Sermon for May 4th, 2014 - Revision history

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← Older revision		Revision as of 02:27, 4 May 2014
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	I could end the sermon right here; it's certainly enough. But last Sunday, you voted as a congregation to end my "two year probationary term" and elect me as your permanently installed pastor. So over the course of this past week, I've been thinking a lot about this journey, this "Road to Emmaus" that we are embarking upon together. In this sermon, and next few to come, I'd like to spend some time talking about where we're going as a community, what we're doing, and how you can join us on the road.		I could end the sermon right here; it's certainly enough. But last Sunday, you voted as a congregation to end my "two year probationary term" and elect me as your permanently installed pastor. So over the course of this past week, I've been thinking a lot about this journey, this "Road to Emmaus" that we are embarking upon together. In this sermon, and next few to come, I'd like to spend some time talking about where we're going as a community, what we're doing, and how you can join us on the road.

−	To do this, I'd like to go back to these four elements that are essential in recognizing Jesus. As a church, we're over 135 years old, ~~but~~ the second that we think we've got it all figured out, or that we know definitively and who Jesus is	+	To do this, I'd like to go back to these four elements that are essential in recognizing Jesus. As a church, we're over 135 years old. We've been around the block a few times. Heck, the block has been around US a few times! But the second that we think we've got it all figured out, or that we know definitively, rigidly, irrefutably, who Jesus is, the second we no longer strive to recognize Jesus in the face of the stranger who travels with us...that's when we might as well close the doors and go home. We exist because we want to recognize Jesus, because we want to know him better, and because we want to help other people recognize him, too.
		+
		+	So first, the Road and the Community (the two are intertwined). Faith is a long journey, and unfortunately we live in an era of instant gratification. A long journey requires commitment. Communities require commitment. And commitment is something else I'm afraid to say our culture has a hard time with. But last week you made a commitment to me, and I made a commitment to you.
		+
		+	Now let me share with you now one of my personal goals: I would like to be the pastor of this church, your pastor, for at least the next 20 years. First Presbyterian Church has never had a pastor serve for that long--Bob Young served for 12 years, and Bill Burroughs died suddenly after 13. More recently, we've had a slew of short-term pastors, often with only a short-term vision for the church. And yet, it seems that everywhere I look, the churches that are thriving, the ones that are doing God's work, have had stable, long-term pastoral leadership. That's my goal, my commitment to travel with you, in community, on this road for a long time.
		+
		+	But I also would like to ask for a commitment FROM you as well. A commitment to the journey and to the community. Many of you are long-term members who have traveled faithfully with First Presbyterian Church through half a century or more. You have carried the church through triumph as well as tragedy, but the end of your journey is now in sight. The commitment I ask of you in the season ahead is to continue to walk faithfully with us, but let us carry you from time to time. I also ask you pray for the generations coming after you, to encourage them, and to trust that Jesus will walk with them, just as he did with you.
		+
		+	There are a growing number of members here today who are relatively new to First Presbyterian Church. You've walked with us for a few decades, or a few years, or even a few months. The commitment I ask from you is a deeper, stronger commitment than you think you can give. One that is only possible because Jesus is walking alongside us. You are the ones leading the way now, and we have miles to go with big shoes to fill. We need your strength and your stamina for the journey.
		+
		+	There are also a few here today who have been on the fringes of our community. You come on Sunday, you like what you see and hear, the people you meet--but we only see you on Sundays. You want to know Jesus better. We want to know you better. So to you, I ask that you take that very first step of commitment: Join the church. Not just the worship service, but really join the community as members. Find a place to contribute, to connect, and then walk with us on this great adventure.
		+
		+	Next, the Scriptures and the Table. We get both of those things in our Sunday worship services. We preach and teach the scriptures every Sunday, and we celebrate the Lord's supper once a month. But if you want to recognize Jesus, one hour out of 168 in a week isn't enough.
		+
		+	This fall I will be leading a Bible Study on How to Study the Bible, from a Reformed-Presbyterian perspective. Which is to say, a well-informed, intellectually rigorous, no holds barred, critical, historical, linguistic, and archaeological perspective. I'll offer it at several different times, and honestly, I'd like everyone to take it. No matter where you are in your study of scripture, I promise you'll learn something. And my hope is that from this introductory class, several leaders will emerge who can then begin to lead their own bible studies on various books in the bible in the years to come, applying the same principles that have been a hallmark of our denomination for generations.
