April 14, 2002 - Third Sunday
of Easter
Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19; Acts 2:14a, 36-41; 1 Peter
1:17-23; Luke 24: 13-35
THE QUESTIONS CHRIST ASKS
Theme: Questions
ILLUMINATING TEXT AND THEME
Concordances are wonderful things with only one major defect that I can
see. They totally ignore punctuation marks. Obviously it would be irrelevant
to list every period or comma or apostrophe, but it would be most helpful
to list every question mark in the Bible. Most helpful of all would be not
only listing the questions Christ asks, but also making it our business
to take them personally.
He asks two major questions of the disciples on the Emmaus road. He begins
by asking "What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?"
Well, with Easter Day now 14 days in the past, what are we discussing? Is
the resurrection still part of our talking and thinking or has it been displaced
by conversations about the IRS or baseball?
What we talk about and think about as we walk along the road often affects
how we walk. These two unnamed disciples were focused on their own disappointment
and bewilderment that things hadn't turned out as they hoped they would.
The best man they'd ever known had been executed, and now they saw only
their own despair. Our own disappointments and dashed hopes occupy a large
part of our thinking and talking, and that's all right and in most cases
necessary. It's certainly better than brushing questions aside casually
simply because they annoy us.
C.S. Lewis learned the value of not dismissing questions too quickly. "For
a long time I used to think this a silly straw splitting distinction; this
asking how you could hate what a man did and not hate the man. But years
later it occurred to me that there was one man to whom I had been doing
this to all my life—namely, myself. However much I might dislike my
own cowardice or conceit or greed, I went on loving myself. There had never
been the slightest difficulty about it. In fact the very reason I hated
these things was that I loved the man. Just because I loved myself I was
sorry to find I was the sort of man who did those things." Sometimes
it takes years before the full impact of a question leads us to answers
and insights about ourselves, which we never dreamed, were there. That is
most especially true with the questions our Lord asks. What do we talk about?
What occupies our minds and hearts?
In his next major question, Christ asks something we seldom consider. "Was
it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter
his glory?" Looking back with the eyes of faith, we can see it was
indeed "necessary." Christ's question should be kept in mind when
it comes to our own bitter disappointments. There are many losses and tragedies.
Some we bring on ourselves. They are neither inevitable nor necessary. These
often result in tragic consequences. "Every gun that is made, every
rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger
and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed. The world in arms is
not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the
genius of its scientists and the hopes of its children." Those are
not the words of some ivory towered poet; they are the words of Dwight D.
Eisenhower. Set against another oft repeated question, "When will you
learn the things that make for peace?," they serve to remind us of
the tragedy of unexplored questions.
Some suffering and loss we cannot prevent. Some of it may be necessary
in ways that elude us. Can we still take that suffering and, remembering
that Christ suffers with us, find a way of using it so that he may be glorified?
Can we take that which has been killed and find a way of bringing it alive
again in new ways? Unless we prayerfully seek to do that, unless we become
resurrectionists, our talk about the resurrection will have a hollow ring
to it. Let the questions of Christ, and our answers to them, reflect the
Easter hope and joy.
ILLUSTRATING TEXT AND THEME
The phone rang. One of the Sunday School teachers was looking for where
the Bible talks about a guy with six fingers on each hand and six toes on
each foot.
The preacher said, " Let me search my memory for a bit and I'll get
back to you." He hung up the phone, ran into his study and grabbed
the concordance, looking up the keyword "six". He grabbed the
phone and returned the call. "2 Samuel 21:20" he proudly announced.
"Sorry it took so long, but my memory isn't what it used to be."
The Sunday School teacher said, "Wow! You sure know your Bible!"
They hung up. Elapsed time: 3 minutes, 8 seconds.
We may feel so happy that we've impressed someone that we never question
why the Sunday school teacher wanted that passage in the first place. Are
we, as Christ's church, asking questions he would consider trivial?
