Recorded Sermon 23 April 2023 - Rev Steven Lottering

The speaker discusses a scripture reading from Luke chapter 24, focusing on the resurrection of Jesus. The reading tells the story of two followers of Jesus who encounter him on the road to Emmaus but do not recognize him. Jesus explains the scriptures to them and they recognize him when he breaks bread with them. The speaker emphasizes the importance of recognizing God in the ordinary moments of life and encourages listeners to pay attention and listen for God's presence. The speaker also shares anecdotes and quotes from other sources to illustrate this point. The prayer at the end asks for forgiveness, blessings for those who minister to others, and for various concerns in the community and the country. Friends, we turn now to our scripture reading for this morning. And this morning's reading is taken from Luke chapter 24 and verses 13 to 35. Luke chapter 24, 13 to 35. We are still in the season of Easter, recognising that Easter is far too significant to only focus on for one weekend. And so for the period between Easter and Pentecost, we continue to focus on the resurrection and what that means for us and for our lives. And so the reading today is a reading that is, or an event that takes place on the third day after Jesus was crucified. And so his followers are in turmoil because they've witnessed this awful crucifixion of Christ. And now they are, now they're hearing stories that the tomb in which Jesus was laid is empty. Some have testified they've seen Jesus, and there's a whole lot of confusion. And that's where we pick up the story. And so on that same day, two of Jesus' followers were going to a village named Emmaus, about 11 kilometres from Jerusalem. As they were talking to each other about all the things that had happened, as they talked and discussed, Jesus himself drew near and walked along with them. They saw him, but somehow they did not recognise him. Jesus said to them, what are you talking about to each other as you walk along? They stood still with sad faces. One of them, named Leopas, asked him, are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who doesn't know the things that have been happening here these last few days? What things? Jesus asked. The things that happened to Jesus of Nazareth, they answered. This man was a prophet, and was considered by God and by all the people to be powerful in everything he said and did. Our chief priests and rulers had him over to be sentenced to death, and he was crucified. And we had hoped that he would be the one who was going to set Israel free. Besides all that, this is now the third day since it happened. Some of the women of our group surprised us. They went at dawn to the tomb, but could not find his body. They came back saying they'd seen a vision of angels who told them that he is alive. Some of our group went to the tomb and found it exactly as the women had said, but they did not see him. Then Jesus said to them, how foolish you are, how slow you are to believe everything the prophets said. Was it not necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and then to enter his glory? And Jesus explained to them what was said about himself in all the scriptures, beginning with the books of Moses and the writings of the prophets. As they came near the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going further. But they held him back saying, stay with us, the day is almost over and it's getting dark. So he went in to stay with them. He sat down to eat with them, took the bread, said the blessing, then he broke the bread and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him. But he disappeared from their sight. They said to each other, wasn't it like a fire burning in us when he talked to us on the road and explained the scriptures to us? They got up at once and went back to Jerusalem where they found the eleven disciples gathered together with the others and saying, the Lord has risen indeed, he has appeared to Simon. The tomb then explains to them what had happened on the road and how they had recognized the Lord when he broke the bread. Thanks be to God for this word to us. Did you notice that Jesus was with them even when they did not recognize him? When they did not know that it was Jesus, Jesus was there. They invited him to stay with them. I'm not sure whether that was just an act of hospitality or whether it was a curiosity or a desire to know more about what Jesus had told them on the road. But whatever it is, they invite Christ into the ordinary. And then they recognize Jesus in the ordinary, in the breaking of bread, in the sharing of an ordinary meal together in an ordinary home. How often do we look for God in the spectacular only to miss God in the ordinary? There's a story told about a little boy who decided that he wanted to find God. And so he knew it would probably be a long trip, so he decided to pack a lunch. So he packed four packs of Twinkies and two cans of Coke. He set out on his journey, went a few blocks until he came to a park. On one of the park benches sat an elderly woman looking at the pigeons. The little boy sat down beside her and watched the pigeons with her. When he grew hungry, he pulled out some of the Twinkies. As he ate, he noticed the woman watching him. So he offered her one. She accepted it gratefully and smiled at him. He thought she had the most beautiful smile in the world. Wanting to see it again, he opened the can of Coke and offered the other one to her. Once again she