On the Way to Wonder

First Reading: Acts 2:42-47

⁴²[The baptized] devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
 ⁴³Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. ⁴⁴All who believed were together and had all things in common; ⁴⁵they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

Psalm: Psalm 23

 ¹The Lord^| is my shepherd;
  I shall not be in want.
 ²The Lord makes me lie down in green pastures
  and leads me beside still waters.
 ³You restore my soul, O Lord,
  and guide me along right pathways for your name’s sake.
 ⁴Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil;
  for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
 ⁵You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
  you anoint my head with oil, and my cup is running over.
 ⁶Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
  and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Second Reading: 1 Peter 2:19-25

¹⁹It is a credit to you if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly. ²⁰If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval. ²¹For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.
 ²²“He committed no sin,
  and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
²³When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. ²⁴He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. ²⁵For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

Gospel: John 10:1-10

 [Jesus said:] ¹“Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. ²The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” ⁶Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
 ⁷So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. ¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

CHILDREN’S SERMON

         Let me share again another of my favorite tales, Little Red Riding Hood.  A little girl was called “Little Red Riding Hood” because she loved to wear a red cape her beloved grandmother had given her.  One day her mother sent her to her grandmother’s house with a fresh cake and a drink, as the grandmother was sick and weak.  On the way through the forest, she met an evil wolf that pretended to be her friend.  On hearing of her mission, he raced ahead of her to eat the grandmother and then dress up like her to wait for the little girl to arrive.  He would have two meals! 

         Little Red Riding Hood came to the door and knocked.  The wolf invited her in but the little girl had to rub her eyes. Something was wrong.  “Grandmother, what big eyes you have!” “Grandmother, what big ears you have!” “Grandmother, what big teeth you have!”  As the wolf jumped at the little girl, she screamed and a huntsman nearby came to help her.  Grandmother, Little Red Riding Hood, and the Huntsman enjoyed eating the cake and sharing the drink!

         Share – what alerts you that something is wrong?

Let us pray.  Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, my Rock and my Redeemer.

SERMON

         Easter morning we greeted each other, “The Lord is risen!”  And the other responded, “The Lord is risen indeed!”  Many sang, “Halleluiah, Christ the Lord is Risen Today.”  For six weeks we are now in the Easter Season and bask in the realization that Christ walked through death for us and we focus on passages that support that he lives.  We believe Jesus is alive and active in our world today. People who were alive then saw him.  But also his teachings help us identify him today.  The truth is that we live with our hearts grounded in the reality of the Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus ushered in but our bodies are still grounded in this Kingdom of this World and all the struggles that plague us.  We grow into the truth of the risen Lord.

           The second Sunday of Easter, we found some followers behind locked doors, scared of those outside and unsure of this resurrection news.  Jesus appeared and it became real.  The third Sunday we walked with two people on the road to Emmaus, leaving all the confusion and discussing all the events.  Jesus walked with them and opened their hearts by giving them a new understanding of God in Scripture and by breaking bread with them.  They returned to Jerusalem to rejoice with others who had “sighted” the risen Christ.

         A new understanding of Scripture and how God is working in our world is emerging during the Easter Season.  For many God is a distant being who may speak through prophets, through experiences of victory like Jericho, or through clouds and signs like leaving Egypt.  God can be found in his Temple or church and in the Scriptures but God is not necessarily a personally involved deity concerned about the common person’s life.

           Easter is a seismic earthquake that reconstructs our whole understanding of how we relate to God.  Like Little Red Riding Hood, we encounter today so many wolves that try to convince us they are grandmother.  They invite us to the good life but in fact their eyes are too big, their ears too big, and their teeth are too big.  They make empty promises.  Easter challenges us to recognize Jesus’ presence in our lives when we no longer have his physical presence with us.

           So today we return to the gospel of John chapter 10 and review our understanding of the Good Shepherd. Our God who created the universe and who incarnated in Jesus, true God and true man, and who rose on Easter Sunday is active and alive today.  This God is the gate to the Kingdom of Heaven. We stand at the door, the gate, to enter grandmother’s house and must decide who is the “real thing,” the “genuine article” calling to us.

“the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. “

         I’m guessing Little Red Riding Hood stood at the door and knocked.  I’m sure we have all seen that famous painting of Jesus standing at the door and knocking based on Rev. 3:20, “Behold I stand at the door and knock.”  It is often noted that the door has no knob because the person inside must let the visitor enter.  Today our text has Jesus standing at the door, the gate, and calling us out.  We are not looking inward at our fears and doubts but outward to Jesus who is alive.  Little Red Riding Hood enters and looks at the presence behind the voice calling her to enter.  She becomes confused.  Grandmother’s eyes are too big, ears too long, and teeth too sharp. Something is not quite right. The sheep know their shepherd’s voice.  How?