		+
		+	In a few minutes, we're going to celebrate the Lord's Supper. That's the table, and it's an important ritual in our life together. But in all honesty, I don't think the table that the two travelers gathered around with Jesus in our passage today was a ritual, with tiny cups and bite-sized chunks of bread. It was a shared meal. It was dinner. We get to know each other best around the dinner table, and in my opinion, this (even more than Sunday Worship!) is where we become the community of Christ. Here at First Presbyterian Church, we gather around the dinner table every Wednesday night at 6pm. It's a putluck dinner, but even if you can't bring something, we've never turned anyone away. We grill outside when the weather is good, and we eat inside when it isn't. The kids have a program at 6:30, and the adults...well, we just hang out, talk and get to know each other better. Choir practice starts at 7pm. But this shared meal--this is the true heart of our community, this is the table around which we gather, and where our eyes our opened. If you don't already come to it, I'd encourage you to start.
		+
		+	The Road, The Community, The Scriptures, and The Table. May we truly embrace and cherish these things as we walk together. And may our eyes be opened to see the face of the son of God in the stranger next to us, and in each other. May God truly bless First Presbyterian Church, and may he lead us and walk with us for another 135 years and more.

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 No, if you want the gospel message on the silver screen I think the best way to do it is the way Jesus did--in parables; in hidden stories that non-believers will walk away from saying "Hmmmm...that was an interesting story." and which many believers will walk away from saying "There was something familiar about that story" and which a few believers will say "Yeah, I see what you just did there."
-So in the weeks leading up to Easter, the Hollywood film about death, resurrection, and eternal life that no one is talking about, because no one really noticed it, the film with the most captivating and imaginative re-telling of the gospel message...is a film called Transendence.
+So in the weeks leading up to Easter, the Hollywood film about death, resurrection, and eternal life that no one is talking about, because no one really noticed it, the film with the most captivating and imaginative re-telling of the gospel message...is a film called Transcendence.
 Today's sermon is not about this movie, but I am going to show you one short clip from the film, because I think it captures a foundational truth about the resurrected Jesus in today's scripture passage.  To set up the clip for you, the film revolves around a scientist, Dr. Will Caster (think about that name for a moment) who is the world's foremost expert in artificial intelligence.
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 "Jesus Christ!" says the friend, who is shocked, surprised, skeptical, and more than a little creeped out.  Jesus Christ, indeed.  I think it's pretty easy for those of us who have heard the resurrection story told and retold for 2,000 years to forget how shocked, surprised, skeptical, and more than a little creeped out anyone would be if someone you knew to be dead appeared to you again in any form, especially one you were not entirely accustomed to.
-The two men on the road to Emmaus in today's scripture passage are not part of Jesus' inner circle, the 12 disciples, but they do seem to be part of the larger group of his followers.  From things they say in the passage, it is obvious that they have followed Jesus for some time, heard him speak often, and have even broken bread with him in a more intimate setting.  In other words, they were close enough to him that they ought to have recognized him by his physical appearance, by his mannerisms and his teachings.  And yet, we read in verse 16 that "their eyes were kept from recognizing him."  And this went on for at least 7 miles.  I'm assuming that the average walking speed hasn't changed much in 2000 years, so that's somewhere between 2 and 3 hours of walking, talking, and not recognizing the very person you are talking about, the one you had walked with, listened to, and eaten with so many times before.  There's been plenty of speculation as to why this was: Perhaps Jesus' resurrected form was somehow different than his earthly form; perhaps they were so ditraught and distracted they didn't pay close attention to this stranger; perhaps their logical, rational minds did not allow them to make a connection they knew to be impossible; perhaps Jesus simply didn't want them to know who he was, and so they didn't.
