05/16/2010 ~ Seventh Sunday of Easter and the Last Sunday in Eastertide ~ (If Ascension not observed here) ~ Acts 16:16-34; Psalm 97; Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21; John 17:20-26.
05/16/2010 ~ Seventh and the Last Sunday in Eastertide, Sometimes Celebrated as the Sunday Closest to the Ascension ~ Note: Ascension Thursday Readings Were the Readings Used on 5/16/2010 ~ Used Ephesians 1:15-23, Psalm 47 as a Responsive Reading and Luke 24:44-53.
Opening the Mind
“Then Jesus opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, ‘Thus it is written: the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day. And, in the Name of the Messiah, repentance for the forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses to all this.’” — Luke 24:45-48.
I think it’s likely most of us have had this experience: you are on a long, long car ride, going across the state or across several states, driving down an interstate three, four, five hours, maybe more. You are bored and you are hungry. One rest stop goes by. And another. And another.
Finally, you can’t take it anymore. You need to stop. Surely, among other necessities, you at least need to get out of the car and stretch, right.
But there is something else. You need to eat. Energy levels, especially when driving on a boring highway, need replenishing. And, even though you knew it would have been a good idea to pack a cooler and bring your own food and drink... you didn’t.
So, you look to pull into one of those ubiquitous rest stops. Food of some kind is to be had there and you need to give in.
Perhaps the very sign promising food and hovering over the highway, pushing into the sky, made you stop. The sign seemed to be, somehow, reaching out and beckoning you, pointing an invisible finger right at you.
Yes! Now, that’s a perfect alibi, isn’t it? It’s not your fault. Blame it on the sign. The sign lured you in. Besides, the place to which the sign summoned you is so... is so... familiar. It’s downright comforting, a known quantity.
And you are tired. The idea of making a serious decision or giving serious thought to what you should eat, is the about last thing you want to do.
And here’s the clincher: you know and I know, you don’t even have make a choice. What’s there at the rest stop is what’s there— Arbys, Burger King, McDonald’s— the familiar, the comfortable, the known and the limited.
Besides, if the kids are with you, you know they will eat this stuff. Bottom line? You don’t care and you don’t know and you don’t really want to know.
So, you park the car and do what you know you shouldn’t do what you then do. You have a burger... and fries... and a Coke— not the diet version— Coke, the real thing— sugar and caffeine. And, even if you try to be a little cautious and order some kind of chicken sandwich or a salad, who knows how long this stuff has been sitting there, just waiting for its unsuspecting prey— maybe a decade or two. (Slight pause.)
Now, that’s a slice of life here in the early Twenty-first Century, right? Even when you’re not on the road— not enough time, too much to do— that sounds normal, right? So, you choose the familiar, the comfortable, the known. Limiting choices seems wise.
But, in reality, most of the choices are already made for us, aren’t they? We’ve been told a hundred times over, in commercial after commercial, these familiar, comfortable, known, limited choices are all right, safe. We don’t have to think. What’s that tag line? Oh, I know. Just do it. (Slight pause.)
And these words around found in the work known as Luke/Acts in the section commonly called Luke. “Then Jesus opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, ‘Thus it is written: the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day. And, in the Name of the Messiah, repentance for the forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses to all this.’” (Slight pause.)
I believe today many people find the study of Scripture challenging. And I believe one of the reasons people find that study challenging is society has sent us a plain but misleading message about Scripture: studying Scripture is simple. Read it. You’ll get it. You’ll understand it right away.
But for may of us, when we try to simply read it, if we bring even an ounce of reason to the project— meaning if we refuse to take Scripture literally which is, in fact, the message society really sends us about Scripture, take it literally— if we bring an ounce of reason to the project, we find studying Scripture is harder than we anticipated.
How hard? Well, let’s look at the Gospel story we heard today. Let me invite you to put yourselves in the shoes of the disciples for a moment. They have spent years with Jesus. They have studied with Jesus. After all, they call him Rabbi— teacher.
