The Road to Emmaus for Sunday, April 6, 2008

Translation:

(13)And in the same day, two of them were going into a village about 7 miles from Jerusalem named Emmaus. (14)They were talking to one another about all that had happened.  (15)As they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near, walking with them, (16)but their eyes were restrained and did not know him. (17)And he said to them "What are these words which you exchange with one another while walking?" And they stopped, saddened.  (18)And one named Kleopas answered and said to him, "Are you only a stranger in Jerusalem and do not know the things that happened in these days?" (19)And he said to them, "What things?" And they said, "The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a powerful prophet in work and word before God and all the people, (20)that our chief priests and rulers handed him over into the judgement of death and they crucified him. (21)We hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel, but besides all this, it is indeed the third day since this happened. (22)Some women from among us astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning, (23)and not finding his body, they came and said they had seen a vision of angels who said he is alive. (24)And some from among us went to the tomb and found it just as the women said, but they did not see him." (25)And he said to them, "O foolish and slow of heart to believe all the prophets said! (26)Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer this to come into his glory?" (27)Beginning with Moses and from all the prophets he interpreted to them in all the scriptures about himself. (28)And they approached the village to which they were going and he pretended to proceed. (29)And they urged him, saying "Remain with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now drawing to a close. And he came to remain with them (30)and it was when he was reclining with them he took the bread, he blessed it and broke it and gave it to them, (31)And their eyes were opened and they came to know him and he was invisible from them. (32)And they said to one another "Were not our hearts burning as he spoke to us on the road, as he opened the scriptures to us?" (33)And rising that same hour they returned to Jerusalem and found the eleven gathered those with them.  (34)They were saying, "The Lord has risen indeed and he was seen by Simon!" (35)And they related what happened on the road, and how he was made known to them in the breaking of bread.

This is one of the neatest stories in our Christian tradition.  I say this a lot on this blog, but its really true this time.  There is more to say about this scripture than any of you probably care to read in one blog post, so I'll narrow this down to the one thing that made me very excited as I translated this.

In verse 30, there is an interesting verb.  Without getting into the nitty gritty of Greek grammar, the verb "to give" in verse 30 has some interesting translational possibilities because it is an imperfect verb (if you can't stand not knowing what an imperfect verb is, come to my office and we'll pour over Greek grammars together).  We could simply say that "he gave it [the bread] to them."  Or we could say "he kept on giving it [the bread] to them."  Or "He began to give it [the bread] to them."  Or "he was continually giving it [the bread] to them."  I could keep going, but I think this last one is my favorite because it is packed with so much to think on.  "He was continually giving it [the bread] to them."

Now, all the commentaries say that we should not be quick to say that Jesus was celebrating the Eucharist with the disciples.  This is probably true.  The text simply says they were sharing a meal, not that the were sharing any kind of sacred meal.  However, surely Luke knew when he wrote this that his readers would immediately think of two other instances when Jesus also took bread, said a blessing, broke the bread and gave it:  the feeding of the 5,000 and the last supper with the disciples.  Even if they weren't celebrating the Eucharist, they were still eating together and we know that historically sharing a meal with anyone is a sacred affair.  Take Abraham entertaining the three strangers, for example (Gen. 18).

In any case, this one verb is important to me because it is in the act of giving the bread to the disciples that they recognize him.  That this one verb can mean so many things somehow adds to the mystery.  We don't know exactly how the action took place.  My favorite translation  ("he was continually giving it [the bread] to them") is probably not the best one, but it says to me that the hospitality offered when Jesus gives the bread was always there.  It was there when he taught among them.  It was there when he ate with them.  It was there on the cross and at the empty tomb and now it's here even though they don't recognize it. 

What excites me the most about verse 30 is that it makes me believe all the more that John Wesley was right when he called the Lord's Supper (or the Eucharist or Holy Communion--or all those other names Scott mentioned on Sunday) a means of grace.  As I've said before, a means of grace is just one way that we're assured we will meet God.  There are other means of grace.  Some people know that they meet God through art, or in music, or through nature.  But no matter what, we are guaranteed to meet God through certain actions and one of them is the Lord's Supper.  Whether or not the disciples celebrated this holy meal on the road to Emmaus is not important.  It was through the breaking of bread and the receiving of the bread that they came to know Jesus was among them.  

I think we all have the same opportunity to meet Jesus through the Lord's Supper.  The giving of the bread and the cup is just as mysterious now as it is in Luke's telling.  We do not know exactly how the bread is given, but we know that it is ours to receive.  We do not know exactly how our eyes are opened to see God, but we know that it is possible.  I hope you will look for the mystery in this meal as we celebrate it again in worship this week.