+The two men on the road to Emmaus in today's scripture passage are not part of Jesus' inner circle, the 12 disciples, but they do seem to be part of the larger group of his followers.  From things they say in the passage, it is obvious that they have followed Jesus for some time, heard him speak often, and have even broken bread with him in a more intimate setting.  In other words, they were close enough to him that they ought to have recognized him by his physical appearance, by his mannerisms and his teachings.  And yet, we read in verse 16 that "their eyes were kept from recognizing him."  And this went on for at least 7 miles.  I'm assuming that the average walking speed hasn't changed much in 2000 years, so that's somewhere between 2 and 3 hours of walking, talking, and not recognizing the very person you are talking about, the one you had walked with, listened to, and eaten with so many times before.  There's been plenty of speculation as to why this was: Perhaps Jesus' resurrected form was somehow different than his earthly form; perhaps they were so distraught and distracted they didn't pay close attention to this stranger; perhaps their logical, rational minds did not allow them to make a connection they knew to be impossible; perhaps Jesus simply didn't want them to know who he was, and so they didn't.
-And that leads me to the first of several observations I'd like to make about this famous story.  The first is a problem, a dillema.  And then I'll conclude with some observations that are solutions, or rather suggestions in response to this problem.  So here's our dillemma:  Jesus is almost always not who we think he is.
+And that leads me to the first of several observations I'd like to make about this famous story.  The first is a problem, a dilemma.  And then I'll conclude with some observations that are solutions, or rather suggestions in response to this problem.  So here's our dilemma:  Jesus is almost always not who we think he is.
 This happens time and time again, throughout Jesus' life and ministry, in his last days and at the scene of his death, and especially in the wake of his resurrection, people seem to come to their own conclusions about who he is, and they are generally (at least at first) wrong.  A few weeks ago in our Easter text, Mary Magdalene thought he was just the gardener.  When he appears to the disciples, especially Thomas, they think he is a ghost.  And here in today's passage, the two travelers think he's the most clueless stranger in Jerusalem who has somehow missed everything that has happened in the last few days.  Jesus is almost always not who we think he is.
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 So we have a road, but next we need people.  How many? Numbers are pretty important to us.  To be a successful business, you need a lot of clients, a lot of profit.  To be a successful church, you need a lot of members, a lot of programs.  Jesus does happen to share with us his own numerical criteria for successful ministry.  In Matthew 18:20, he says, "wherever two or more are gathered in my name, I am there among them."  And in today's story, he proves the point.  A community of two, talking and discussing Jesus, becomes a community of three, with Jesus as part of it.
-Recognizing Jesus happens in community.  As a pastor, I hear all the time of people who are "Spiritual but not religious."  That's ok, and spirituality is good, but what that usually translates to is "I believe in God, but I don't go to church."  Does that make you a horrible person?  No, just a person without spiritual community, a person without much opportunity to get to know Jesus.  Notice that Jesus doesn't say "wherever one person is gathered in my name in her living room I am with her.  Wherever one person is gathered in my name on the golf course, I am with him."   Nor does Jesus say, "Wherever two or more are gathered in the name of Basketball, or knitting, or Chuck-E-Chese, there I am with them."
+Recognizing Jesus happens in community.  As a pastor, I hear all the time of people who are "Spiritual but not religious."  That's ok, and spirituality is good, but what that usually translates to is "I believe in God, but I don't go to church."  Does that make you a horrible person?  No, just a person without spiritual community, a person without much opportunity to get to know Jesus.  Notice that Jesus doesn't say "wherever one person is gathered in my name in her living room I am with her.  Wherever one person is gathered in my name on the golf course, I am with him."   Nor does Jesus say, "Wherever two or more are gathered in the name of Basketball, or knitting, or Chuck-E-Cheese, there I am with them."
 No, recognizing Jesus begins in Christian community that is gathered intentionally in his name. By the way, that's called a "church."  Doesn't have to be a big one; two is enough.  But you can't do it alone.
-Recoginzing Jesus begins on the road, in community, and through the scriptures.  In verse 27 of today's passage, we read that "beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures."  Notice where he begins, too.  Jesus didn't just whip out his pocket edition of the New Testament, turn to the gospel of Luke, and read to them the story of the Road to Emmaus.  For Jesus, the scriptures were what we call the Old Testament, or the Hebrew bible.  I actually had someone suggest to me several weeks ago that I should stick to the gospels, and preaching about Jesus.  To be fair, this was toward the end of my six week long sermon on the book of Job.  But as Jesus demonstrates, we come to know and recognize him best on every page of the scripture story, from the beginning to the end.  By the way, the Bible is a pretty long book.  I don't suggest trying to read it all in one sitting, all by yourself.  Consider it reading it as a long journey, best undertaken in the company of others.
