Sermon Preached on 4-10-11
Most people and I think you would agree with me, would waste no time in traveling to the bedside of a loved one who is ill. Recently in my own life, I did the very same. My grandfather, whom I love very much, is in the dying process. I was about to leave for some vacation, but before I left my mother suggested that if I wanted to see him, which I did, I better go before I left for vacation. “He may not be here when you return,” my mother stated. The one whom I loved very much, I most definitely wanted to see, to tell Him I loved him, give him a kiss on the check, and tell him goodbye. He lives in a skilled nursing home which was 4 hours from where I live, but I didn’t care how long the drive was and I did not care that I had to another day off from work. I went to see him the day before I left for vacation, an 8 hour round trip. There was no hesitation, no thoughts of delay.
Jesus received news from Martha and Mary that their brother Lazarus, the one whom Jesus loved, was ill. Now one would expect that Jesus who is the light world, the bread of life, the Good Shepherd, the one who was in beginning with God, would waste no time in being at the bedside of Lazarus’ to support him, to provide comfort, and to even perform a miracle to heal him from his illness so that he would not die. But Jesus did the exact opposite of what Martha and Mary expected and what we would expect. He delayed his trip. How could Jesus decide to wait? How could he consciously make the choice to delay his trip, by 2 days, knowing that Lazarus would mostly likely die? How could Jesus not rush to the bedside of the one whom he loved?
This part of the story I have never understood, particularly in light of my own grandfather and my calling as a Chaplain to be with people as they die and comfort their loved ones to best of my ability.
Actions sometimes speak louder than words and this delaying action by Christ makes me wonder, is Christ really with us in our time of need? Will He rush to our aid and comfort us or even perhaps heal us in a timely manner? Martha and Mary express a similar feeling when they use the “what if statements” regarding Jesus’ actions towards Lazarus. They say to Him, upon his slow arrival, “Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died.”
Martha and Mary’s statement takes on its own form in our language, “Lord if only you had been here my loved one would have died a peaceful death instead of one of tragedy.” Or “Lord if only you had been here you could have stopped this accident from happening.” Or “Lord, if you love us, why don’t you respond immediately?”
In times of urgency and anxiety coupled with the potential death or illness of our loved ones makes us spring into action and respond in a timely manner. Our time is precious to us and we are bound by time.
But Jesus’ time is not our time. “The work of Jesus has its own hour.” We may never fully understand God’s time and we sometimes get frustrated with it. But the events that unfold in this miracle story of raising Lazarus from the dead shed some light for us as to why Jesus waited. When Jesus heard the message that Mary and Martha had sent he says to those who are listening, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
Jesus had a purpose in his delay. His purpose was to show that He is the resurrection and the life. Jesus tells those whom he is surrounded by including Martha, “Your brother will rise again.” Now Martha understands this declaration from Jesus to mean that Lazarus will rise again on the last day. However, Jesus’ means something else and responds to her saying, “I AM the resurrection and the life.”
Many times we think just as Martha does, that the resurrection is a distant promise, our guarantee of salvation, our eternal life with God and Jesus in heaven.
But what Jesus means in the Gospel of John is something entirely different. Jesus does give us a distant promise resurrection from the dead, but through his declaration of I Am the resurrection and the Life, Christ also gives a promise in here and now, in the present.
A further reading of this Gospel story does not tells us of Lazarus’ future with Jesus, but his present life with Jesus, his sharing a meal with Jesus, his fellowship with Jesus, his closeness and intimacy with Jesus.
Christ was deeply moved and sadden over the death of Lazarus, the one whom he loved, but the delay in his trip was to show us that Christ has power over death, Christ’s defeats the power of death because in him the world meets the power of the love of God.
Christ’s delay teaches us about the reality of the resurrection promise in our present lives as well as our future lives with God and Jesus.
Jesus shows us the glory and love of God as he has calls for Lazarus come out of the tomb. However, Christ does not perform this miracle entirely on his own. He calls for a communal rising, one which the community gathered helps by removing the stone from the cave and unbinding the cloths from Lazarus hands, feet and face.
