Use the Talents You've Been Given

• Seventh Sunday in Easter
Ascension Sunday
Mother’s Day

Matthew 25:14-30, the parable of the talents

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• Have you ever held a million dollars in your hands?
(that’s about what 5 talents would be worth)  

I have a hard time imagining not only being entrusted with a million dollars but personally doubling it.
Then again, some folks have been entrusted with the raising of a CHILD.

• This parable does its job: grabs attention,
maybe even knocks off balance with shock,
both in the amount of money entrusted
and in the rejection of Servant #3.

• It’s important to keep context in mind: the parable of the talents is sandwiched among several apocalyptic speeches. It speaks about the return of Christ, and the actions of the faithful until then.

Last week: bridesmaids & lamps?
Faithful action is rewarded, inaction is rejected.
Week before: signs of apocalypse, what do we do?
“Happy the servant found at work.
That one is rewarded & put in charge...” (Matthew 24:46)

• Discipleship is action, regardless of circumstances.
The sky is falling? Don’t stop discipleship.
The Christ is re-appearing?
Plant the tree, then go out to greet the Christ.

You’re entrusted with a million dollars?
Be productive, not inactive.
Production is expected & rewarded.

Discipleship is action, and inaction is rejected.

• Which is better in a race: not finish it, or not start it?
DNF>DNS (“did not finish” is better than “did not start”)
Servant #3 doesn’t start the race. That’s no good.

• “Talent” shows up one other place in the gospels.
(A talent, by the way, was a coin worth about 5,000 day’s pay.
A person could get by for 15 years on one talent.
Because of this parable, the word “talent” entered the English language and came to mean “ability”).

Matthew 18:23-35, a servant owed TENTHOUSAND talents (~$3Billion) to master, who jailed him, but then quickly forgave the debt completely. The servant then turned around and jailed a fella who owed him $8,000. Master re-jailed first servant.
IT’S NOT ABOUT THE MONEY, it’s about what you do with it. Action over inaction.

• Which is better in a race: come in last, or not start it?
Come in dead last is better than not finish, too.
DL>DNF>DNS

God is looking for faithful disciples.

• Hymn 408 The Gift of Love

Matthew 25:14-30

¹⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who was leaving on a trip. He called his servants and handed his possessions over to them. ¹⁵ To one he gave five valuable coins, and to another he gave two, and to another he gave one. He gave to each servant according to that servant’s ability. Then he left on his journey.

¹⁶ “After the man left, the servant who had five valuable coins took them and went to work doing business with them. He gained five more. ¹⁷ In the same way, the one who had two valuable coins gained two more. ¹⁸ But the servant who had received the one valuable coin dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money.

¹⁹ “Now after a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ The one who had received five valuable coins came forward with five additional coins. He said, ‘Master, you gave me five valuable coins. Look, I’ve gained five more.’

²¹ “His master replied, ‘Excellent! You are a good and faithful servant! You’ve been faithful over a little. I’ll put you in charge of much. Come, celebrate with me.’

²² “The second servant also came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two valuable coins. Look, I’ve gained two more.’

²³ “His master replied, ‘Well done! You are a good and faithful servant. You’ve been faithful over a little. I’ll put you in charge of much. Come, celebrate with me.’

²⁴ “Now the one who had received one valuable coin came and said, ‘Master, I knew that you are a hard man. You harvest grain where you haven’t sown. You gather crops where you haven’t spread seed. ²⁵ So I was afraid. And I hid my valuable coin in the ground. Here, you have what’s yours.’

²⁶ “His master replied, ‘You evil and lazy servant! You knew that I harvest grain where I haven’t sown and that I gather crops where I haven’t spread seed? ²⁷ In that case, you should have turned my money over to the bankers so that when I returned, you could give me what belonged to me with interest. ²⁸ Therefore, take from him the valuable coin and give it to the one who has ten coins. ²⁹ Those who have much will receive more, and they will have more than they need. But as for those who don’t have much, even the little bit they have will be taken away from them. ³⁰ Now take the worthless servant and throw him outside into the darkness. People there will be weeping and grinding their teeth.’”

How Do You Eat an Elephant? One Bite At a Time

• Sixth Sunday in Easter

Matthew 25:1-13, ten bridesmaids (five wise, five foolish)

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• Cartoon Patient: Doc, I don’t feel well, and I’m not sure why.
Doctor: I want you to meditate for 20 minutes twice a day, exercise for 30 minutes a day, avoid processed foods, eat plenty of organic fruit and vegetables, limit your alcohol, television and computer use, spend more time outdoors, and stop worrying about things you can’t control. Come back in 3 weeks.

We all know that’s good habits for healthy living. And at the beginning of the year, there are many enthusiasts. You may not be able to tell the enthusiasts from the dedicated ones. But wait a couple months later, and you’ll see the fruit of peoples’ lives and decisions.