+Recognizing Jesus begins on the road, in community, and through the scriptures.  In verse 27 of today's passage, we read that "beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures."  Notice where he begins, too.  Jesus didn't just whip out his pocket edition of the New Testament, turn to the gospel of Luke, and read to them the story of the Road to Emmaus.  For Jesus, the scriptures were what we call the Old Testament, or the Hebrew bible.  I actually had someone suggest to me several weeks ago that I should stick to the gospels, and preaching about Jesus.  To be fair, this was toward the end of my six week long sermon on the book of Job.  But as Jesus demonstrates, we come to know and recognize him best on every page of the scripture story, from the beginning to the end.  By the way, the Bible is a pretty long book.  I don't suggest trying to read it all in one sitting, all by yourself.  Consider it reading it as a long journey, best undertaken in the company of others.

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 In verse 31 of today's scripture passage, we read that their "eyes were opened, and they recognized him."  Now, that's not to say they have it (and him) all figured out--after all, in the instant that they recognize him, he mysteriously vanishes.  But they do recognize him at last, and I that's not a bad goald for us, either.  I hope and believe that we, too, can arrive at a point in our lives where our hearts burn within us because we recognize that Jesus has been walking and talking and breaking bread with us along the way.
-So how do we recognize Jesus?  It's not always easy, but I think this well-loved story, the road to Emmaus, gives us a pretty good template to follow. I can identify four elements, or four stages in the story.
+So how do we go about learning to recognize Jesus?  It's not always easy, but I think this well-loved story, the road to Emmaus, gives us a pretty good template to follow. I can identify four elements, or four stages in the story.
-The story begins with a road, with a journey.  This is no accident.  The earliest Christians immediately after the time of Christ were not known as Christians. There was no such thing as "Christianity" yet.  They refered to their religious system by the Greek word, όδός, which means "road" or "path."  In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life."  The word used there for "way" is όόδόςδόςόδός
+The story begins with a road, with a journey.  This is no accident.  The earliest Christians immediately after the time of Christ were not known as Christians. There was no such thing as "Christianity" yet.  They refered to their religious system by the Greek word, όδός, which means "the road" or "the path."  In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life."  The word used there for "way" is όδός, so Jesus is literally saying I am the road.  Early Christians called themselves "the people of the road."  They recognized that life was a journey, that getting to know Jesus, the way, was a process, one that could take a lifetime.
-Road
+In recent years, in Christianity there has been an emphasis on the point of salvation -- at what exact moment did you accept Jesus as your lord and personal savior?  Those dramatic moments do happen; after all, the two travelers in our passage today have their eyes are suddenly opened and they recognize Jesus.  But that moment is part of a larger process, a journey.  Recognizing Jesus begins on the road.
 community
-scripture
+So we have a road, but next we need people.  How many? Numbers are pretty important to us.  To be a successful business, you need a lot of clients, a lot of profit.  To be a successful church, you need a lot of members, a lot of programs.  Jesus does happen to share with us his own numerical criteria for successful ministry.  In Matthew 18:20, he says, "wherever two or more are gathered in my name, I am there among them."  And in today's story, he proves the point.  A community of two, talking and discussing Jesus, becomes a community of three, with Jesus as part of it.
-bread

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 The two men on the road to Emmaus in today's scripture passage are not part of Jesus' inner circle, the 12 disciples, but they do seem to be part of the larger group of his followers.  From things they say in the passage, it is obvious that they have followed Jesus for some time, heard him speak often, and have even broken bread with him in a more intimate setting.  In other words, they were close enough to him that they ought to have recognized him by his physical appearance, by his mannerisms and his teachings.  And yet, we read in verse 16 that "their eyes were kept from recognizing him."  And this went on for at least 7 miles.  I'm assuming that the average walking speed hasn't changed much in 2000 years, so that's somewhere between 2 and 3 hours of walking, talking, and not recognizing the very person you are talking about, the one you had walked with, listened to, and eaten with so many times before.  There's been plenty of speculation as to why this was: Perhaps Jesus' resurrected form was somehow different than his earthly form; perhaps they were so ditraught and distracted they didn't pay close attention to this stranger; perhaps their logical, rational minds did not allow them to make a connection they knew to be impossible; perhaps Jesus simply didn't want them to know who he was, and so they didn't.