**************
We must help people confront their own appraisal of Christ if his questions
are to ever have authority for them. C.S. Lewis' well known quote is probably
not well enough known by nearly enough people: "A man who was merely
a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral
teacher. He's either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says
he's a poached egg—or else he'd be the devil of hell. You must make
a choice. Either this man was and is the son of God or else a madman or
something worse."
**************
Long years must pass before the truths we have made for ourselves become
our very flesh. (Paul Valery)
**************
A young rabbinical student burst into the office of his old rabbi and said
"I just want you to know how much I love you." The young man gushed
on with assurances of his sincere love. When he was finished the rabbi replied,
"Young man, you will be able to love me only when you know what makes
me cry." (Kenneth Marks)
**************
Any good teacher knows the value of asking questions as a way of fully engaging
his students in the learning process. One teacher asked his third grade
students to name different items before them on the desk. They easily identified
a stone, a carrot, and a turtle. Then he asked what kingdom they belonged
to and, more slowly, they placed the items into the mineral, vegetable and
animal kingdom. Then he asked "What kingdom do I belong to?"
There's a vital Easter question for you! Remembering there's a kingdom
far beyond animal, vegetable or mineral, we need to talk about that every
step of the way on our journey through life.
**************
The old bumper sticker, "Christ is the Answer," always struck
me as a bit presumptuous. It seemed to me a lot depended on what the question
was. Then I read about Leslie Weatherhead's dream. He stood in the presence
of Christ and was invited to have any question answered. "Believe it
or not," he wrote, "in the glory of his presence it seemed utterly
unnecessary and meaningless to ask him anything. There was such an overwhelming
feeling of supreme joy that my questions no longer needed to be answered.
It was sufficient to know that there was an answer. I knew all was well."
**************
In 1952 Florence Chadwick entered the waters off Catalina Island and began
swimming toward California, determined to be the first woman to accomplish
that feat. More than 15 hours later, surrounded by dense fog and numbed
by the bone-chilling waters, she asked to be taken out in spite of all the
encouragement people in the accompanying boat were giving her. Only later
did she learn that she had been a half mile from completing the journey.
If she had only been able to see her goal, she said, she would have kept
going.
That's why keeping our eyes on Christ is important. His questions dispel
the fog which otherwise surrounds and discourage us from reaching ultimate
goals.
**************
Orville and Wilbur Wright sent a telegram to their sister back in Dayton
Ohio. It read "First sustained flight today in fifty nine seconds.
Hope to be home for Christmas." She was so excited that she took the
telegram to the local newspaper for release. The next morning the newspaper
headline read
" Popular Local Bicycle Merchants to be Home for Holidays". The
newspaper missed the point. It's very easy to do that and announce "Christ
spoke to me" and miss the importance of what he's asking me to do and
be.
**************
Bob and Mary Case named their son Justin so he would be, I suppose, ready
for anything. The Pilgrims loved to give the names of virtues to their children.
Elder Brewster named his two sons Love and Wrestling. It would be most odd
if you do not know a Faith, or a Hope or a Grace. To be so named was to
be virtually a walking commercial for God. That's what we all have an obligation
to be. Christ asks each of us " What is your name?" Does our name
bring God's love to mind when others speak it?
**************
A.J. Cronin was living in Scotland trying to see if he could really ever
become a writer. He finished the first manuscript of a novel and then read
it. When he finished, he walked to the fireplace and burned the entire manuscript
. Deeply discouraged, he walked into a nearby field and started talking
with an old farmer who was digging in a bog. He shared his frustration with
the farmer who listened carefully before he made his response. "No
doubt you are right, Doctor, and I'm the one that's wrong, but my father
ditched this bog all his life and never made a pasture. It's the same way
with me. I've dug at it all my life and I've never made a pasture. But pasture
or no pasture, I cannot help but dig. I know what my father knew. If you
dig here long enough a pasture can be made here." That farmer's words
stuck in Cronin's mind and heart and renewed his determination to write.
Some things, painful as they are, are necessary for greater things to come
into being.