Then they see Jesus executed. Then they see Jesus raised from the dead. Yet, they don’t seem to understand Scripture. They can’t seem to connect the dots. So, the resurrected Jesus needs to open (quote): “...their minds to understand the Scriptures...”
Open their minds about what? Be open to the narrative found in what the disciples call Scripture, what we, today, call the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament.
What does Jesus help them understand in these works? (Quote): “...the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day.” And because of that— because the Messiah suffered and was raised from the dead— they are commissioned to proclaim repentance to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (Slight pause.)
Now, I do need to be clear about something you just heard: repentance does not mean being sorry or sad. Repentance means giving one’s heart to God. (Slight pause.)
So, why did Jesus need to open their minds to understand the Scriptures? Well, maybe the disciples had a long trip on the highway. Maybe they had seen too many commercials for fast food chains.
Maybe they were too overwrought with their busy everyday existence. Or maybe, just maybe, connecting all the dots, understand who God is and understanding who Jesus is and understanding what God has done in Jesus, even with the Scriptures as a resource, even with the resurrected Jesus standing there, is not easy. (Slight pause.)
An example of exactly how hard Scripture might be to understand is found at the end of this reading. (Quote): “While blessing them, the Savior withdrew from them and was carried to heaven.” O.K. Jesus leaves. Got that?
But then (quote): “...the disciples worshiped the risen Christ....” Jesus left. But the disciples are worshiping the risen Christ. Does that, therefore, also mean Jesus, having left, is still there, among them, with them? (Slight pause.)
Guess what? As confusing as that sounds and as hard as it is for us to make any sense of that paradox, this is exactly what we Christians have believed for two millennia. Christ died. Christ was raised. Christ is alive, among us, in our midst. (Slight pause.)
So, how do we, how can we get to a place of belief about the risen Christ, alive in our midst? (Slight pause.) I want to suggest the answer is twofold. First, we do need to study Scripture. We do need to take Scripture seriously. After all, Jesus took Scripture seriously.
The second part may seem counterintuitive to most people. Most people will tell you seek the place your heart lies and your mind will follow.
Do you know what the problem with that is? The problem with that is fast food. If we thought for a moment about what fast food is— no matter how bored or tired or busy we were— if we would only think, we would not eat fast food. But the heart... is easily swayed.
So, paradoxically and therefore, the second step in taking Scripture seriously is, having studied it enough to take it seriously, we then to let go of the intellect. We need to give our hearts to Scripture. We need to give our hearts to God.
Why? What is the Easter proclamation? “Christ is risen!” While Scripture must first be studied, no part of the intellect, no part of the brain can understand those words— “Christ is risen!” Any understanding of those words must come from the heart.
On the other hand, if we say “Christ is risen” in an unthinking way, if we simply mouth them, repeat them, say them by rote, the words “Christ is risen” become fast food. The words are rendered... meaningless. (Slight pause.)
I invite you to remember this: Scripture is not fast food. Scripture is much more like a home cooked meal. You do have to work at it— put both your mind and your heart there.
So, let us allow our minds to be open to Scripture. Let us allow our hearts to be open to Scripture. Let us repent. Let us turn our whole being, heart and mind, toward God. Amen.
05/16/2010
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, New York
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Benediction. This, then, is an précis of what the pastor said before the blessing: “Perhaps the most challenging words for anyone in this reading from Luke are these (quote): ‘You are witnesses to all this.’ We are commissioned as witnesses to the reality of the resurrection, commissioned as witnesses to the reality of bringing both our hearts and minds to God. Needless to say, some folks think only the heart will do. Apologizing for sounding judgmental, but they are wrong. Some folks think only the mind will suffice. Apologizing for sounding judgmental, but they are wrong. I would suggest we cannot be witnesses unless we bring both our mind and our heart, our whole being, to God— the meaning of the word repent.”
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