-And that leads me to the first of four observations I'd like to make about this famous story.  One observation, this first one, is a problem, a dillema.  The next three observations  are solutions, or rather suggestions in response to this problem.  Here's the first observation:  Jesus is almost always not who we think he is.
+And that leads me to the first of several observations I'd like to make about this famous story.  The first is a problem, a dillema.  And then I'll conclude with some observations that are solutions, or rather suggestions in response to this problem.  So here's our dillemma:  Jesus is almost always not who we think he is.
 This happens time and time again, throughout Jesus' life and ministry, in his last days and at the scene of his death, and especially in the wake of his resurrection, people seem to come to their own conclusions about who he is, and they are generally (at least at first) wrong.  A few weeks ago in our Easter text, Mary Magdalene thought he was just the gardener.  When he appears to the disciples, especially Thomas, they think he is a ghost.  And here in today's passage, the two travelers think he's the most clueless stranger in Jerusalem who has somehow missed everything that has happened in the last few days.  Jesus is almost always not who we think he is.
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 In fact, if you were to ask me that question, "Who is Jesus?" remembering that, well, I'm a pastor, I have two masters degrees from one of the oldest seminaries in the country, I've studied and sat at the feet of people who have spent entire lifetimes trying to answe that very question, and if you ask me "who is Jesus?"  the most intellectually honest answer I can give you is this:  I don't really know, but I want to know him more.  I know him a little, but I'm still learning who he is.  Come learn with me, and maybe we can teach each other a thing or two about who Jesus is.
-I hope I never have it completely figured out, to the point where I'm certain that I know definitively, rigidly, and irrefutably who Jesus is.  I know a few pastors and churches like that, and I don't want to be one of them. I don't want us to be one of them.  I've known my wife, Amy for
+I hope I never have it completely figured out, to the point where I'm certain that I know definitively, rigidly, and irrefutably who Jesus is.  I know a few pastors and churches like that, and I don't want to be one of them. I don't want us to be one of them.  I've known my wife, Amy since we were both 16 years old, and one of the things I love the most about her is that she still has the capacity to surprise me, to be not quite who I think she is...and so it is with Jesus, too.  Jesus usually isn't quite who we think he is.

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	It's true that if I asked everyone in this room the question "Who is Jesus?" I'd probably get mostly similar, theologically correct answers that the church has done a pretty good job of teaching over the years. He's the son of God. He's our lord and savior. But what does "son of God" mean? Is he God's son in the same way that I'm the son of my father? Do they share the same genetic DNA code? Or does "son" mean something different in this case? What does Lord mean in a day and age where we don't really have a system of feudal Lords and Masters? What does savior mean? What or who is it that Jesus is saving us from?		It's true that if I asked everyone in this room the question "Who is Jesus?" I'd probably get mostly similar, theologically correct answers that the church has done a pretty good job of teaching over the years. He's the son of God. He's our lord and savior. But what does "son of God" mean? Is he God's son in the same way that I'm the son of my father? Do they share the same genetic DNA code? Or does "son" mean something different in this case? What does Lord mean in a day and age where we don't really have a system of feudal Lords and Masters? What does savior mean? What or who is it that Jesus is saving us from?

−	I'm not saying there aren't good answers to those questions. Just that if we probe and poke our simple answers a little deeper, chances are everyone in this room has a somewhat different understanding of who exactly Jesus is. And if	+	I'm not saying there aren't good answers to those questions. Just that if we probe and poke our simple answers a little deeper, chances are everyone in this room has a somewhat different understanding of who exactly Jesus is. And still, after 2,000 years, Jesus probably isn't quite who we think he is.