Grandmother, what big eyes you have!

         Little Red Riding Hood compares the eyes, the vision the voice is painting for her to the voice of truth.  Is the voice calling us to the “good life,” the life of comfort and a space where all our needs can be met by just believing and buying into its message?  All we have to do is have enough faith and pray.  It sounds to me like our commercials that are calling to us to invest in their product for the good life.  It sounds like our politics that call us to vote for their candidate to restore the past and provide a secure future.

         I would propose that the Gospel does not offer health, wealth and prosperity but offers God’s voice.  James 3 gives us clues for recognizing God’s wisdom calling to us:

            ^“16 For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. ¹⁷ But the wisdom from above s first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. ¹⁸ And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.”

Is the voice you hear appealing to your own personal desires and ego or is it helping you to focus outward to God?

         But so often God seems silent.  During those times that we call “the dark night of the soul,” the body of Christ actively listens with us.  This is when God uses his voice through silence; it does not imply absence but focused listening.  As we speak and God listens, we clarify our thoughts, our wishes, and our petitions and find our own voice and identity.  God’s silent voice partners with us and with the community to draw us into voice.

         We listen to God’s voice through prayer, through Scripture and through community because the Good Shepherd knows our name.  For the Christian, there is a personal relationship. After the crucifixion, resurrection, there was no physical Jesus but followers had to learn to listen for his voice. God does not have big eyes to see us better because he knows us and knows us by name.  His voice will call us to look away from the problems that plague us here in the kingdom of this world and will call us to follow him to green pastures, still waters, and a banquet prepared in the unseen future we walk into.

Grandmother, what big ears you have?

         I have often talked about that little voice that sits on my shoulder and whispers in my ears.  Often the message is just plain crushing; telling me the things I fear to admit might be true about my life.  The evil voice focuses on fears and doubts and draws me away from God’s truth and God’s promises to care for us, even when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death.  Timothy is far more severe in his admonition to beware of the wolf with big ears that spreads gossip, rumors, jealousy and lies.  It is not the voice of the Good Shepherd.

         “³ For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves  teachers to suit their own desires, ⁴ and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. 2 Timothy 4:3-3” 

         Let us ponder for a moment what we spend our time listening to during the week and why.  We need to be aware of events in our world and in our community but when by this information, we feel drawn away from God then we know we are in danger.  One of the big blessings of worshiping together is the music that focuses our minds on eternal truth of God’s love and presence.  Turn to your neighbor and share a word of encouragement.  May we be people this week that say words of encouragement and faith, sharing truth that focuses people on hope and God’s presence.

Grandmother, what big teeth you have!

         The truth comes out.  “All who came before me are thieves and bandits.”  False shepherds seek only to steal and devour.  They are thieves and bandits.  They steal joy, faith, hope and love, the fruits of the Spirit.  This Sunday we return to Jesus’ parable of the Good Shepherd because we, even today need to recognize the Shepherd’s voice.  We do not see Jesus as those first disciples did but we know that he speaks into our world today. 

         I like the story of Little Red Riding Hood because, just recognizing the wolf, the false voices that call to us and make all sorts of promises only to deceive and disappoint us, does not remove the little girl from harm.  The wolf springs on her and she screams.  It is the huntsman who comes to her rescue and kills the wolf.  The voice of the evil one can drive us to despair but as we call out to God, he saves us.  Perhaps our eyes fall on just the right scripture verse that encourages us.  Perhaps our ears hear just the right song that dispels despair. And then those large fangs shrink to manageable size as we realize Jesus is walking with us through the valley of fear and preparing a banquet at the other side.  I would like to think the grandmother, Little Red Riding Hood and the Huntsman sat down and enjoyed a feast together. 

         Having a living savior and shepherd does not mean there will not be dangers and challenges and dark nights of the soul but it does means God walks with us and speaks into our situations.  He is our gate.  The voice of God will lead us from inward turmoil and doubts to outward focus on his presence, from fear of the future to peace in his presence, and from the seen dangers to the unseen power of the resurrection.

The Lord is risen.  The Lord is risen indeed.

Let the people of God say, “AMEN.”

