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Century Christian
Church 1301 Tamarack Road, Owensboro, KY 42301, (270) 684-0286, Pastor: Rev. Jim Westmoreland |
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Our Hearts Burned! We have reason to be concerned about the chaos and conflict in the world, especially the Middle East. A conflict that never seems to end goes on. Do the Palestinians or the Israelis have a right to exist? They claim many of the same holy sites? How can the borders be drawn in a way that will satisfy both sides? How many battles have been fought over borders and property lines throughout history? In a collection of children's prayers a little girl sensed something about the mysterious importance of boundaries as she prayed, "Dear God, Who draws the lines around the countries?--Nan." My sermon this morning is not about the lines drawn on a political map of the world, but about the lines and boundaries that we draw in our mind and heart and in our spiritual lives. In today's text, which follows the resurrection, two of Jesus' followers were headed from Jerusalem to Emmaus, seven miles away. Jesus appeared to them, but they didn't recognize him. Though their "hearts burned" as they talked with him, they didn't recognize him until the end of the day as they shared a meal. My question is how could their hearts burn while they talked with Jesus and they still go on to Emmaus just like they were before Jesus appeared? The scripture doesn't explain the phrase "our hearts burned." When we talk about "heartburn," we are talking about gastric problems, acid reflux or something like that. But what did Cleopus and his fellow disciple mean? And why didn't they recognize Jesus? Let's look at this story, called by many The Road to Emmaus. Many have called this one of the great short stories of the New Testament. It has all the elements of drama in it--story, plot, adventure, suspense, and a surprise ending. The worst day for the disciples was not the Friday when Jesus died, but the third day, the day after the Sabbath. The new week began, everything was returning to business as usual. They would just have to get on with their lives as best they could. They would resume their routines, where everything is predictable. Yes there were rumors about Jesus not being in the tomb, but who knows what to believe now. Jesus is gone. It was a good idea to leave Jerusalem. Things were still crazy there. It wasn't safe to be identified as a follower of Jesus, especially now. They might as well leave town and head back home. I believe that Cleopus and the other disciple didn't recognize Jesus because some boundaries had risen that blocked their openness to God. There were walls or barriers that they were not willing or able to see past. Their boundaries may have been raised by despair, by defeat, by fear, by preoccupation with self, by boredom, by a lack of expectation, or by a host of other possible boundaries. One of the boundaries or barriers was their sadness. After Jesus first asked them what they were talking about, the scriptures say, "And they stood still, looking sad." Some have suggested that, sometimes, the settling into the dullness, blandness and blindness of our routines, symbolized in this story by the trip back to Emmaus, is an attempt to escape and forget. We may throw ourselves into our work, into projects. We may go to the mall, go fishing or whatever to forget the apparent failures of our lives, hopes and dreams. Here in Jesus' resurrection appearance, there are no choirs, no fanfares, no pageantry--just two guys leaving Jerusalem when suddenly a stranger appeared and walked with him. He asked what they were talking about and they were shocked that he was the only person around who didn't know about Jesus' death on the cross. In the process of explaining what had happened they began to share their feelings and hopes. These disciples had dreams. In v. 21, "We were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel." Another barrier that kept them from recognizing Jesus was that they misunderstood who the Messiah was and that he would suffer. Sometimes, we can hold onto ideas and beliefs, even when God is showing us differently. Our eyes see, our ears hear, our hearts burn, but still we don't recognize Jesus! The burning in our hearts, the vision in our minds is God's word for us. To these two disciples, his word was that the Christ, Messiah, "must suffer these things and to enter into His glory." I believe that God does speak to us, he does inspire our thoughts and gives us dreams and pictures of where he wants us to go. God is likely to come to us in our Emmaus, our place of escape. But there are some things from which we cannot escape--life itself! We can't escape from hunger, eating, working. In the midst of the everyday, God asks us questions like 1) Where is the road we are traveling taking us? 2) Are food, shelter and our playthings enough to give us meaning in life? And 3) Who is the stranger behind us? Who is that stranger in this story? After they had been talking with Jesus and as they approached the village where they were going, Jesus acted like he was going on. He was giving them the option of how they would respond and what they would do. The normal Eastern custom would be to offer hospitality and invite Jesus to stay the night with them. That is what they did. Now we come to v. 30-32, "And it came about that when He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and, breaking it, He began giving it to them." (Notice the role reversal here. Jesus was the guest, but He became the host. He acted as a host in the blessing and breaking of the bread.) V.31 "And their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. And they said to one another, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road." What makes our hearts burn as we hear the spirit of God leading us? My prayer is that we might discover that there is a purpose to our lives, and part of that purpose is to show God's love and grace to others. The drama and power and meaning of the resurrection of Jesus becomes personal and life-changing because the stories about Jesus coming back to life are about our lives. Not only am I talking about the future life with God, but about life with God now. There may be parts of our lives that are dead and unresponsive. It may be our faith, our attitudes toward others, our marriage, our personal walk with the Lord. When Christ speaks and our hearts burn with conviction, and when we recognize and acknowledge that He is reaching out to us, then things change, because our lives are changed! These two disciples' eyes were opened and we pray that our eyes may be opened too. Three men walk out of a mental hospital hoping to escape. . . The first says, "If there's a high fence, we'll dig under it!" The second says, "If there's a low fence, we'll jump over it!" The third says, "Well, we're out of luck, boys! There is no fence!" . . . So, they just went back to their rooms. For God to speak to us and for our hearts to burn from the experience of His leading and for us to do nothing is to be like the men in this story who just went home. When God speaks and our hearts burn, it is time to do something! |
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