		+
		+	In fact, if you were to ask me that question, "Who is Jesus?" remembering that, well, I'm a pastor, I have two masters degrees from one of the oldest seminaries in the country, I've studied and sat at the feet of people who have spent entire lifetimes trying to answe that very question, and if you ask me "who is Jesus?" the most intellectually honest answer I can give you is this: I don't really know, but I want to know him more. I know him a little, but I'm still learning who he is. Come learn with me, and maybe we can teach each other a thing or two about who Jesus is.
		+
		+	I hope I never have it completely figured out, to the point where I'm certain that I know definitively, rigidly, and irrefutably who Jesus is. I know a few pastors and churches like that, and I don't want to be one of them. I don't want us to be one of them. I've known my wife, Amy for

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:03, 3 May 2014
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	The two men on the road to Emmaus in today's scripture passage are not part of Jesus' inner circle, the 12 disciples, but they do seem to be part of the larger group of his followers. From things they say in the passage, it is obvious that they have followed Jesus for some time, heard him speak often, and have even broken bread with him in a more intimate setting. In other words, they were close enough to him that they ought to have recognized him by his physical appearance, by his mannerisms and his teachings. And yet, we read in verse 16 that "their eyes were kept from recognizing him." And this went on for at least 7 miles. I'm assuming that the average walking speed hasn't changed much in 2000 years, so that's somewhere between 2 and 3 hours of walking, talking, and not recognizing the very person you are talking about, the one you had walked with, listened to, and eaten with so many times before. There's been plenty of speculation as to why this was: Perhaps Jesus' resurrected form was somehow different than his earthly form; perhaps they were so ditraught and distracted they didn't pay close attention to this stranger; perhaps their logical, rational minds did not allow them to make a connection they knew to be impossible; perhaps Jesus simply didn't want them to know who he was, and so they didn't.		The two men on the road to Emmaus in today's scripture passage are not part of Jesus' inner circle, the 12 disciples, but they do seem to be part of the larger group of his followers. From things they say in the passage, it is obvious that they have followed Jesus for some time, heard him speak often, and have even broken bread with him in a more intimate setting. In other words, they were close enough to him that they ought to have recognized him by his physical appearance, by his mannerisms and his teachings. And yet, we read in verse 16 that "their eyes were kept from recognizing him." And this went on for at least 7 miles. I'm assuming that the average walking speed hasn't changed much in 2000 years, so that's somewhere between 2 and 3 hours of walking, talking, and not recognizing the very person you are talking about, the one you had walked with, listened to, and eaten with so many times before. There's been plenty of speculation as to why this was: Perhaps Jesus' resurrected form was somehow different than his earthly form; perhaps they were so ditraught and distracted they didn't pay close attention to this stranger; perhaps their logical, rational minds did not allow them to make a connection they knew to be impossible; perhaps Jesus simply didn't want them to know who he was, and so they didn't.

−	And that leads me to	+	And that leads me to the first of four observations I'd like to make about this famous story. One observation, this first one, is a problem, a dillema. The next three observations are solutions, or rather suggestions in response to this problem. Here's the first observation: Jesus is almost always not who we think he is.
		+
		+	This happens time and time again, throughout Jesus' life and ministry, in his last days and at the scene of his death, and especially in the wake of his resurrection, people seem to come to their own conclusions about who he is, and they are generally (at least at first) wrong. A few weeks ago in our Easter text, Mary Magdalene thought he was just the gardener. When he appears to the disciples, especially Thomas, they think he is a ghost. And here in today's passage, the two travelers think he's the most clueless stranger in Jerusalem who has somehow missed everything that has happened in the last few days. Jesus is almost always not who we think he is.
		+
		+	2,000 years later, of course, we have it all figured out, right? We're so much more likely to recognize Jesus than the people who actually lived and walked and touched him and ate with him, right? We're so much smarter than the disciples, especially those of us who grew up in the church, who have heard the stories about Jesus over and over throughout our lives. We know who Jesus is, don't we? Careful now...