Jesus calls upon the community. He calls upon you and me, he calls upon the doctors and nurses, the police, paramedics, and Chaplains, he calls upon strangers and family to open up the way so that we may all hear Jesus’ voice calling to us from deep within our cave of death, depression, despair, anger or even denial and to help unbind us that we may live knowing of Christ’s love and power over sin and death.
Alleluia! Amen!
Friday, May 13, 2011
"Reconciliation Starts Here"
Sermon Preached on Feburary 13th, 2011
Our scripture passage this morning may seem a bit complex. This passage lists laws and rules that we are suppose to follow. The formula this passage follows goes like this: “You have heard that it was said…But I say to you…” It seems as though at first glance Jesus is contradicting the law of the Old Testament, the law of the Torah.
But in verses 17-18 Jesus says: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.”
So the formula in the scripture passage: “You have heard it said…But I say to you…” are not words of contradiction. But what are they? If they are not words of contradiction, the only other thing they could be is a reaffirmation of the law, a further elaboration of the law and an application of the law.
If we look at verse 21 it states the law explicitly: “You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.” Christ upholds this law, but he also goes on further to elaborate on this law with verse 22 to say: “But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” This elaboration of the law by Christ hits at the root of human conduct. Jesus wants us to follow the laws of the Torah, but he also wants us to follow the spiritual intentions of the law. Christ goes deeper and transcends the actual legalism of the law or the doing and following of rules and regulations such as paying taxes, not murdering, not committing adultery or divorce. Christ wants us to follow God’s will, which means not only not killing others, but also not having any hostility between human beings, countries, and God.
In the same manner Christ expounds on the spiritual intentions of the laws against adultery and the law of divorce. It is not just the act of adultery which is against the law, but one’s lustful intentions of looking upon a man or a woman with immoral purposes. There is no torah command against divorce, but the historical Jesus proclaimed the absolute prohibition of divorce as the will of God. Christ did this because of frequent occurrence of divorce. Men could divorce there wives for any reason, like if the wife displeased her husband. Jesus’ law and the will God was against the lax attitude toward marriage. People were not upholding the importance of love and commitment to one another.
All three of these subjects: murder, adultery, and divorce deal with relationships. Relationships between people and relationships with God and God’s will. All three of these subjects are expressions of the Great Commandment which reads: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Laws and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
It is God’s will that we will live out not only the legal side of the law, but the spiritual intentions of the law. A wholesome relationship with ourselves, with our neighbors and with God is what honors God.
An example of what this might look like in our modern day comes from the movie Invictus. In this movie Nelson Mandela, played by Morgan Freedom, becomes the president of South Africa and he has a dream of reconciliation between the black South African population and the White South African population. He does this through the use of sports, the rugby team in South Africa. There is a particular scene in the movie where Nelson Mandela’s head of security, Jason, is infuriated when, after requesting more men for security purposes, he discovers that the bodyguards sent to his office are white men from the apartheid regime of the former president. He storms into Mandela’s office confronting him about the issue claiming that those men were the ones who tried and sometimes succeeded in killing the black South African population and leaders. Jason does not want these men to be part of his security force. Mandela believes otherwise. Mandela responds to Jason using these words: “The rainbow nation starts here. Reconciliation starts here. Forgiveness starts here. Forgiveness liberates the soul; it removes fear; that is why it is such a powerful weapon.”
Reconciliation and forgiveness are powerful weapons. They are powerful and liberating and bring us to understand and know a wholesome relationship with ourselves, with others, and with God.
As a chaplain I have seen the difficult moments in people’s lives. I have also seen the times of reconciliation and forgiveness that come at the end of life, whether that is the person who is ill or the family that surrounds them that is doing the act of reconciliation and forgiveness. These are times of celebration, healing and wholeness between families and God, and with themselves. God gives us the opportunities in which to carry out God’s will of living into the Greatest Commandment of loving God and loving our neighbor.
But Jesus doesn’t call us to reconcile ourselves with others only at the end of life, but to reconcile ourselves with others and with God during life. Jesus says: “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.” And again Jesus says: “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way.”