**************
Henri Nouwen knew full well that risking suffering was necessary if anyone
was to be really alive and rescue others. "Who can save a child from
a burning house without taking the risk of being hurt by flames? Who can
listen to a story of loneliness and despair without taking the risk of experiencing
similar pains? Who can take away suffering without entering it?" Good
questions, and Christ is at the heart of every one of them.
**************
Hoover Rupert recounts the story of how a woman died in New York City and
when her will was read, it was discovered that she had left everything in
her considerable estate "To God." To settle the estate a legal
summons was duly issued and the court went through the motions of trying
to serve it. The final report stated, "After due and diligent search,
God cannot be found in New York City." Any time you ask, "Where's
God?" you need to start by looking in hearts of those on the road with
you.
**************
"Jesus asks from me my all, yet he gives himself to me utterly. He
is the most knowable man who ever lived, yet no one has ever explained him"
(Leslie Weatherhead)
**************
Weatherhead also tells the story of a boy who, while carrying a basket of
eggs, tripped on the curb, dropped the eggs and smashed them. People gathered
around offering words of condolence and saying how sorry they were for the
lad. One man stepped out of the crowd and taking a coin from his pocket,
gave it to the boy saying " I care half a crown!" One of Christ's
continual questions is: "How much do you care? How much are you willing
to let who you are and what you have back up your concerns?"
**************
A blind man got off a train carrying a suitcase in one hand and a cane in
the other. Another man offered to carry the suitcase but the man said, "I
can carry it, but if you wish you can guide me up these stairs so I won't
run into anyone."
When they got to the top of the stairs, the man who could see took the
blind man firmly by the arm to guide him through the terminal. The man stopped
and said "Don't grab me! Don't control me! Just guide me. Put your
hand on my shoulder. That's all I need." That's what Christ was doing
with the disciples on the Emmaus road. That's what he does with us on our
journey. That's all we need.
**************
He'd been walking for an hour. The snow was deep and the church was still
far away. A man noticed the fatigued boy and asked where he was going.
"I'm going to Dr. Moody's church," came the reply. "The
stranger was curious. "Why are you going way down there when you pass
other churches on your way?" The boy grinned. "Because down there,
they really know how to love a fellow." People can stand the long journey
down many an Emmaus road because the one who walks with them really knows
how to love a fellow.
**************
The hymn "Christian Women, Christian Men" raises questions that
the resurrected Christ might ask of the church today. The hymn is a sister
act in that Dorothy Diemer Hendry wrote the words, and her musician sister
Emma Lou Diemer wrote the music, naming it "Huntsville" after
the Southern city where Dorothy lived and taught. Christians are asked if
they have ears to hear "the cries of a homeless child"? (1
st
verse); "have we eyes to see the needs of the aged and ill"? (2
nd);
Have we the strength to hold out against Satan until "God's day"
comes? (3
rd); and do we have hearts to "love our neighbors
as ourselves"? (4
th) The author places each question at
the beginning of the verse, and each time she answers in the affirmative,
declaring that "In the name of Jesus" we can meet each of the
challenges set forth. Thus, although the hymn starts with the believer,
it is in Christ that it is centered. Christ's resurrection is not mentioned,
but it underlies every word of the hymn. The hymn has made it first appearance
in the new Presbyterian Hymnal (#348).
**************
Luke says that the eyes of the two disciples were opened when Jesus took,
blessed, and broke the bread at table with them. In James Montgomery Communion
hymn we pray that Christ will still "Be Known to Us in Breaking Bread."
The physical Christ left his disciples. But we pray that the spiritual Christ
will not depart. We ask him to "abide with us and spread Thy table
in our heart." In the second verse the writer asks that Christ "sup
with us," going on to emphasize the spirituality of the bread and wine.