Acts 2:42-47 for Sunday, March 30, 2008

Translation:
(42)And they were devoting themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers. (43)And everybody continually was awestruck, there were continually many wonders and signs through the apostles. (44)And all the believers were together and they possessed all things in common. (45)And the possessions and the property they sold and they distributed it all according to anyone who needed. (46)Every day they devoted themselves together in the temple, breaking bread at home, they shared food in extreme joy and humility of heart (47)praising God and having goodwill to all the people. And every day the Lord increased the number of those being saved among them.

In the early church, it seems that believers spent a lot of time together. They shared their possessions together, the praised God together, they ate together, they learned together. These days, we have a hard enough time doing these few things with our own families, let alone our faith communities!

Even so, these are important parts of building any community. We cannot be sure if the "breaking of bread" refers specifically to the Lord's Supper or Holy Communion as we know it. But we know that it refers to a meal. Just this week, I attended a meeting with people from many different faith communities. There were some folks from a Jewish Congregation, a couple Presbyterians, some Unitarian Universalists, and others. Though our work was not centered around eating together, we still shared a snack of cookies together. As we did so, we recognized that meetings in all of our faith traditions somehow feel more relaxed and more productive when we eat together.

Sharing meals together is an important way to build community. Somehow it seems that no matter what our differences, we all share one thing in common: the need for physical nourishment in order to accomplish anything.

When we share in Holy Communion together, I sometimes wonder at how it also serves as a unifying bond. Just as food solves the problem of physical nourishment, so Holy Communion seems to help with the problem of spiritual nourishment. Similarly, it seems that no matter what we believe about the holy meal we share, or how we understand theology, we all have a spiritual need to be nearer to this holy mystery.

During the 50 days of Easter, we will be receiving Communion each week here at Trinity. For centuries Christian communities have participated in this meal, even from the earliest communities in Acts and at the time of the Apostle Paul. As we participate in this sacred meal, I hope that we will remember that we participate as a believing community--not just of Christians at Trinity but with Christians of every time, place, age and denomination.

Matt 28:1-10 for Easter Sunday, 2008

Translation:
(1)Now after the Sabbath, on the dawning of the first day, Mary of Magdala and the other Mary went to see the tomb. (2)And suddenly there was a great earthquake for an angel of the Lord was descending from heaven and he rolled away the stone and sat upon it. (3)And his appearance was as lightening and his clothing white as snow. (4)And the guards were shaking for fear of him and they were like dead. (5)And the angel spoke to the women and said, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are seeking Jesus, the one who has been crucified. (6)He is not here, for he was raised just as he said. Come, see the place where he was laid. (7)Go quickly and tell his disciples that he was raised from the dead. He goes ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see him. This is what I spoke to you." (8)And going quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, they ran to tell his disciples. (9)And suddenly Jesus met them saying, "Greetings." Coming to him, they took hold of his feet and worshiped him. (10)Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers that they should go into Galilee. They will see me there."

For every woman reading the Gospels, this has got to be a defining moment. There aren't many women that figure prominently in the Bible, but here are two women who get center stage. Not only are they the first to learn the amazing news--not even death can keep Jesus away!--but they are also the first to meet the resurrected Christ!

Here is what I find remarkable: all of the earthly power authorities in this story no longer have power.  The men in this story are noticeably absent, especially for a culture where men hold all the powerful positions.  There are guards at the tomb, but when an angel from heaven descends they are as good as dead.  Even though they went to great lengths to make sure that their "Jesus problem" was gone, the Romans cannot stop God's plan for salvation.  The disciples are no where to be found.  

It just seems to me that the earthly structures of power don't have a hold anymore.  Why else would the two Mary's feel empowered to go see the tomb by themselves?  It doesn't matter any more if the men in their life approve.  Then, when they learn that Jesus is not dead, that he is in fact alive and that they will seen him very soon, it is all confirmed!  There is nothing more to fear.  Not even death has a hold on them anymore.  

Every Easter I am reminded that we live in a different world because of Jesus.  It doesn't always seem that different.  In fact, most of the time it can seem pretty miserable.  But, because of Jesus we know that death no longer has a hold on us.  We no longer need to live in fear of death.  Imagine what that frees us to do!  We can live boldly in God.  We can do things, like stand up for justice without fearing our lives.  I believe this firm belief in the resurrection empowered the Apostle Paul to challenge authority.  It allowed Martin Luther to question the Roman Catholic Church.  It gave John Wesley the courage to enter prisons and form discipleship groups with drunks.  It gave people like Martin Luther King Jr. the ability to dream.