Reconciliation starts here and now. Forgiveness starts here and now. They liberate your soul. Bring peace and wholeness to your relationships with other people, with yourself and with God here and now, in this place of worship, in your hospital rooms, in your home, and in your heart. Don’t wait till it’s almost too late. Live your life in a manner that honors yourself and that honors God. Amen.
Our scripture passage this morning may seem a bit complex. This passage lists laws and rules that we are suppose to follow. The formula this passage follows goes like this: “You have heard that it was said…But I say to you…” It seems as though at first glance Jesus is contradicting the law of the Old Testament, the law of the Torah.
But in verses 17-18 Jesus says: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.”
So the formula in the scripture passage: “You have heard it said…But I say to you…” are not words of contradiction. But what are they? If they are not words of contradiction, the only other thing they could be is a reaffirmation of the law, a further elaboration of the law and an application of the law.
If we look at verse 21 it states the law explicitly: “You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.” Christ upholds this law, but he also goes on further to elaborate on this law with verse 22 to say: “But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” This elaboration of the law by Christ hits at the root of human conduct. Jesus wants us to follow the laws of the Torah, but he also wants us to follow the spiritual intentions of the law. Christ goes deeper and transcends the actual legalism of the law or the doing and following of rules and regulations such as paying taxes, not murdering, not committing adultery or divorce. Christ wants us to follow God’s will, which means not only not killing others, but also not having any hostility between human beings, countries, and God.
In the same manner Christ expounds on the spiritual intentions of the laws against adultery and the law of divorce. It is not just the act of adultery which is against the law, but one’s lustful intentions of looking upon a man or a woman with immoral purposes. There is no torah command against divorce, but the historical Jesus proclaimed the absolute prohibition of divorce as the will of God. Christ did this because of frequent occurrence of divorce. Men could divorce there wives for any reason, like if the wife displeased her husband. Jesus’ law and the will God was against the lax attitude toward marriage. People were not upholding the importance of love and commitment to one another.
All three of these subjects: murder, adultery, and divorce deal with relationships. Relationships between people and relationships with God and God’s will. All three of these subjects are expressions of the Great Commandment which reads: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Laws and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
It is God’s will that we will live out not only the legal side of the law, but the spiritual intentions of the law. A wholesome relationship with ourselves, with our neighbors and with God is what honors God.
An example of what this might look like in our modern day comes from the movie Invictus. In this movie Nelson Mandela, played by Morgan Freedom, becomes the president of South Africa and he has a dream of reconciliation between the black South African population and the White South African population. He does this through the use of sports, the rugby team in South Africa. There is a particular scene in the movie where Nelson Mandela’s head of security, Jason, is infuriated when, after requesting more men for security purposes, he discovers that the bodyguards sent to his office are white men from the apartheid regime of the former president. He storms into Mandela’s office confronting him about the issue claiming that those men were the ones who tried and sometimes succeeded in killing the black South African population and leaders. Jason does not want these men to be part of his security force. Mandela believes otherwise. Mandela responds to Jason using these words: “The rainbow nation starts here. Reconciliation starts here. Forgiveness starts here. Forgiveness liberates the soul; it removes fear; that is why it is such a powerful weapon.”
Reconciliation and forgiveness are powerful weapons. They are powerful and liberating and bring us to understand and know a wholesome relationship with ourselves, with others, and with God.
As a chaplain I have seen the difficult moments in people’s lives. I have also seen the times of reconciliation and forgiveness that come at the end of life, whether that is the person who is ill or the family that surrounds them that is doing the act of reconciliation and forgiveness. These are times of celebration, healing and wholeness between families and God, and with themselves. God gives us the opportunities in which to carry out God’s will of living into the Greatest Commandment of loving God and loving our neighbor.
But Jesus doesn’t call us to reconcile ourselves with others only at the end of life, but to reconcile ourselves with others and with God during life. Jesus says: “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.” And again Jesus says: “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way.”