First Reading: Acts 2:14a, 36-41

^14aPeter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed [the crowd], ³⁶“Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
 ³⁷Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” ³⁸Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.” ⁴⁰And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” ⁴¹So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added.

Psalm: Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19

 ¹I love the Lord, who has heard my voice,
  and listened to my supplication,
 ²for the Lord has given ear to me
  whenever I called.
 ³The cords of death entangled me; the anguish of the grave came upon me; I came to grief and sorrow.
 ⁴Then I called upon the name of the Lord:
  “O Lord, I pray you, save my life.” 
 ¹²How shall I repay the Lord
  for all the good things God has done for me?
 ¹³I will lift the cup of salvation
  and call on the name of the Lord.
 ¹⁴I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
  in the presence of all God’s people.
 ¹⁵Precious in your sight, O Lord,
  is the death of your servants.
 ¹⁶O Lord, truly I am your servant;
  I am your servant, the child of your handmaid; you have freed me from  my bonds.
 ¹⁷I will offer you the sacrifice of thanksgiving
  and call upon the name of the Lord.
 ¹⁸I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
  in the presence of all God’s people,
 ¹⁹in the courts of the Lord’s house,
  in the midst of you, O Jerusalem. Hallelujah! 

Second Reading: 1 Peter 1:17-23

¹⁷If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile. ¹⁸You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, ¹⁹but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. ²⁰He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. ²¹Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.
 ²²Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. ²³You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.

Gospel: Luke 24:13-35

¹³Now on that same day [when Jesus had appeared to Mary Magdalene,] two [disciples] were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, ¹⁴and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. ¹⁵While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, ¹⁶but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. ¹⁷And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. ¹⁸Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” ¹⁹He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, ²⁰and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. ²¹But 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. ²²Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, ²³and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. ²⁴Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.” ²⁵Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! ²⁶Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” ²⁷Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.
 ²⁸As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. ²⁹But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. ³⁰When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. ³¹Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. ³²They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” ³³That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. ³⁴They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” ³⁵Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

CHILDREN’S SERMON:  I think today we will go back to one of my favorite Aesop’s Fables:  The Lion and The Mouse.

“A Lion lay asleep in the forest. A timid little Mouse came upon him unexpectedly, and ran across the Lion’s nose. The Lion laid his paw on the tiny creature to kill her.

“Spare me!” begged the poor Mouse. “Please let me go and some day I will surely repay you.”  The Lion was much amused to think that a Mouse could ever help him but he let the Mouse go because he fancied himself generous.

Some days later, the Lion was caught in a hunter’s net. He filled the forest with his angry roaring. The Mouse found the Lion struggling. Running to one of the great ropes that bound him, she gnawed it and soon the Lion was free.”

Question to share with your neighbor:  Why was the Mouse’s plea so foolish to the Lion?

Let us pray.   Lord, May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptible in your sight, my Rock and my Redeemer.

SERMON

         Last week we jumped from Easter morning to Easter evening, from sharing “The Lord is Risen” to hiding behind locked doors, afraid.  Today we go to the gospel of Luke and Easter afternoon. We read of two people walking away from all the action and excitement of Jerusalem, the crucifixion and the rumors of the resurrection.  While some followers gathered behind locked doors in fear, these two people just plain left.  “I’m out of here!” may have been their cry.  When life becomes overwhelming, distancing ourselves from the chaos and all the voices around us is a valid coping mechanism.  In significant ways we become like the little mouse pleading, “Let me go.”  Perhaps we are scared but we are also confused and we need a safe space.  I love to get in my car and drive.  My father went to the garage and his tool bench.  Others go to the mall or zone out in a video.  We have ways we cope with overload.  Our two people in the text are leaving the scene and walking along, engrossed in conversation, talking about all they’ve been through.

God’s wisdom confuses worldly wisdom

         The lion’s first impulse is to kill that mouse that disturbed him.  He has the power.  He has the right.  He is king of the forest and has the authority.  Besides mice are…you name it cause mice are near the bottom of the food chain.  Our knee jerk reactions often are to lash out and get rid of the nuisance.  Pilot washed his hands of Jesus.  The Jewish authorities demand the death of Jesus.  The soldiers were just following orders.  The disciples fled.  Judas committed suicide.  Easter morning and the cry, “He is risen,” makes no sense.  The followers of Jesus at some level understood that Jesus was the promised Messiah but they had their own definition of what that meant.  The Messiah would get rid of Rome and return them to their glorious past.  The followers knew mice should not disturb lions and dead people don’t rise.