Each year Easter rolls around, I remember that Jesus lived boldly in God and that I can too because there is nothing left to fear.  Living the Gospel message can be a fearsome thing, but each time I hear the story of the resurrection I am reminded that not even death can keep the Gospel down.   

Palm/Passion Sunday at Trinity

This week at Trinity, there will be lots of Scripture featured in our worship service--too much for me to pick one "central" passage, and too much for me to translate all of it. If you're interested in reading on your own, find Matthew 21:1-11 and Matthew 27:11-54. A friend of mine has already blogged a fantastic historical lesson about Palm Sunday, which would be well worth the read.

In the meantime, I've been thinking a lot about the Palm Sunday narrative--you know how Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. I was telling this story to a group of children this week. We weren't reading from the Bible, but were retelling the story to each other. One of the children wanted to be sure that everyone knew that Jesus borrowed the donkey--it wasn't his. This detail seemed important to him.

Maybe it is an important detail. If Jesus borrowed the colt or donkey, it means that Jesus didn't raise the animal, feed it daily, make sure it had water or was safely tied to something sturdy. Someone else did all of these things. Whoever cared for the animal was intimately involved in this story, but is not even mentioned.

At another gathering with some colleagues, we read this story dramatically. It was brought to our attention that this animal probably did not know that on that day he would become famous. The donkey plays an important role! Every commentator mentions it, everyone thinks about it when they hear the story. And that animal probably had no idea that he was born to serve such a central role. We were reminded at this gathering that we're all "just the donkey." We all have some role, some purpose, that we may not even realize is important, but God needs us.

I'm constantly amazed at how God uses--even needs!--ordinary people to carry out such an extraordinary story of salvation. There's the person who cared for the donkey, all those people with palms, the ones who laid their cloaks on the ground, the disciples who fetched the animal. The list goes on. Without any of these major players, the story of salvation just wouldn't be the same. It astounds me how necessary each of us is in this greater meta-narrative.

Anyhow, there is a lot to think about as we approach Holy Week and I hope you will find time to process everything before Easter comes!

2 Corinthians 9:6-12 for Sunday, March 9, 2008

Translation:
(9) And this is the point: the one who sows sparing also reaps sparingly; the one who sows bountifully also reaps bountifully. (7)Each person must decide in their heart, not reluctantly or out of a sense of duty, for God loves a cheerful giver. (8)And God is able to make every grace abound in you, in order that you always have a sufficiency and you may abound in all good deeds. (9)As it has been written, "He scattered abroad, he gave to the needy, his righteousness remains unto eternity." (10)And the one who provides seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed and the harvest of your righteousness will grow. (11)You will be made rich in all things for your generosity, which produces through us thanksgiving to God, (12)for the service of this ministry is not only providing that which is lacking among the saints, but also overflowing with many thanksgivings to God.

Has anyone ever heard the words "God loves a cheerful giver" and then immediately felt glad to give away your earthly possessions? Somehow this phrase (originally from Proverbs 22:8) has been manipulated so that the person speaking it immediately guilt-trips the person hearing it, influencing that person to be generous. I think this only works because we assume that the logical opposite is "God hates a miser." In any case, at least when I hear the words "God loves a cheerful giver," I brace myself for some kind of moral flogging.

Though the Apostle Paul is known for his incredible rhetoric (don't believe me? Read a commentary on Philemon!), I doubt he intended for his audience to be immediately turned off by these six verses the way many of us are. Paul is asking for the Corinthians to support the Jerusalem Church with their financial resources. But, his plea is much more theological than the way we hear the phrase "God loves a cheerful giver" in our own culture.

I think ultimately the point is that our generosity cannot be motivated by guilt, or a sense of obligation or any kind of reluctance because that is not how God loves us. God does not love us out of a sense of guilt or any kind of obligation. God loves us freely, for who we are, even as sinners. The love God shows us, we should also show others. It is that selfless, unconditional love for others that motivates us to give so freely of our own treasure. That God loves a cheerful giver is not to say that God loves a miser less, but that God loves the miser too and if we are to emulate that love in our relationships with others, we must be as radical as God is.

The following verses can start to sound like works righteousness. It almost sounds like the more you give, the better Christian you are, the nicer you are to everyone, the more grace you get. I'm not sure that things work quite that way. The more you give and the harder you work at being Christ-like, the more open you are to receiving God's grace. Suddenly God's grace abounds--not because it wasn't there before, but because you didn't have the eyes to see it before.

So, this Sunday when you hear these words in worship, I hope your body won't immediately stiffen as you ready yourself for a moral beating. These words don't have to feel like someone is wrestling your wallet out of your pocketbook. Instead, listen carefully for how God may be calling you to be generous.