6th
Sermon - The Road to Emmaus: Leading a sacramental life
I remember the definition of a sacrament I learned in confirmation class: “A sacrament is an outward sign of an inward and invisible grace.” We also learned that Methodists believed there were two sacraments: baptism and communion. These two qualify as sacraments because Jesus instituted them and Jesus participated in them.
Sacraments are ordinary things – water, bread, wine – taking on extraordinary meaning. More than that, we say that in the sacraments we have a direct experience of the divine, a real encounter with Jesus. The story of the road to Emmaus is rightfully called a sacramental story. For one, it points to the meal we call Holy Communion, but it is also sacramental in the way that ordinary actions, circumstances and objects lead to an encounter with the risen Christ.
Consider how ordinary the story is: a pair is traveling on a dusty road. We are told they are followers of Jesus, but they don’t qualify as part of the big twelve. One’s name is Cleopas and the other may very well be a woman, since we know how good the Bible is at forgetting to include the names of women. They are grief-stricken by the loss of their teacher and confused by what they have heard and experienced. To pass the time, perhaps even to divert their attention, they begin a conversation with a stranger who is going their way. Unbelievably, this is the only person in Jerusalem who seems not to have heard of Jesus’ crucifixion. They also tell him about the runors of Jesus’ resurrection. Yet, this man is knowledgable about scripture and speaks of the prophets foretelling the events of the past few days.
Once they reach Emmaus, the stranger appears to be traveling on, but they invite him to stay for there is very little daylight left for traveling. He joins them and at the moment of saying grace and breaking bread, they realize this is no ordinary stranger, but Jesus himself.
Luke tells us that in the aftermath of this encounter with Jesus, the two are able to put together how the ordinary events were really quite extraordinary (or as they said ‘Were not our hearts burning within us* while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?’)
This story does point to the sacrament of Holy Communion, but it also points to ways in which the ordinary aspects of our lives may give way to extraordinary encounters with our risen lord. There are four qualities to this story that I think we should apply if we want to lead sacramental lives. Our lives can be experienced as sacramental if they are incarnational, intentional, invitational and interpersonal.
Incarnational
The incarnation simply says that Jesus is the embodiment of God. Or as the Gospel of John begins, “In the beginning was the word and the word became flesh.” For our ordinary lives to become sacramental, we must realize that just as God is embodied in Jesus, our faith is embodied in us. God is not some abstract ideal, and neither can our faith be. Faith must be lived out, it must be given flesh by our actions and in our bodies. We have been done a great disservice by being taught that faith is a spiritual thing and not also a physical thing. We have been taught that our bodies, and other material things, are shameful and must be overcome. However, the biblical witness from the beginning is that we are created in God’s image; the sacramental life is incarnational in that it points to our ordinary, physical lives as a place in which we can encounter God. We are called not just to love God with our hearts minds, and souls, but also with all our strength.
And so, this story of the road to Emmaus has the risen Christ walking on a road, taking shelter at nightfall, breaking bread. Even the resurrection is experienced in the flesh.
Intentional
Henri Nouwen is considered one of the great spiritual writers of the twentieth century. At one time he was the subject of a bidding war between the divinity schools at Harvard and Yale. Henri Nouwen left all this to join a community of special needs adults called Daybreak. Writing about this new career, Nouwen spoke about feeling like a priest in a deeper way than he ever imagined. One of the first days that he was at Daybreak, he told it was his time to work in the kitchen washing dishes. At first he was insulted, he wanted to pull his clergy card and say all this was beneath him. He didn’t do this, though, and the dishwashing soon became a very satisfying time. He said he put his whole self into it and began to think about all his friends who prepared the food on these dishes and those who ate the meals. Dish-washing became a sacramental opportunity when he did it intentionally.
Buddhism has given us the gift of the concept of mindfulness, bring one’s self into the present moment. It is really a form of meditation that one can do at anytime, while in the midst of any task. The intentionality I am encouraging is similar, but calls for us also to be looking for the sacred, expecting an encounter with Christ even in the midst of our ordinary tasks. This aspect of the sacramental life takes Paul’s instructions seriously: pray without ceasing. We don’t pray without ceasing by moving off to a monastery, but by infusing each aspect of our lives with an expectation that God is present.
Invitational
Throughout Jesus’ earthly ministry, he offered many invitations: some were accepted, like the disciples who heard “Come and follow me” and dropped their nets. Other invitation were not accepted, like the rich young ruler who went dejected away after Jesus said “Sell you possessions, give them to the poor and come and follow me.” One of Jesus’ invitations haunt us to this day, “Take up your cross and follow me.” I especially like the story of Jesus inviting himself to Zacheaus’ house for dinner.
The Gospels tell story after story that end with some form of invitation being made by Jesus, but this story is different. As the disciples reach their destination, Jesus the stranger seems to be continuing on his way. His traveling companions say, “stay with us, it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” On this occasion, it is not Jesus making the invitation, but Jesus receiving the invitation.
When was the last time you made an invitation to Jesus? Have you ever opened your hear and said, “Jesus come in”? When Maria and I prepare for guests there is always at least one room that is not to be entered, it is the room that contains the extra stuff from all the other rooms; do you have parts of your own life that you keep behind closed doors, hidden even from our lord and savior? If you want to lead a sacramental life, you must find a way to invite Jesus in.
Interpersonal
Matthew 25: Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’
Our faithful lives are not lived in a vacuum. Our church’s purpose is not to take care of its members. Nor is our faith about guaranteeing our future after this life. The opportunities for encountering Christ are around us each and everyday. To modify a saying by former president Bush, “It’s the relationships, stupid.”
Faithful, sacramental relationships are lived as giving, not receiving; as loving, not using. Jesus’ parable of the judgment says simply, if you want to find Jesus, hang out with the people Jesus hangs out with. All of our relationships –even the most casual and ordinary — are capable of taking on a sacramental quality if we are willing to look for the image of God in each other. You cannot love God without loving your neighbor, but by loving your neighbor you will be loving God.
Life is a journey, filled with more ordinary moments than one can count. Through living life in a sacramental way:—an incarnational, intentional, invitational and interpersonal way —we can make the ordinary an opportunity for encounter with Jesus. Our very lives can become “outward signs of an inward and invisible grace”. We may even look back and say to one another “did not our hearts burn within us!”
AMEN