• Apocalyptic parable, this story of wise and foolish bridesmaids.
What is theme / design of Matthew? Discipleship.
See sermon on mount.

This parable addresses duration of discipleship.
How long? How long shall I live life of discipleship?
How long shall I be merciful and peacemaker?      

Discipleship is a way of life, not an occasional thing.
Not a Sunday-but-not-weekday thing.

From the New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary:
Being a peacemaker for a day is not as demanding as being a peacemaker year after year when hostility breaks out again and again… Being merciful for an evening can be pleasant. Being merciful for a lifetime requires preparedness.

• The bridesmaids / bridegroom shows us relationship and church community. And like the fitness example, no visible distinction at beginning between wise and foolish, long-term and short-term, who will persevere and who will not.

• Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven. Matthew 5:16

• You will know them by their fruits. Matthew 7:16

• So let us not grow weary in doing what is right,
for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9

• Hymn 616 Come, Sinners, to the Gospel Feast

*Matthew 25:1-13        (Common English Bible) 

25 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten young bridesmaids who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom. ² Now five of them were wise, and the other five were foolish. ³ The foolish ones took their lamps but didn’t bring oil for them. ⁴ But the wise ones took their lamps and also brought containers of oil.

⁵ “When the groom was late in coming, they all became drowsy and went to sleep. ⁶ But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Look, the groom! Come out to meet him.’

⁷ “Then all those bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. ⁸ But the foolish bridesmaids said to the wise ones,
‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps have gone out.’

⁹ “But the wise bridesmaids replied, ‘No, because if we share with you, there won’t be enough for our lamps and yours. We have a better idea. You go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ But while they were gone to buy oil, the groom came. Those who were ready went with him into the wedding.
Then the door was shut.

¹¹ “Later the other bridesmaids came and said,
‘Lord, lord, open the door for us.’

¹² “But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’

¹³ “Therefore, keep alert, because you don’t know the day or the hour [of the coming of the Son of Man].

Fear Not, Keep Faithful

• Fifth Sunday of Easter

Matthew 24:15-51, the Little Apocalypse

With Deuteronomy 31:1-8, Moses retires, God’s continued presence promised

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• I went on a zipline course last week.
I don’t typically step off high platforms, but I did trust in system.

• Once again, long text, could spend weeks here, but also weeks would be very similar. This is called the Little Apocalypse, and we the reader have to decide what to do with narration of a sudden and horrific cataclysmic event, the coming of the Son of Man. We have to decide even what to do with that term. We look to the OT book of Daniel for Son of Man language and are left with even more baffling language and narration.

I recalled a promise of God from Deuteronomy:
I will not abandon you.

Apocalyptic literature can make you feel pretty vulnerable,
& God is a god of presence and commitment.
Ultimate presence, ultimate commitment. FEAR NOT.

• Couple things I noted in Matthew: What Jesus describes is horrible.
Unimaginable, Unpreventable, Unstoppable, and Unmistakable.

Curiously, this passage both says Here are some things that will happen before the appearance of the Christ AND there’s really no telling when the Christ will appear; in fact if someone says the Christ has appeared, don’t listen to them. 
Nobody knows when,
but happy is the servant who is found doing his duty
when the master returns.

• Rabbi Johanen ben Zakai, a contemporary of Jesus,
quoted as saying
If you have a sapling in your hand
and someone says Come quickly, Messiah is here,
first plant the tree and then go to greet Messiah.

• What we don’t know: Year, month, day, hour.
What we DO know: live kingdomly.
Live with mercy, forgiveness & peace.
Don’t quit job or stop paying bills,
rather [continue to] live missionally.

• I officiated a wedding yesterday, it was lovely.
Not perfectly punctual, which caused anxiety for some,
but not me. No point. My anxiety wasn’t going to help,
and my calm was.

Somewhat how I feel about apocalyptic.
My anxiety won’t do anything positive,
& there’s already plentiful opportunity to be distracted or vulnerable. So be. Don’t bog down in details. Live kingdom.

• I’m reading a book about marriage and conflict, and at the heart of many marital conflicts is not the presenting issue but fear (false evidence appearing real) of some sort, fear of abandonment, fear of loss. Behind the tension and the arguments is the question Are you there for me, will you be there when I need you? I need you now and I want assurance of you again.

And so with apocalyptic discourse. Jesus probing are you there if the mountains fall and the hills turn to dust? Tell you what, God is there…Fear not. Remain connected regardless.