     Even we have our expectations of how God should or could or ought to be acting in our world. We even back up our wants with Bible verses that tell us we can have anything from God if we have faith and pray.  For sure we know God is on our side and doubt his presence with our enemy.  So who are the lions in our world today?  Wealth, youth, talent, government and yes, beauty.  If we have one of these we are on the right side of the equation of life and if we are poor, the “other” ethnicity, weak or differently abled, we are at the bottom of the food chain.  Most of us would admit we are somewhere in-between but hoping to climb the respect ladder.  When the tables are turned and Jesus is crucified, dies and is buried but maybe resurrected, the two people are confused and need space to process.

“talking with each other about all these things that had happened”

Confusion turns us inward in discussion with those we trust.

         The lion is amused at the tiny mouse’s plea.  He frees her, not because he believes the mouse can help but because he chooses to be generous.  We hear the Easter message.  Many are willing to be CEO Christians, be baptized and come to church on special occasions like Christmas/Easter/and Other times like funerals or confirmations but the resurrection is not truly integrated truth in their lives.  It might be interesting to talk about but it is not life changing.  Many are on the road to Emmaus and do not even recognize Jesus walking beside them.  We are busy discussing all the things taking place in our world today.

“What things?”

         Interestingly Jesus comes as a presence, not a power.  He wants to know what we are so preoccupied with and what is so confusing.  He walks with us in the events of our lives.  He does not stand outside our reality and manipulate our lives either as he thinks they should be or as we would like them to be.  Jesus travels with us and wants to know what is on our minds.  But what does he do?  He points our two people to scripture.  Jesus is not only the risen Lord but he is also the Living Word.  I find it interesting that he starts with Moses; laying a foundation they would understand from their heritage and drawing them into the present.  He goes from the known to the unknown, from the seen to the unseen.  Part of the problem with confusion and events that challenge our understanding of our faith is the need to go back and clarify our concept of God.  And so Jesus starts with Moses.

         Perhaps as we face situations in our life today, the challenge is to ask ourselves how we think God ought to solve it and then chat with a friend to broaden our understanding of how God might choose to be acting.  Legendary coach John Wooden of the UCLA Bruins is famous for starting his seasons by teaching his players how to put on their shoes and socks.  He took them back to the basics because no game can be won with sore feet.  Jesus took the two people on the road back to the basics, Moses.  I sure would have loved to be a Kleenex in the pocket in one of those people hearing Jesus review scripture!  We have Bibles and can review whenever we are confused.  We have prayer and can talk to God about our confusion and the Holy Spirit sheds light.  God joins us in our questions.

^“21But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.”

         Our understanding of God impacts our expectations of our lives.   As we clarify our understanding of God, we see our present in a new light.  When the mouse chews through the rope holding the lion captive, the lion sees the mouse in a new light and he is set free to be all God created him to be.  The lion has been redeemed and the crucifixion redeemed Israel and all of us too.  The resurrection is not just an historical event we celebrate at Easter.  Freedom for the lion is not just a scriptural assurance that someday he will lay down with the lamb.  It is a reality he lives into three dimensionally, touching and feeling.

         Jesus ate with the two from Emmaus.  “³⁰When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. ³¹Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight.“  Jesus gave us the sacrament of communion.  It is in communion that he tells us the bread is his body broken for us and the wine is his blood shed for us.  He is with us three dimensionally, right inside us as we eat and drink.  We can be assured that he is in the midst of all circumstances we go through.

^“35Then they told what had happened on the road,

 and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.”

         God’s wisdom is not like worldly wisdom.  Letting the mouse go free is counter intuitive.  Dramatic events can overwhelm us and drive us to seek space with others we trust.  We are confused and seek clarification but unlike the world, we do not become the brilliant insightful ones, we become the sharing ones.  Wisdom and clarity come from God in the midst of our lives.  Our joy of discovery is meant to be shared.  The two people had to return to Jerusalem and tell the other followers who themselves were experiencing the risen Christ. The resurrection sets us free to be our better selves, the person God would have us be in our worlds.

         The resurrection turns us from inward fear and confusion to outward awareness of God presence with us in our world, speaking into our dynamics today through his word.  Fear gives way to peace and confusion gives way to clarity. The seen calamities of this world gives way to the unseen presence of God walking with us, helping us to understand, and communing with us.  The lion realizes the mouse is not a silly disturbance and bother but a significant encounter with unseen blessings to be lived into.  The Lord is risen!  The Lord is risen, indeed.

Let the people of God say, “Amen.”