Reconciliation starts here and now. Forgiveness starts here and now. They liberate your soul. Bring peace and wholeness to your relationships with other people, with yourself and with God here and now, in this place of worship, in your hospital rooms, in your home, and in your heart. Don’t wait till it’s almost too late. Live your life in a manner that honors yourself and that honors God. Amen.
No Conjuction Word
Gospel Lesson: Luke 24:13-35
When I was in college I was a part of a religious organization called the Activators. The Activators were a group of students who would go around to different camps and conferences, different churches and different states to lead retreats for youth and children. The retreats were centered around different biblical themes and passages. Now every year the Activators had a different shirt design that was made based on biblical messages that we wanted to be our theme for the year. My last of year of college our shirt was based on the theme of hope. The back side of the shirt read: “Hope is not a noun, Hope is a movement.” Hope is a movement that changes the way we see the world. Hope is a movement that propels us into action to share the love and word of God with others.
Cleopas and another of Jesus followers were walking on a road toward Emmaus and they were talking. They were on a journey toward Emmaus on the same day that women reported seeing the empty tomb and hearing the angels speak that Christ is not here he is risen just as he told you he would. But their journey, as they express to the man who draws near them is not a journey of joy. Rather, in the words of Alyce McKenzie, they are on a journey that resembles a “grief therapy session.[i]” When this “mysterious” man draws near them he asks them: “what are you talking about and why are you sad?” Cleopas responds back in an irritated tone: “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” To this Jesus replies, “What things?” Now at this point I can image Cleopas attitude conveying annoyance at this man who did not know the head line news of Jerusalem. Cleopas goes into detail about what took place with their Messiah, their savior, their deliverer. At one point he says to the man, “But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.”
The phrase “we had hoped” is often connected to the conjunction word “but.”[ii] “We had hoped that Jesus would be the one to redeem Israel, but he was killed on the cross.” In our own day we have many similar sayings, “I hoped that my test results would come back benign, but instead now I have to face cancer on my own.” Or “I had hoped that my loved one would die a peaceful death, but she suffered to the end.” Or “I had hoped that I would feel the presence of God during my darkest hours, but all I felt was pain and grief.”
Our lives parallel the lives of these two disciples. They are on the road back to their ordinary lives with disappointed dreams and disrupted hopes. They think Jesus has failed them in redeeming Israel. They are journeying toward Emmaus after Jesus has been dead for three days, saddened about his death and confused about the rumors of an empty tomb.
This is our world. A world in which we hope things will turn out like we expect them to. We are each on our journeys, different journeys, but nonetheless we are all journeying. When our hopes and expectations are not fulfilled, we feel like the disciples on the road-sadden, heavy laden, and in need of a grief therapy session. Where is God in our lives? Where are the promises of God’s presence and the hope that God will be with us on our life’s journey?
In my own struggle with depression, I hope that some hand will mysteriously come down into the pit of my darkness and yank me up. I hope that it will happen quickly so that I can be happy again, so that can enjoy life like others do, so that I can once again enjoy my hobbies. I have hopes and expectations that are not filled on a regular basis or in a timely fashion. The truth about depression is that the pit of darkness may last for a while, maybe a day, maybe three days, maybe even a week. This pit of darkness and sadness does not just simply go away and stay away, it comes and goes. Despite all my efforts, I still suffer from sadness and loss of interest at times. I’m disappointed that my hope for happiness or a life free of depression is not always fulfilled.
While on this path of disappointed hopes a mysterious man journeys with the disciples. Now as readers, we know that Jesus is the unrecognized man in the story, but the disciples do not. Their eyes are kept from recognizing Christ. Their eyes are kept from recognizing Jesus even when he retells all that the prophets had said about him beginning with Moses.
What the disciples also don’t know is that while Jesus accompanies them on their journey of sadness, he begins to reframe their sadness, turning their lost hope into a new hope. A hope that they didn’t even know they needed or expected. But it is not in the retelling of the scriptures that the disciples’ eyes are opened for them, but in the sharing of a meal, in an action preformed by Christ. It is in a movement of love, of a shared meal, and of fellowship with a group of individuals that the disciples’ eyes were opened for them and they recognized Christ.
