Sermon 26th April 2020
Text: Luke 24:13-35 – What our eyes
don’t see.
Three words in our Gospel reading
today reflect so much of our society.
Three words that sound so sad they
make you want to cry.
We had hoped.
Three words with so much anguish –
We had hoped.
2 disciples are on the road to a town
called Emmaus.
They are saddened.
Now even though Easter Sunday was a
couple weeks ago, this incident actually happened on that day.
The text says that this is the 3rd
day since Jesus had died.
The same Jesus that they had hoped
would be the answer to all their problems;
We had hoped that he was the one to
redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these
things took place.
Maybe you have hoped more from Jesus
at this time?
Maybe you have hoped that Jesus would
have brought this pandemic before us to an end.
The disciples’ walk to Emmaus is an
interesting walk.
It symbolises our daily walk as
Christians.
What’s interesting in all this is
that, like Mary at the empty tomb and like the disciples on the beach after
Jesus’ resurrection, the presence of Jesus was hidden or as the gospel says,
their eyes were kept from recognising him.
But in all 3 situations – Mary at the
tomb, Peter and the disciple on the beach, and this walk to Emmaus, Jesus was
physically present with them despite them not recognising him.
And that’s the teaching that comes
out of our Gospel reading.
And what a comforting and reassuring
teaching it is for us in our present situation.
In our daily walk we often go on our
way not quite sure if God is with us or not.
Many times our eyes are kept from
recognising him with us, like the Emmaus walk.
But being kept from recognising Jesus
and Jesus not being present are 2 different matters.
On Easter Sunday we had as our 2nd
reading Paul’s letter to the Colossians where he explained the life of the
Christian after Jesus’ resurrection.
He said: for you have died, and your
life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed,
then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
As Christians this is an important
understanding – that we don’t always trust what our eyes see.
We trust what God has promised.
And that means trusting what our eyes
don’t see.
That’s why Paul says – your life is
hidden WITH Christ – WITH Christ.
But what he also promises is that
Christ’s glory is going to be revealed to the world.
And when that happens, you and all
the world will see the true life that has been hidden.
St John also said that in the Book of
Revelation:
The book that reveals Christ.
“Look, he is coming with the clouds,”
and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because
of him.” So shall it be! Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord
God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
The comforting message that
Christians have in all this is that we know that despite the current situation
God has already won.
Despite what our eyes see or our
lives experience – Christ’s victory is ours.
The grave is open, Christ cannot die
again, is what we declare.
Despite what our eyes see or our
lives experience we have that knowledge.
As the Emmaus disciples walk along,
even though their eyes don’t recognise Jesus, he is there with them.
And when they invite him to stay, he does
so.
He’s never too busy, he’s never too
preoccupied.
And something interesting happens.
Jesus, the invited guest, becomes the
host.
As he sits at the table with them he
takes bread and breaks it and he gives it to them.
And from that encounter, TWO remarkable
things happen.
After he breaks the bread and gives
it to them their eyes were opened, and they recognized him;
That’s the first remarkable thing
that happened.
But what happens next is even more
extraordinary.
He vanished from their sight.
It doesn’t say that he gets up and
walks away – no, he vanishes from their sight.
No sooner do they recognise him when
he vanishes from their sight.
And doesn’t that happen to us?
There are times when we feel so close
to God and yet times that he seems so far away, even absent.
And yet, God never moves away – he is
always with us.
Just like St Paul talks about in
Colossians – his presence is hidden.
Not gone – hidden.
Friends, this is so important for us
to understand.
Not just at present as we live in the
midst of this pandemic – but always.
Because once this pandemic is over
and we can gather again especially around the altar to receive Holy Communion –
we are still going to face the normal every day challenges of life.
Totally unrelated to the pandemic we
will experience the everyday challenges of life.
Sickness, death, crime, accidents,
natural disasters – because these are still part of the everyday life we see.
Life was not perfect before this
pandemic hit us – and it won’t be after we’re through it.
But it’s what we don’t see that
becomes all important.
The hidden presence of Christ with
us.
Even when we gather again for worship
– our eyes see bread and wine – but it’s what our eyes don’t see that is
important – the body and blood of Christ.
Our eyes will see some splashes of
water on an infant’s head – not much more.
But what our eyes won’t see is this
child being rescued by God from the powers of darkness and brought into the
Kingdom of Light.
It’s not about what we see but about
what God has promised.
It’s not about what we see but about
what we believe.
It’s not about what we see but about
what God has done.
And that’s exactly what the Book of
Hebrews says regarding faith:
Faith is being sure of what we hope
for and certain of what we do not see
Certain of what we do not see.
Did you hear that – Certain of what
we DO NOT SEE.
Friends, please don’t worry or fear
about what we see happening at present.
Please don’t worry or fear about what
we cannot see.
Mary thought she was speaking with
the gardener,
Jesus stood there on the beach among
the fishermen disciples, although the disciples had no idea that it was Jesus.
And it says: None of the disciples
dared to ask him who he was; they knew it was the Lord.
And today, the 2 Emmaus walk
disciples didn’t recognise Jesus standing and talking with them even though
their hearts were burning.
Often it is only in hindsight that we
see and understand the presence of God with us.
Like the 2 Emmaus disciples.
After Jesus had vanished they
realised his presence with them as they had walked – were not our hearts
burning.
How often have you not looked back
and seen how God has gotten you through a difficult time.
But at the time it seemed like he was
not there.
Like that beautiful piece of writing
we know as footsteps, in those times when we thought we were walking alone, we
have discovered that Jesus was not just walking beside us by carrying us.
Let me remind you of that piece of
writing as we close.
One night I dreamed a dream.
As I was walking along the beach with
my Lord.
Across the dark sky flashed scenes
from my life.
For each scene, I noticed two sets of
footprints in the sand,
One belonging to me and one to my
Lord.
After the last scene of my life
flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in
the sand.
I noticed that at many times along
the path of my life, especially at the very lowest and saddest times, there was
only one set of footprints.
This really troubled me, so I asked
the Lord about it.
"Lord, you said You would always
walk with me all the way.
But I noticed that during the saddest
and most troublesome times of my life, there was only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why, when I needed
You the most, You would leave me."
He whispered, "My precious child,
I love you and will never leave you
During your trials and testings when
you saw only one set of footprints, It was then that I carried you."
Friends, we never walk alone.
Jesus promised in our baptism, I am
with you always till the end of the age.
And that promise is true and remains
true.
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