• Horatio Spafford had had a few great years in the 1860s. Newly married, a prominent lawyer with a fair amount of real estate in Chicago, his life took a turn for the worse when his only son died of scarlet fever in 1870. Then in 1871 the Chicago fire destroyed his properties, consuming his life savings. Then in 1873 while traveling to England follow evangelist Dwight Moody, the ship carrying his wife and four daughters (ages 11, 9, 5, 2) sank in the Atlantic. His wife was among the survivors, but their daughters were not.

What did Horatio Spafford do in his grief? First, he wrote the hymn It Is Well With My Soul, and then he and his wife moved to Jerusalem and started the American Colony, a religious society and mission which served the needy of the community for three quarters of a century.       

• UMH377 It Is Well With My Soul

Deuteronomy 31:1-8   (CEB)       

31 Then Moses said these words to all Israel, ² telling them:

I’m 120 years old today. I can’t move around well anymore. Plus, the Lord told me “You won’t cross the Jordan River.” ³ But the Lord your God, he’s the one who will cross over before you! He’s the one who will destroy these nations before you so you can displace them. Joshua too will cross over before you just like the Lord indicated. ⁴ The Lord will do to these enemies the same thing he did to the Amorite kings Sihon and Og, and to their land, when he destroyed them. ⁵ The Lord will lay them out before you, and you will do to them exactly what the command I’ve given you dictates. ⁶ Be strong! Be fearless! Don’t be afraid and don’t be scared by your enemies, because the Lord your God is the one who marches with you. He won’t let you down, and he won’t abandon you.

⁷ Then Moses called Joshua and, with all Israel watching, said to him: “Be strong and fearless because you are the one who will lead this people to the land the Lord swore to their ancestors to give to them; you are the one who will divide up the land for them. ⁸ But the Lord is the one who is marching before you! He is the one who will be with you! He won’t let you down. He won’t abandon you. So don’t be afraid or scared!”

Matthew 24:15-51       (CEB)        

¹⁵ “When you see the disgusting and destructive thing that Daniel talked about standing in the holy place (the reader should understand this), ¹⁶ then those in Judea must escape to the mountains. ¹⁷ Those on the roof shouldn’t come down to grab things from their houses. ¹⁸ Those in the field shouldn’t come back to grab their clothes. ¹⁹ How terrible it will be at that time for women who are pregnant and for women who are nursing their children. ²⁰ Pray that it doesn’t happen in winter or on the Sabbath day. ²¹ There will be great suffering such as the world has never before seen and will never again see. ²² If that time weren’t shortened, nobody would be rescued. But for the sake of the ones whom God chose, that time will be cut short.

²³ “Then if somebody says to you, ‘Look, here’s the Christ,’ or ‘He’s over here,’ don’t believe it. ²⁴ False christs and false prophets will appear, and they will offer great signs and wonders in order to deceive, if possible, even those whom God has chosen. ²⁵ Look, I’ve told you ahead of time. ²⁶ So if they say to you, ‘Look, he’s in the desert,’ don’t go out. And if they say, ‘Look, he’s in the rooms deep inside the house,’ don’t believe it. ²⁷ Just as the lightning flashes from the east to the west, so it will be with the coming of the Son of Man. ²⁸ Vultures gather wherever there’s a dead body.

²⁹ “Now immediately after the suffering of that time the sun will become dark, and the moon won’t give its light. The stars will fall from the sky and the planets and other heavenly bodies will be shaken. ³⁰ Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky.       At that time all the tribes of the earth will be full of sadness, and they will see the Son of Man coming in the heavenly clouds^{[Daniel 7:13]} with power and great splendor. ³¹ He will send his angels with the sound of a great trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from the four corners of the earth, from one end of the sky to the other.

³² “Learn this parable from the fig tree. After its branch becomes tender and it sprouts new leaves, you know that summer is near.   ³³ In the same way, when you see all these things, you know that the Son of Man is near, at the door. ³⁴ I assure you that this generation won’t pass away until all these things happen. ³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will certainly not pass away.

³⁶ “But nobody knows when that day or hour will come, not the heavenly angels and not the Son. Only the Father knows. ³⁷ As it was in the time of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.  ³⁸ In those days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark. ³⁹ They didn’t know what was happening until the flood came and swept them all away. The coming of the Son of Man will be like that. ⁴⁰ At that time there will be two men in the field. One will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding at the mill. One will be taken and the other left. ⁴² Therefore, stay alert! You don’t know what day the Lord is coming. ⁴³ But you understand that   if the head of the house knew at what time the thief would come,    he would keep alert and wouldn’t allow the thief to break into his house. ⁴⁴ Therefore, you also should be prepared, because the Son    of Man will come at a time you don’t know.