Christ’s four fold signature of taking, blessing, breaking and giving the bread is hope in action. The bread itself is not the hope; the hope is Christ and Christ’s actions and spoken word in the Eucharist meal.
I wonder how many times in our lives we have been kept from knowing the presence of Christ because of our inability to recognize Christ as our companion on the journey. I know in my struggle with depression, it is hard for me to recognize Christ let alone realize the hope I did not know existed within Christ. I’m sure there are other times that we miss the presence of God because we don’t recognize God in the faces of those standing next to us helping us.
Christ accompanying us on our journey reframes our journey. Christ leads us to God, to a new, even greater hope, a hope that is fulfilled beyond what we knew to even hope for. It is a hope that the Risen Lord walks with us on our journeys. The risen Lord meets us on our journeys in our ordinary lives and in the places to which we retreat when life is too much for us. Our journey becomes Christ’s journey and in Christ’s journey our despair and disappointed hopes are reframed. As Alyce McKenzie says: “When we recognize the Risen Lord’s companionship on the way, we allow him to breathe life into our despair and frame our aimless anxious journeys in His way.”[iii] His way is a way of hope and light and a way that has already conquered sin and death.
The hope that we find in the taking, blessing, breaking and giving of the bread, the new hope that we see in these actions of love, fellowship, and companionship on our journeys is a movement. It is a movement because it warms us, as if our hearts were burning within us, just like the disciples felt. It is a movement because it propels us to share this new hope with others. Just as the two disciples quickly made their way back to Jerusalem to tell of the new hope that they had seen in Jesus, I hope we to will feel compelled to share this new hope with others.
There is hope in the world, a hope that comes from the One who gives us everything we need and the hope that come from God has NO conjunction word following it!
Alleluia Amen!
[i] McKenzie, Alyce. Joy for the Journey: Reflections on the walk to Emmaus, Luke 24:13-35. Assessed online on May 6, 2011 at Http://www.patheos.com or http://www.textweek.com.
[ii] Lucas, Sharron. Addressing ‘Past Tense Hope’ Syndrome. May 3, 2011. Assessed online on May 6, 2011 at Http://www.textweek.com.
[iii] McKenzie, Alyce.
When I was in college I was a part of a religious organization called the Activators. The Activators were a group of students who would go around to different camps and conferences, different churches and different states to lead retreats for youth and children. The retreats were centered around different biblical themes and passages. Now every year the Activators had a different shirt design that was made based on biblical messages that we wanted to be our theme for the year. My last of year of college our shirt was based on the theme of hope. The back side of the shirt read: “Hope is not a noun, Hope is a movement.” Hope is a movement that changes the way we see the world. Hope is a movement that propels us into action to share the love and word of God with others.
Cleopas and another of Jesus followers were walking on a road toward Emmaus and they were talking. They were on a journey toward Emmaus on the same day that women reported seeing the empty tomb and hearing the angels speak that Christ is not here he is risen just as he told you he would. But their journey, as they express to the man who draws near them is not a journey of joy. Rather, in the words of Alyce McKenzie, they are on a journey that resembles a “grief therapy session.[i]” When this “mysterious” man draws near them he asks them: “what are you talking about and why are you sad?” Cleopas responds back in an irritated tone: “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” To this Jesus replies, “What things?” Now at this point I can image Cleopas attitude conveying annoyance at this man who did not know the head line news of Jerusalem. Cleopas goes into detail about what took place with their Messiah, their savior, their deliverer. At one point he says to the man, “But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.”
The phrase “we had hoped” is often connected to the conjunction word “but.”[ii] “We had hoped that Jesus would be the one to redeem Israel, but he was killed on the cross.” In our own day we have many similar sayings, “I hoped that my test results would come back benign, but instead now I have to face cancer on my own.” Or “I had hoped that my loved one would die a peaceful death, but she suffered to the end.” Or “I had hoped that I would feel the presence of God during my darkest hours, but all I felt was pain and grief.”
