while
Pulling pranks on one another
Quite devious and clever youngsters if I do say so myself!
Put the furniture from her cabin on the roof
Put honey and feathers and all sorts of things while sleeping
But then they were forced to get to know one another
In the isolation cabin
They are learning their whole story
But it takes forever for them to get it
Until something clicks in their brain
One of them is thinking about going and getting a popsicle to eat
And the other says:
“How can you think about your stomach in a time like this?”
“Were not our hearts burning in us?”
said the disciples
The truth was right there were their eyes
It was felt in their “hearts”
Did not become consciously aware of it until later
But they needed to stop, and relax, in a meal
For all the connections to finally come together
And Jesus breaking the bread triggered their brains
In a way that made the connections possible!
Often in order to do that we need to get outside of ourselves
Have a new experience
Journey somewhere new
Roads and travelling play an important role
in the stories of Luke
In the theological imagination
Roads and travelling can also be important for us
Whether real or in the metaphorical sense
Helps get us outside our own perspective,
to see from another culture, from another viewpoint
From a different age category, gender maybe
To listen
As in the Psalm
(God inclines toward God’s people,
God listens to us, is that not amazing?)
God listened to the cry of the people in slavery in Egypt
And so, we are called to also listen to others
To incline toward them
Though not too much during the quarantine measures!
Like the disciples when they listened to a stranger
who they met on the road
Without know it
And when they invited that stranger to stay with them
Because it was getting dark and could be dangerous
They have shelter, and a meal perhaps?
To the one who had been crucified
Who are the people being “crucified” today?
People killed and taken too soon
Barely getting by
Experiencing terrible trauma
Experiencing the unjustness and the brutality of life
In what ways do we need to repent for our complicity
Or outright oppression?
Repent as those original hearers
of Peter’s preaching in Jerusalem
Who are the people being excluded today?
How can we be more inclusive?
Christ is revealed to us most
hearing God’s Word,
and breaking bread together in community,
sharing in fellowship,
listening to one another.
when we provide for the stranger who is also our neighbor
Christ is revealed to us
And Christ is revealed to us,
When we are the neighbor in need,
Receiving help and support from someone else
That is what the kingdom of God looks like
Maybe we don’t have all the answers
to exactly how we are going to do that at the moment…
Maybe you are feeling like the Parent Trap
At your wits end
with the one you are trapped with at home!
We definitely need to take some time,
We have heard God’s Word for us,
We need to have that relaxation,
That prayerful attitude,
And yes, we will be breaking the bread together
in an online communion
Because we believe that the Spirit
connects us with one another beyond time and space
Allow this time to be that space you need
In the singing, in the liturgy
In the ritual, in prayer
Maybe we will find the answers we seek
Maybe you will find more clarity
on what God is calling you to do
Who to pray for, who the contact
What to look into, what research to do
How to be community at this time
And how to look out for one another
How to invite someone to be a part of this time
We saw what happened when those two in the Parent Trap
Came together
to sabotage their father’s relationship with his fiancée
So he could get back together with his ex-wife
They really worked together
and did some hilarious things along the way
Together we can do so much more
When we love and support each other
Together, we are going to the banquet
Sing or listen to "Let us go now to the banquet"