Sermon preached on Sunday 19th April

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By Rev. Mark Payne

 

Readings

Acts 2.14a, 36-41

14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say.

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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.’

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The First Converts
37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what should we do?’ 38 Peter 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. 39 For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.’ 40 And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.’ 41 So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added.
 

​Gospel Reading

Luke 24.13-35

The Walk to Emmaus
13 Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, 16 but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, ‘What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?’ They stood still, looking sad. 18 Then 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?’ 19 He 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, 20 and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. 21 But 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. 22 Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, 23 and 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. 24 Some 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.’ 25 Then he said to them, ‘Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! 26 Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?’ 27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.

28 As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. 29 But 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. 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. 32 They 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?’ 33 That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. 34 They were saying, ‘The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!’ 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
 

​SERMON

We have just finished the Easter school holidays, and I wonder if any of you went on a journey over the break? Perhaps to see family or friends or to go on holiday?

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If you did go on a journey I also wonder if it will be one you remember. Journeys are funny things. They are normally something we have to do to get to the real place we want to be or to do the thing we want to do and yet, some journeys can be memorable. They can be the important thing. Do you have any journeys that you can think of like that?
 

For me, the journey I remember the most is the one we took to Cornwall each year to go on holiday when I was a child. It was always the same journey and always the same destination and, like many journeys, it had stages that I recognized well.
 

We would get up very early in the morning, whilst it was still dark, to avoid as much traffic as possible. About an hour or so in we would stop for breakfast at a Little Chef. Unfortunately I can’t read in cars so shortly after that I would get bored and fidgety so my mum would start playing games with us. When they ran out, the music would go on (no phones or tablets to entertain us in those days). Finally, towards the end of the journey we would start asking the inevitable question “are we nearly there yet”!

Our Gospel reading from Luke is about a journey taken by Cleopas and an unnamed companion, possibly Cleopas’ wife Mary. They were on their way from Jerusalem to Emmaus which we are told is about seven miles. Not the longest of journeys and yet this particular one had stages and was full of events!

There is another type of journey that we are all on, our journey with Christ, and I would like to use the stages that Cleopas went through on his journey to Emmaus to explore our journey with Christ a little bit more.

At first, Cleopas and his companion must have been trudging along, just enduring the journey. I am sure they were somewhat downcast as they chatted about the events of the last few days. Little did they know what was about to happen!

In a sense this part of Cleopas’ journey is a little bit like the time before we decide to find out more about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit or perhaps times when we are distracted by the busyness around us. We are simply journeying through life without really acknowledging that God is inviting us to know Him.

The next thing to happen is that Jesus comes near to them, but they do not recognise him. In our spiritual lives this can often be a first step towards a deeper relationship with God. Noticing that someone or something is close to us but not really understanding or knowing who that is.

At this point Cleopas is amazed that Jesus does not know what has been happening so starts talking through the events of that first Easter. Notice how Jesus gently questions Cleopas prompting him to go back over everything that has happened. He asks them what they were discussing and then asks them what events they are talking about. Jesus draws out of them a response with the simplest of questions.

On our journey with Christ, another stage may well be like this. If we open the door even a little bit, God will gently draw us further into reflecting on the events that have brought us to him, perhaps helping us to recognise some of God’s work in our lives to that point.

The next stage of Cleopas and his companion’s journey is that they are taught by Jesus who opens up the scriptures for them. Delving into the Bible and seeking to know more about God is yet another step on our journey of faith. Although we will never fully know God, the more we do this the more we will understand His nature and the Good News that we are all loved by God and we are all welcomed into relationship with Him through the saving act of Jesus on the cross. 

Once they reached their destination, the two travelers are ready to fully invite Jesus in. In this case it is to stay over and share a meal with them. Let’s remember that they still hadn’t recognised Jesus and so they were inviting a stranger to sit and eat with them.
This stage of our Journey with Christ may be marked with a feeling that we still don’t really know who God or Jesus or the Holy Spirit are and yet our faith tells us that we can fully trust God and share all that we have with Him.

The next stage of Cleopas’ journey is perhaps the most wonderful as he and his companion finally recognise Jesus as He breaks the bread with them. 

There will be times on our own journey when we properly recognise God at work in our lives. Times when we look at something that has happened to us and can only conclude that it was God’s work. When they come, those moments on our journey of faith are truly wonderful and, like Cleopas, will cause our hearts to burn within us.

And so we come to the last stage of Cleopas journey, he goes and shares what has happened to him with others and hopefully this can become a stage on your journey with Christ too.

Looking back then, Cleopas and his companion, on their journey to and from Emmaus, went through stages of not much happening, noticing something, reflecting, learning, inviting, recognising and sharing.

In our own Journe y with Christ we too will go through similar stages. Going through life without acknowledging God’s invite that is always there, noticing that there is something worth exploring. We may well start reflecting and learning to explore our faith more and that will lead us to inviting God more deeply into our lives and so recognising all the work that God does in our lives. And finally, as we move more deeply into the love of God, we are compelled to share the opportunity that a journey with Him offers.

The good thing about a journey with Christ is that that stages may well be repeated time and time again and it doesn’t matter which stage you are on at any given time or if you haven’t yet experienced one of the stages. We may linger at one stage for a long time or move through a stage very quickly, but God is always present with us at every step, ready to guide us and enfold us in his infinite and unconditional love, making the journey itself something to be treasured and not just the destination.

Let us pray:
 

Lord Jesus Christ,
Thank you for the opportunity to journey with you through our lives.
When we are not paying attention, help us to notice you.
When we notice you, help us to reflect on all you do in our lives.
When we are reflecting, help us to seek you out through learning and the Bible.
Ans so, help us to invite you more deeply into our lives, to share with you all we have and to recognise you in all we do so that we may share your love with others.
Amen