smiled that beautiful smile. For a long time, the two sat on the park bench eating Twinkies and drinking Coke, smiling at each other and watching the pigeons. Neither said a word. Finally, the little boy realised that it was getting late and he needed to go home. He started to leave, took a few steps, turned back and gave the woman a big hug. Her smile grew brighter than ever before. When he arrived home, his mother noticed that he was happy but strangely quiet. So she asked him, what did you do today? Oh, I had lunch in the park with God, he said. And before the mother could reply or respond, he said, you know, she has the most beautiful smile in the world. Meanwhile, the elderly woman left the park and returned to her home. Her son noticed something different about her. And so he asked her, what did you do today, Mum? She responded, oh I ate Twinkies and drank Coke in the park with God. And before her son could respond, she added, you know, God's a lot younger than I imagined. How often do we look for God in the spectacular, only to miss God in the ordinary. As the two on that road to Emmaus reflect on their experience with that man on the road whom they didn't at that point recognise as Jesus, as they look back, they recognise that God was at work. And they have said, didn't our hearts burn within us as he explains the scriptures to us? I've discovered over my life that we often only see God at work when we look back. And we often miss God in the moment. God is always there. But sometimes we're blinded to God's presence by our own expectations. The two on the road to Emmaus were looking for a Messiah of their own construct, rather than the one that God had planned since the beginning of creation and prepared for us through all of salvation history. How often do we look for a God of our own construct, rather than the one revealed through Christ and salvation history? They said we had hoped he would be the one to set Israel free. That was their expectation. That was their construct. But God had something much bigger at work. When last did you see God in the ordinary? Keith Miller, in his book Habitation of Dragons, which I have to confess, was given to me when I was very young and just beginning in the ministry, and I looked at the title Habitation of Dragons and I thought, y'all, this is not for me, and I put it aside. And then many years later I came back to it and I discovered that it's a very profound book. It's literally just some stories of Keith Miller's own experiences and how he discovered God. And one of the stories that he tells is of a friend who went to Europe, and while he was there he wanted specifically to visit all the spectacular places in church history. And so, for example, he went to Aldersgate Street, where John Wesley had experienced his heart strangely warmed. When I was privileged to go to London I also went there, and he went to Wesley House and to the chapel where John Wesley had preached. And then in the rest of Europe he went to all these places where spectacular events had happened, where Martin Luther had nailed his thesis to the door at Wittenberg, and went to all these places in church history where spectacular things had happened, hoping that he would experience something of what had happened there. But he didn't. And he came back and he explained that to Keith. He was chatting to Keith and he explained that. And then Keith was reminded of a sermon that he had once heard called Any Old Bush Will Do. The sermon was based on Moses' experience in the desert of the burning bush, and the title of the sermon was Any Old Bush Will Do. And Keith Miller writes, The potential shrines in our lives may not be exciting sights or meetings, but rather circumstances in which we run out of our own strength and turn to God, offering God our futures whatever the cost. He goes on to say, The birth of a deeper, transforming faith seems to be the event which melds the decision, the deeds, and the place into a shrine. It's not the place, it's the birth of a deeper, transforming faith that makes that place a shrine. And he goes on to say, And for this, any old bush will do. Just not George Bush, I can say that. I'll cut that out of the sermon. Any old, old bush will do. Any old loneliness or frustration, fear, anxiety, even broken relationships, or any of the outward circumstances in which we find ourselves when we commit our lives to God. Any of these simple places where faith comes alive may one day become for us a Christian shrine. Any old house, any old kitchen sink, or office chair, maybe even this place right here and right now. Not because of anything spectacular, but because God is with us. King Ken Wilber once said, We all have the necessary cognition, but not the recognition. We have the necessary cognition, we have the necessary knowledge, but sometimes we miss the experience of God. We miss the recognition of God. There's a line from one of my favourite hymns that says, We strain to glimpse your mercy seat, and find you kneeling at our feet. We have to learn to pay attention, to listen for God's presence. There's a story told about two friends who were walking down a noisy street in the Cape Town CBD, and you know how noisy it gets there. One of them says, I hear a cricket, and he stops. The other doesn't believe it, because in this noisy street, how on earth can you hear a cricket? All he can hear is the noise of people walking, and cars going, and all the hustle and bustle of city life. But still, the other friend hears a cricket, and to