Thus the basic food of ancient life, bread and wine, take on great spiritual
meaning: in sharing them we share Christ as well. The hymn's author, born
in the late 18
th century spent a number of years at a Moravian
boarding school where he gained a warm piety that looked upon Jesus as friend
and older brother. Montgomery became editor of a radical (for those times)
Sheffield paper in which he espoused the principles of the French Revolution,
the cause of anti-slavery, and other great social problems. At least twice
he was jailed for his writings, the editor using his time in prison to write
more poems. He vowed to give up sugar until the slave trade was abolished,
and he worked to alleviate the harsh conditions of chimney sweeps in his
town. Along the way he wrote 400 hymns, some of which we still sing today—in
addition to our Communion hymn, "Angels From the Realm of Glory,"
"In the Hour of Trial," and "Go to Dark Gethsemane,"
among others.
**************
By asking Cleopas and his friend a series of questions about the events
of that Easter day, Jesus helped them get to the truth of what had taken
place. In the same way, the Montana Department of Corrections only got to
the truth of a matter by bothering to ask some follow-up questions. When
the position of director of that department became vacant, Sherman Hawkins
submitted a rather impressive application for the job. In addition to holding
a master's degree in administration, he cited 28 years of experience in
the criminal justice system. Upon further review, though, it was discovered
that experience was as an inmate. Hawkins had submitted the application
from prison, where he is serving a life sentence for having murdered his
wife.
**************
One of the questions that is raised at Easter time is the relationship between
the Old Covenant and the New. Last year cartoonist Johnny Hart caused quite
a stir with his Easter strip of "B.C." The Sunday strip showed
several panels in which the seven last words of Jesus appeared over a seven-branched
menorah. In the next-to-last frame, the words "It is finished"
appear over the menorah. In the final frame, the flames on the menorah are
extinguished, and the menorah is transformed into a cross. The comic strip
caused quite a furor. The national director of the Anti-Defamation League
accused Hart of promoting a replacement theology, whereby Christianity has
supplanted Judaism. He said that the cartoon was "insensitive and offensive
because what it proclaims is that Judaism is finished and Christianity has
taken over." In response to concerns raised by some Jewish leaders,
many newspapers refused to print the cartoon. But Hart said that he never
intended to disparage Judaism. Rather, he said, he planned the cartoon as
a way to pay tribute to both Jews and Christians during that Holy Week.
**************
You have to wonder if the Emmaus scene, where Jesus and some relative strangers
sat down together for a meal together, could ever happen today. In the mid-to
late 1970s, the average American entertained friends at home about fourteen
to fifteen times a year. By the late 1990s that figure had fallen to eight
times a year, a decline of 45% is less than two decades.
**************
The popular comedy from the 1980s, "Cheers," began each episode
with a theme song that extolled the virtue of going to a place "where
everyone knows your name." One constant reminder of that fact was whenever
the chubby Norm would enter the bar, the entire clientele would bellow out
his name in greeting. In
Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam observes that
between 1970 and 1998 the number of full-service restaurants per capita
fell by 25%, and the number of bars and luncheonettes were cut in half.
Meanwhile the per capita number of fast food outlets, which he refers to
as "personal refueling stations," doubled. One result of that,
according to Putnam, is that unlike the "regulars" at a local
bar or cafe, few of the other people waiting impatiently in line at McDonald's
are likely to know your name or even care that they don't. There is something
about sharing food and drink with one another that enables us to truly come
to know each other. Cleopas and his friend discovered that.
**************
In
The Celtic Way of Evangelism, George Hunter contrasts two predominant
methods of evangelism. He refers to the traditional approach as the Roman
model, the method of evangelism, which the Roman Catholic hierarchy advocated,
for the conversion of the people of the British Isles. The Roman model included
a presentation of the gospel message, a solicitation of a decision, and
then an invitation into the fellowship of the church. In contrast, the Celtic
method of evangelism was the approach that the Celtic clergy themselves
developed and found to be far more effective in their setting. The Celtic
method began with an invitation into the fellowship of the church. It then
proceeded to attempt to involve people in ministry and in conversation about
the faith. Finally, after people had a suitable period of time to be exposed
to the church, they would be invited to make a profession of faith. In a
manner of speaking, Cleopas and his friend underwent the Roman form of evangelism
on Easter morning, but that method failed. They had been presented with
the good news of the resurrection, but for some reason that did not lead
them to believe. In contrast, it could be argued that Jesus approached the
two of them with Celtic style of evangelism. Only after Jesus had entered
into fellowship with them around the table did he then turn the conversation
to the resurrection, and because Jesus had adequately set the stage for
that conversation, Cleopas and his companion responded in faith.