Our lives parallel the lives of these two disciples. They are on the road back to their ordinary lives with disappointed dreams and disrupted hopes. They think Jesus has failed them in redeeming Israel. They are journeying toward Emmaus after Jesus has been dead for three days, saddened about his death and confused about the rumors of an empty tomb.
This is our world. A world in which we hope things will turn out like we expect them to. We are each on our journeys, different journeys, but nonetheless we are all journeying. When our hopes and expectations are not fulfilled, we feel like the disciples on the road-sadden, heavy laden, and in need of a grief therapy session. Where is God in our lives? Where are the promises of God’s presence and the hope that God will be with us on our life’s journey?
In my own struggle with depression, I hope that some hand will mysteriously come down into the pit of my darkness and yank me up. I hope that it will happen quickly so that I can be happy again, so that can enjoy life like others do, so that I can once again enjoy my hobbies. I have hopes and expectations that are not filled on a regular basis or in a timely fashion. The truth about depression is that the pit of darkness may last for a while, maybe a day, maybe three days, maybe even a week. This pit of darkness and sadness does not just simply go away and stay away, it comes and goes. Despite all my efforts, I still suffer from sadness and loss of interest at times. I’m disappointed that my hope for happiness or a life free of depression is not always fulfilled.
While on this path of disappointed hopes a mysterious man journeys with the disciples. Now as readers, we know that Jesus is the unrecognized man in the story, but the disciples do not. Their eyes are kept from recognizing Christ. Their eyes are kept from recognizing Jesus even when he retells all that the prophets had said about him beginning with Moses.
What the disciples also don’t know is that while Jesus accompanies them on their journey of sadness, he begins to reframe their sadness, turning their lost hope into a new hope. A hope that they didn’t even know they needed or expected. But it is not in the retelling of the scriptures that the disciples’ eyes are opened for them, but in the sharing of a meal, in an action preformed by Christ. It is in a movement of love, of a shared meal, and of fellowship with a group of individuals that the disciples’ eyes were opened for them and they recognized Christ.
Christ’s four fold signature of taking, blessing, breaking and giving the bread is hope in action. The bread itself is not the hope; the hope is Christ and Christ’s actions and spoken word in the Eucharist meal.
I wonder how many times in our lives we have been kept from knowing the presence of Christ because of our inability to recognize Christ as our companion on the journey. I know in my struggle with depression, it is hard for me to recognize Christ let alone realize the hope I did not know existed within Christ. I’m sure there are other times that we miss the presence of God because we don’t recognize God in the faces of those standing next to us helping us.
Christ accompanying us on our journey reframes our journey. Christ leads us to God, to a new, even greater hope, a hope that is fulfilled beyond what we knew to even hope for. It is a hope that the Risen Lord walks with us on our journeys. The risen Lord meets us on our journeys in our ordinary lives and in the places to which we retreat when life is too much for us. Our journey becomes Christ’s journey and in Christ’s journey our despair and disappointed hopes are reframed. As Alyce McKenzie says: “When we recognize the Risen Lord’s companionship on the way, we allow him to breathe life into our despair and frame our aimless anxious journeys in His way.”[iii] His way is a way of hope and light and a way that has already conquered sin and death.
The hope that we find in the taking, blessing, breaking and giving of the bread, the new hope that we see in these actions of love, fellowship, and companionship on our journeys is a movement. It is a movement because it warms us, as if our hearts were burning within us, just like the disciples felt. It is a movement because it propels us to share this new hope with others. Just as the two disciples quickly made their way back to Jerusalem to tell of the new hope that they had seen in Jesus, I hope we to will feel compelled to share this new hope with others.
There is hope in the world, a hope that comes from the One who gives us everything we need and the hope that come from God has NO conjunction word following it!
Alleluia Amen!
[i] McKenzie, Alyce. Joy for the Journey: Reflections on the walk to Emmaus, Luke 24:13-35. Assessed online on May 6, 2011 at Http://www.patheos.com or http://www.textweek.com.
[ii] Lucas, Sharron. Addressing ‘Past Tense Hope’ Syndrome. May 3, 2011. Assessed online on May 6, 2011 at Http://www.textweek.com.
[iii] McKenzie, Alyce.
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