prove it, he goes behind a dustbin and picks up a cricket, and shows it to his friend. Now the other friend was astonished that his friend could hear this little cricket through all the hustle and bustle of a busy street. And so he asked his friend, how did you hear that little chirp of the cricket? His friend dug in his pocket, pulled out a few coins, and threw them on the ground. And immediately every head around them turned to the sound of the coins falling on the pavement. And the friend said to the one who had asked him, he says, it all depends on what you're listening for. It all depends on what you're listening for. He throws a couple of coins down, and everybody's going to pay attention. But the tiny voice of a cricket we miss, because it all depends on what you're listening for. And so what could remind us of God in the ordinary? Sister Paulette Duchamp celebrates God's presence in very human terms. She says, you cross the street and say hello to someone who's been ill, God is there. A dandelion grows through three levels of tar and you marvel, God is there. Someone is being discussed without being present and you come to their defence, God is there. You let go of an ancient personal wound, God is there. You give comfort to a loved one who's dying day by day, God is there. You see God in the face of a child or a friend, God is there. Malcolm Muggeridge said, every happening, great and small, is a parable whereby God speaks to us. And the art of life is to get the message. We say that again, every happening, great and small, is a parable whereby God speaks to us. And the art of life is to get the message. Now we need to take careful note that God is not restricted only to the Church, to these four walls for an hour, or a little bit longer today because we've got a lot to do, on a Sunday morning. As often as you eat and drink, remember me, says Jesus. Why do you think Jesus chose an ordinary meal to say remember me? Because it's something we do every single day of our lives, probably three times a day, or if you look like me, maybe more. As often as you eat and drink, remember me. We need to learn to allow the real presence of Christ to become a part of the ordinary, everyday things of life. Some refer to that as the sacrament of the moment, becoming aware of the real presence of Christ in ordinary, everyday things of life. Brother Lawrence, a monk, was in a monastery, and in the monastery everybody had jobs to do, and his job was to wash dishes. Now, that's certainly not my favourite job. But Brother Lawrence learned to find God in washing dishes, and he wrote a little book called The Practice of the Presence of God, in which he talks about finding God in the ordinary. Dennis Willard once said this, if you're making tacos, make them supernatural tacos. So maybe in our context it would be, if you're making acne, make it supernatural acne. Paul the Apostle put it this way, whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. That's Colossians 3.17. And the book Earth Crammed with Heaven, Elizabeth Dreyer says that attitudes change when, instead of going to church on Sunday and getting grace and bringing it out to the world, you go to church to celebrate the presence of God's grace in the world, in daily life. And so, I invite you to really look and listen for God this week. You may be surprised where you find God at work. Let's pray. Let's pray. Risen Lord Jesus, what is it that keeps us from recognising you? Often we're so full of ourselves that it's easy to block you right out of our lives. Maybe it's the way we interpret scripture that obscures the signs pointing to you. Perhaps we're guilty of being slow of heart when we don't recognise you in our neighbour, or in the poor, or the dispossessed. Our eyes and ears have become so crammed with the sights and sounds around us that we simply fail to see you, or to recognise your voice. Forgive us, we pray, and fill us anew with your spirit of love, that we may share your love and life with others. Today we pray for those in our church and our community who are troubled and upset, as the disciples were on that first Easter day. We hold before you those who are experiencing the grief of losing that which is important to them, that which has helped shape their lives, be it a job, a home, a way of life, or a loved one. Grant that they may encounter the risen Christ and know that the future is safe in his hands. We pray for those who reach out in our church and our community to minister to others your healing presence. We pray for those who listen, for those who counsel, for those who share your word, for all those who break bread with us and give you thanks. Bless them in their love that they may ever more fully experience the love that they share. We pray for our country and for those who have been elected. We pray that they may take seriously their responsibility to serve all people, especially the most vulnerable. We pray for an end to corruption and greed and petty squabbling, that all may work together to build this nation as a beacon of light to you. We pray for an end to conflict and violence. We pray for an end to the drought in the eastern and northern Cape, and in a moment of silence, we lift to you all the people, places, and situations that weigh heavily on our hearts, trusting in your infinite grace and mercy. We ask all these things and we give you our deepest and most profound thanks for being with us and listening to us and granting us peace. Through Jesus Christ, our risen Saviour. Amen.