		+
		+	It's true that if I asked everyone in this room the question "Who is Jesus?" I'd probably get mostly similar, theologically correct answers that the church has done a pretty good job of teaching over the years. He's the son of God. He's our lord and savior. But what does "son of God" mean? Is he God's son in the same way that I'm the son of my father? Do they share the same genetic DNA code? Or does "son" mean something different in this case? What does Lord mean in a day and age where we don't really have a system of feudal Lords and Masters? What does savior mean? What or who is it that Jesus is saving us from?
		+
		+	I'm not saying there aren't good answers to those questions. Just that if we probe and poke our simple answers a little deeper, chances are everyone in this room has a somewhat different understanding of who exactly Jesus is. And if

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	Tragically, Dr. Caster is struck down by an assassin's bullet, but in his dying moments, manages to have his mind, his memories, and his very consciousness uploaded into one of his super-computers, thus defeating death and attaining a powerful, god-like immortality. In the clip we're about to watch, two of Dr. Caster's former friends are about to "meet" him for the first time since his death and resurrection: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxuWwvSiMm8		Tragically, Dr. Caster is struck down by an assassin's bullet, but in his dying moments, manages to have his mind, his memories, and his very consciousness uploaded into one of his super-computers, thus defeating death and attaining a powerful, god-like immortality. In the clip we're about to watch, two of Dr. Caster's former friends are about to "meet" him for the first time since his death and resurrection: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxuWwvSiMm8

−	"Jesus Christ!" says the friend, who is shocked, surprised, skeptical, and more than a little creeped out. Jesus Christ, indeed. I think it's a little ~~difficult~~ for us to ~~imagine~~	+	"Jesus Christ!" says the friend, who is shocked, surprised, skeptical, and more than a little creeped out. Jesus Christ, indeed. I think it's pretty easy for those of us who have heard the resurrection story told and retold for 2,000 years to forget how shocked, surprised, skeptical, and more than a little creeped out anyone would be if someone you knew to be dead appeared to you again in any form, especially one you were not entirely accustomed to.
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		+	The two men on the road to Emmaus in today's scripture passage are not part of Jesus' inner circle, the 12 disciples, but they do seem to be part of the larger group of his followers. From things they say in the passage, it is obvious that they have followed Jesus for some time, heard him speak often, and have even broken bread with him in a more intimate setting. In other words, they were close enough to him that they ought to have recognized him by his physical appearance, by his mannerisms and his teachings. And yet, we read in verse 16 that "their eyes were kept from recognizing him." And this went on for at least 7 miles. I'm assuming that the average walking speed hasn't changed much in 2000 years, so that's somewhere between 2 and 3 hours of walking, talking, and not recognizing the very person you are talking about, the one you had walked with, listened to, and eaten with so many times before. There's been plenty of speculation as to why this was: Perhaps Jesus' resurrected form was somehow different than his earthly form; perhaps they were so ditraught and distracted they didn't pay close attention to this stranger; perhaps their logical, rational minds did not allow them to make a connection they knew to be impossible; perhaps Jesus simply didn't want them to know who he was, and so they didn't.
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		+	And that leads me to

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 In the month or so leading up to Easter, there were several films out in theaters that had a distinctly Christian flavor: Son of God, Noah, God is Not Dead, and most recently, Heaven is for Real. I don't think they signal any great awakening of Hollywood to Christian values or message; more likely it's an awakening to the fact that Christian dollars are just as green and profitable as anyone else's dollars.
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 Today's sermon is not about this movie, but I am going to show you one short clip from the film, because I think it captures a foundational truth about the resurrected Jesus in today's scripture passage.  To set up the clip for you, the film revolves around a scientist, Dr. Will Caster (think about that name for a moment) who is the world's foremost expert in artificial intelligence.
-Tragically, Dr. Caster is struck down by an assassin's bullet, but in his dying moments, manages to have his mind, his memories, and his very consciousness uploaded into one of his super-computers, thus defeating death and attaining a powerful, god-like immortality.  Here's the clip.
+Tragically, Dr. Caster is struck down by an assassin's bullet, but in his dying moments, manages to have his mind, his memories, and his very consciousness uploaded into one of his super-computers, thus defeating death and attaining a powerful, god-like immortality. In the clip we're about to watch, two of Dr. Caster's former friends are about to "meet" him for the first time since his death and resurrection:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxuWwvSiMm8