Living into our belief

Living Into Our Belief
Welcome to this our 5th week of Easter…We’ve been celebrating the resurrection of Jesus for several weeks now…Recalling that same excitement of Easter morning when the women were at the tomb of Jesus and seeing for the very first time that Jesus was not dead, but that he was indeed alive…Easter is an 8 week celebration in the Christian calendar—50 days of Easter from the morning of Easter until we reach Pentecost—the day the Holy Spirit came upon the followers after Jesus ascended…As we continue in our celebration of the resurrection, which can really be celebrated everyday as we look for ways that we have seen God—the ways that we have recognized God’s presence in our midst…But as we come together this morning as Christ’s Church, we come to celebrate the resurrection together as a community of believers.
As we continue to celebrate the resurrection together, this morning we have two stories—one is the passage from John where Jesus is sharing part of what is known as his farewell discourse or his kind of “goodbye speech” with the disciples…He gives further information about who he is, if they haven’t gotten it figure out yet, what they’ll expect to happen, and also what they’re expected to do. In the passage from Acts, we have the story of Stephen who is known as the first Christian martyr—the first Christian to die for his faith. The very kind of faith and beliefs that Jesus talked about in his farewell discourse.
Within the conversation with the disciples, Jesus shared with them some profound truths—He told them that there was a place that was prepared specifically for them…He told them, “I am the way…”…He told them that they had seen the Father because they had seen him…He gave them these specific things as a gift to them, as not just words for them to cling to, but beliefs to hold and act upon…
Last week, as we gathered together in worship, we shared together the times, places, and events in our life were we had seen God…I have a confession to make about that…Last Saturday night, I was trying to finish my sermon and things just weren't coming...I'm not sure what the problem was, but for one reason or another, I wasn't in tune with the Spirit...I was trying, but I just couldn't quiet down my busy mind in order to hear the Spirit and to listen for the message...I had wrestled with the passages throughout the week and had heard things throughout that time and thought that I had the message, but when I put my fingers on the keys, it just wasn't coming...So, I shut the computer in frustration and decided that I needed a break...I had a basic outline and I had explored the passages, but nothing was coming to the front...As soon as I did that, and I walked away and went to brush my teeth, that's when I heard it...I heard the Spirit moving.
The week before that, we heard the story of the 2 disciples on the road to Emmaus and in that story, I had challenged ya’ll to look for God...to see where God was present in their midst...And I realized that so many times these challenges are given and folks don't have an opportunity to share the responses from their challenge...Kind of like during VBS when the kids do their daily challenges, then they get to come back and tell everyone what they did! So, I listened to the Spirit moving and decided that for a good part of the sermon, it would be a wonderful opportunity for folks to share where they had seen God during the week...
Just as the disciples on the road to Emmaus stood in amazement to see Jesus standing before them and just as much as the disciples sat with Jesus in our story from this morning…My Lord & My God...It was an amazing, amazing experience...to hear where you had seen God...Where you had experienced God in their midst...Where your eyes had been opened and you had seen God...My Lord & My God...It was amazing...To hear where you had seen God in the midst of joyous occasions, stressful situations, unexpected situations, quiet situations...Amazing Grace...
It’s amazing when things like that happens…when we put ourselves aside and let the Spirit move where the Spirit will move…When we live into our believe…When it becomes something that shapes us and works with us and not just something that we do on Sunday morning or when we’re in the sanctuary….But when our belief in God is something so strong and so powerful that it invades every aspect of our lives and every aspect of our being…From getting a calculator from someone sitting next to us, to seeing a smile, to having someone answer a call from God…My Lord & My God!
What’s amazing when we live into our belief is that it becomes something that we don’t necessarily think about all the time…Sure there are the times when we have to take a step back and breathe—those moments when the “I” in ourselves just wants to burst out…You know those times too—when you’ve been wronged, when you’ve been hurt, when you’re mad or angry…You know those times…Those times when you just want to say, “Okay God, close your eyes for a minute, because this isn’t going to be pretty.” Those are the times when we have to take a step back from ourselves and take some deep breaths—where we breathe in everything that is of God and breath out everything that is not of God…When we allow the Spirit to move within and through us…When we intentionally live into our belief…
Stephen was someone who lived into his belief intentionally and completely and it lead to his death by stoning…He was not shy about sharing his belief in Jesus Christ as the Messiah and if got him in trouble with authorities for being blasphemous or something that was going against God…But he didn’t back down at all from his beliefs or how he expressed them…He gave an impassioned speech to the council before they carried out his sentence of death…Stephen didn’t make his plea because he wanted a great crowd around him or because he wanted any more attention that he had already gotten…Stephen simply believed and lived his life in every aspect of that belief, so much that it cost him his life…And even up until the very end…He said that he saw Jesus and while he was being stoned and breathing his last breaths, he cried out to God, “Please don’t hold this sin against them.” Have you heard that phrase before? Jesus said virtually the same thing as he died on the cross, “Forgive them for they know not what they do.” At that very moment where Stephen is being killed, where he is being stoned, he could have cursed the men there and cast all kinds of ill wishes toward them, but in Stephen’s last breath, he asked that their sins not be held against them…Amazing grace!
There’s another person mentioned in our passage about Stephen this morning...As Stephen was being stoned, Saul was holding the coats of the witnesses…Some may recognize the name Saul…But others may know him better as Paul…Yes, the same Paul who wrote many of the letters that we have contained in our New Testament…Within in Saul’s story, he had a conversion on the Road to Damascus…Certainly there were things throughout Saul’s life that helped him to become Paul and we’ll hear those stories another day…But, for Saul to see Stephen living his beliefs to the very end of his life…that even as Stephen breathed his last, he lived his belief…I can’t help but think that there had to have been something about that that made an impact on Saul…
Have you ever thought about that for yourself? How is the way that you are living into and through your belief showing to others? What kind of an impact are you making on another person? Where are you helping to show someone else the love of Christ through your actions? Those are big questions…and they’re big responsibilities…It may be what scares some people about believing in Jesus…That it’s just to high of expectations, and does that mean that I have to be perfect? Does it mean that I can never have any fun? Does it really mean that other people are watchign what I do? It can be intimidating to think about things like that! Anyone who has spent time with children knows that children pick up far more that oftentimes adults think that they do! And sometimes more than adults want them to! When we live into our belief, it’s more than being cautious because there’s someone else around, but it’s being intentional to follow the calling that Jesus has given us…To live into our belief…
Jesus told his disciples that greater works would be done through them…But they aren’t just greater works to do greater works…They’re greater works through faith. Faith in Jesus Christ…God made flesh…Working through the Holy Spirit…A belief in the promises that Jesus made…In the promises that Jesus continues to make and to extend to each of us now and every day…An opportunity that we have to life into that belief this day and everyday…Sometimes it’s a challenging road…But along the journey, we are surrounded by God’s perfect love…We are surrounded by this amazing grace…Sometimes we capture it in ways as we see God…There are times when we show that love through our actions…And those times aren’t isolated or separate instances…They are forever and constantly merged together…For where ever God’s love is shown, God can be seen…Greater works will be done…
Last week, your challenge was to continue to seek those times when you see God present in you midst and those times when you are able to show the love of Christ…The challenge this week is to do both…Live into your belief…Let the Spirit move in and invade…Let that perfect love, that amazing grace do greater works through you…

What We Can't See

What We Can’t See
Welcome to our third week of Easter…As we continue in our celebration of the resurrection of Jesus, we continue to hear stories of Jesus interacting with his followers and joining with them as they see and hear Jesus for the first time after his resurrection.
Our story from Luke this morning tells the story of the two men walking from Jerusalem to a village called Emmaus…These men weren’t a part of the eleven disciples of Jesus (the 12 disciples minus Judas), but they were still followers of Jesus and deeply effected by his death. Their walk to Emmaus was taking place on the same day of Jesus’ resurrection, as they tell that the women have already seen Jesus…But, they’re having a hard time believing it because just like many people, they can’t imagine death being anything but permanent…And even though they have listened to Jesus’ teachings and preachings, it’s still difficult for them to comprehend that Jesus is indeed alive.
As these men walked to Emmaus they were joined by someone on their journey…It wasn’t someone that they recognized, but we know from the story that this someone was Jesus who was walking with them…They shared with Jesus what had happened, about Jesus’ crucifixion and death and that they had heard that Jesus’ tomb was empty, but that they didn’t know what to make of it all…
On the walk to Emmaus, the two men were lost in their own grief…They were lost in their own emotions and focused only on themselves and not on what Jesus had promised over and over…It was all about them and they were blind…
There are these surveys on myspace & facebook that people can fill out…They have silly questions like “what color socks are you wearing?” and basic information like “where were you born?” and personal questions like “what are you afraid of?” These surveys are usually anywhere from 10-150 questions…As fun as these surveys may be to fill out, they’re referred to as “memes” because they’re all about me…All about the person filling them out…Now maybe you haven’t filled out one of these surveys before, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been times in your life when it’s all be about you…There are some people who live their entire lives with it being about them…Are you one of those people?
That’s an awkward question to ask, because I would think that very few people would think to themselves that they are a person who makes everything about them, who thinks that they’re selfish…Maybe there are some…But, I bet that we can all think of someone who is…We can all think of someone who is selfish…Who is blind to the world around…I’m guessing that some of you are thinking about that person right now and saying to yourself, “I wish so-and-so were here right now…I wish so-and-so were here to hear this…” Well, let me tell you something…The Gospel doesn’t work like that…The Gospel isn’t just for some people to hear and others to ignore…The Gospel isn’t just for so-and-so to hear, but it’s for you to hear…It’s for you to examine…It’s not for you to say, “Well, surely I’m not like that!” But it’s for you to take a serious step back and say, “What is being said to me right now? What does this mean for me right now?” Because as soon as we think that this can’t possibly apply to us and really applies to so-and-so…Guess what, we’ve just become blind. We’ve just become like the men on the way to Emmaus and can’t see Jesus…
The Gospel is full of love and grace…The Gospel is good news…But there are times that the Gospel pushes us to be out of our comfort zone…I have to say that I love Jesus, but there are times when I just wish that Jesus would stop talking to me…There are times when Jesus’ words hit just too close to home…I hope that you have the same experience…That you love Jesus, but there are times when Jesus’ words and Jesus’ stories pinch and pull you out of your comfort zone…This story is no different…It’s easy to look at the men on the road to Emmaus and point out where we’re not like them…But, where are we like them? Where are our eyes closed? What can’t we see?
The men on the road to Emmaus couldn’t see Jesus…They had no idea who was walking with them…They had no idea that in their midst was the resurrected Christ…That God was walking with them in the midst of their grief, pain, and confusion. It’s like that for us too…That in the midst of our daily struggles God is there walking alongside us…It’s hard to see God when we are struggling, but that doesn’t mean that God isn’t there walking alongside us, reminding us of God’s promise…Just like Jesus was reminding the men on the road to Emmaus of his promises that he would die and rise again…
My sister told me once, “Every time a song says Jesus in it, I think that you’re going to like it.” I thought that she was kidding when she said it, but then literally every song that she suggested I listen to talked about Jesus in some way or another…And because she listens to country music, they were pretty much all country music! Last night she sent me a message that said, “I know that you like songs about Jesus, but do you like songs about God? Here's a song that you should listen to.” I rolled my eyes when I got her message but then I looked up the lyrics and found a clip of the song…The song is I Saw God Today by George Strait and I have it for you to listen to this morning. (song) As the chorus goes, “I’ve been to church…I’ve read the book…I know He’s there, but I don’t look near often as I should…Yeah, I know I should…His fingerprints are everywhere…I’d just slow down and stop and stare…I opened my eyes and man I swear, I saw God today.”
The men on the road to Emmaus finally did see who Jesus was…They finally recognized this person that was walking with them…How did they recognize him? In the breaking of the bread…The last time that Jesus broke bread with his disciples in the upper room during the Passover festival…Where Jesus said, “This is my body which is broken for you.” In the breaking of the bread, these men saw Jesus…Their eyes were opened…They were able to get beyond themselves and see that there was a bigger picture…They were able to remember what Jesus had said to his disciples…This is my body which is given for you, do this as often as you eat this in remembrance of me…Remember me…Remember who I AM…Remember what has happened…Remember why it has happened….Remember what I have done for you…Remember what I have done for the world…Remember what God has done and what God is doing…Remember…
The breaking of the bread isn’t past tense…As we celebrate communion, it’s more than remembering…It’s an opportunity to share with the world…It’s an opportunity to share with all of the saints…As we share in the Great Thanksgiving, the prayer that’s prayed as we break bread and share the cup, we join in the heavenly banquet…It’s the moment where the past, present, and future come together…We call this a Holy Mystery…It’s called a Holy Mystery not because we don’t want to try and explain it, but because it’s a moment that is so sacred and so holy that it’s nearly impossible for us as human beings to wrap our minds around it…
As we come to the table this morning, there may be places in our life where we have been blind…where we have not seen…Come to the table with open eyes…When the men on the way to Emmaus had their eyes open, they saw Jesus…Open your eyes and see Jesus…As we collect God’s offering this morning, think about what those areas in your life are…Those places where you have been blind…Where your eyes have been closed…Where you have made it all about you…As we come to the table this morning and share in the Lord’s Supper together, see Jesus…Experience Jesus…After receiving communion, you have an opportunity to join at the rail in prayer to have your eyes continued to be opened…To see what it is that you can’t see…