**************
The questions that are asked on the popular television show, "Who Wants
To Be A Millionaire," vary in difficulty. The questions that have a
low dollar value associated with them tend to be rather easy. However, as
the questions approach the million-dollar level, the subject matter becomes
much more obscure and difficult. The same is somewhat true in life. Questions
that have easy answers tend to be questions that aren't that important.
But the questions that really count tend to be ones that we need to search
long and hard for the answers.
Did you know that Jesus was a deipnosophist? A deipnosophist is someone
who is skilled in making conversation over dinner. In fact, it was only
because Jesus was such a good deipnosophist that Cleopas and his friend
came to be believers.
**************
"We have learned the answers, all the answers: It is the question that
we do not know." (U. S. poet and dramatist Archibald MacLeish)
**************
"The source of hospitality is the heart of God who yearns to unite
every creature within one embrace." (
The Rule of the Society of
St. John the Evangelist)
**************
"We never need to be without hope—for as we look into the future
with the eyes of faith, we will see that God is already there." (Roy
Lessin —
From A Bookmark)
**************
"I recommend almost dying to everybody. It's character building. You
get a much clearer perspective of what's important and what isn't, the preciousness
and the beauty of life." (Astronomer Carl Sagan, after surviving a
near-fatal illness)
**************
One of the Georgia Prison inmates' favorite stories during Easter, is about
the time of Jesus walking along the road with two disciples on the way to
Emmaus. Inmates become lonely and complain about their lack of good relationships.
Due to their complaints and in-grained sadness, they do not understand guilt
feelings. They are seldom in-touch with their feelings and seem to stay
in a continual state of denial... Even when they laugh about "Denial
being more than a river in Egypt"...they still don't get it! Yet, they
are always moved by their kinship with depression:
One man looks through
his bars and sees blood and guts... Another man looks through his bars and
sees stars.
**************
"Though I stoop into a dark, tremendous sea of cloud—
It is but for a Short Time!
I press God's lamp close to my breast
It's splendor, soon or late will pierce the gloom!
...I shall emerge one day!" (Robert Browning)
**************
The disaster zone gave life to a community of rescue workers buzzing with
intensity. Searchers eating in shifts. Exhausted workers sleeping in chairs
and atop debris. Medical tents for the injured. Throughout the makeshift
enclave constant reminders of what brought them here: crude altars to the
lost victims, letters from schoolchildren posted on walls, well-wishing
banners sent from around the world: "God bless the firefighters'' and
"God bless America." Intense camaraderie rules: a handshake, a
back pat or a nod at every corner. For many of the workers, ground zero
has become a deeply spiritual place. Firefighters sit on the ground, in
circles, recalling friends lost within the rubble, as votive candles burn
around them. "It's almost a holy place. There's a special feeling,"
said Robert Hopkins, 48, of Worcester, a paramedic on a Massachusetts unit
of the federal Disaster Medical Assistance Team. (Raja Mishra,
The Boston
Globe, September 21, 2001)
**************
In the novel,
The End of Innocence, Edith Wharton describes, Nettie,
a very humble woman, telling the grand lady Lily Bart, about the meaning
of life. Nettie is begging Lily to turn the corner towards life herself.
Wharton describes Nettie as part of that "brave and audacious permanence
we see in a birds' nest placed on a cliff." Nettie in all her humility
has learned to live right in the precariousness of it all. She knows that,
even there in the frail places, God has done marvelous things.
Those without good reasons for hope often have more hope than those with
the better reasons. Nettie had a hope and a song that the grand lady Lily
Bart didn't quite understand. Lilly couldn't forgive life for disappointing
her. Things had to go Lily's way for her to be able to sing. Nettie just
sang. Nettie followed the Psalm's orders, knowing that God has done and
can do great things.
2nd
Quarter 2002
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