⁴⁵ “Who then are the faithful and wise servants whom their master puts in charge of giving food at the right time to those who live in his house? ⁴⁶ Happy are those servants whom the master finds fulfilling their responsibilities when he comes. ⁴⁷ I assure you that he will put them in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁸ But suppose those bad servants should say to themselves, My master won’t come until later. ⁴⁹ And suppose they began to beat their fellow servants and to eat and drink with the drunks? ⁵⁰ The master of those servants will come on a day when they are not expecting him, at a time they couldn’t predict. ⁵¹ He will cut them in pieces and put them in a place with the hypocrites. People there will be weeping and grinding their teeth.

Not Your Typical Roadmap

• Fourth Sunday of Easter

Matthew 24:1-14, Jesus speaks of the destruction of the Temple

and Ephesians 4:1-16, God gives gifts to people.

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• Matthew 24. New chapter. We are rapidly approaching the end of Jesus’ time with the disciples, now’s time for his last words with them. People get ready.
The institution you see (the bricks and mortar you trust in, even institutions of people) is not eternal but temporal.

A few months ago my second church closed.
There were warning signs for 20 years at least.
Who knows how long this building will stand,
or how long this congregation?

The institution you see is not eternal but temporal.
Put your faith in the eternal, not in the temporal.

• Therefore I don’t view Jesus’ words as a checklist (temporal).
Maybe as a roadmap but look at how distorted ancient maps are…
Maybe as a roadsign like “Buckle Up”
but not “42 miles to Charleston.”
“Bridge Ices Before Road” warns you of possible conditions.
Be prepared.

Not a checklist or roadmap
but How will you conduct your life now?
How will you conduct your life
when the things you love and are accustomed to
are no more?

And we’ve been rehearsing kingdom values:
Fear not. Live generously, attractively, simply, selflessly, sacrificially, and with heart (with courage & compassion).
Stand against injustice & oppression,
care for disadvantaged.
Fear, love, & honor God.

• People get ready.
Wedding season is coming up.
I have 3 weddings in the next 9 weeks.
One of my goals: to help couples prepare for the marriage as well as the wedding.

Likewise, Jesus’ goal to invest in people over buildings.
Sadly too many invest too much too often in bricks & mortar.
A dying church is inward focused.

• Therefore our outward focus is vital.
Pray for earthquake victims, yes, and give missionally,
and LIVE missionally.

• Also Ephesians 4: God gives the intangible…
God gives gifts / talents / occupations / callings
to the body of the church
for the building up of the church the people,
so be aware, be wise.

And live lives worthy of the calling you’ve received.

And be thankful.

• Hymn 147 All Things Bright and Beautiful

Matthew 24:1-14       (CEB)

24 Now Jesus left the temple and was going away. His disciples came to point out to him the temple buildings. ² He responded, “Do you see all these things? I assure that no stone will be left on another. Everything will be demolished.”

³ Now while Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things happen? What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?”

⁴ Jesus replied, “Watch out that no one deceives you. ⁵ Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I’m the Christ.’ They will deceive many people. ⁶ You will hear about wars and reports of wars. Don’t be alarmed. These things must happen, but this isn’t the end yet. ⁷ Nations and kingdoms will fight against each other, and there will be famines and earthquakes in all sorts of places. ⁸ But all these things are just the beginning of the sufferings associated with the end. ⁹ They will arrest you, abuse you, and they will kill you. All nations will hate you on account of my name. ¹⁰ At that time many will fall away. They will betray each other and hate each other. ¹¹ Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. ¹² Because disobedience will expand, the love of many will grow cold. ¹³ But the one who endures to the end will be delivered. ¹⁴ This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world as a testimony to all the nations. Then the end will come.

Ephesians 4:1-16       (CEB)

4 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, ² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³ making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

⁷ But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸ Therefore it is said,

“When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive;
    he gave gifts to his people.”

⁹ (When it says, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰ He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) ¹¹ The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, ¹² to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,¹³ until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. ¹⁴ We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. ¹⁵ But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

Be a Solid Chocolate Bunny

• Third Sunday of Easter

Matthew 23:13-39

With John 17

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In the Gospel of Matthew there is so much on discipleship!
Like God planting a garden and cultivating disciples.
(for fun, take a look at the titles of today’s music selections: We Are God’s People, Many and Great O God. He Grew the Tree. You Are the Seed. In the Garden. Victory in Jesus!)

Nice thing about a garden is you know what you’re going to get
(Check out the song Plant A Radish, 1960 Fantasticks)
Not a guarantee with children, with people, or with disciples.

• Discipleship gone right is integrity.
Picture a solid chocolate Easter bunny, compared to a hollow one.

Consider Jesus’ prayer in John 17, “that they may be one with you.” (17:11)

Unity with the Father.
“Make them holy in the truth. Your word is truth.” (17:17)

“…so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (17:21)

Discipleship gone right is a perfect completion of God’s plan,
mature fruit which goes forth to produce more mature fruit.        

• But if discipleship gone right is integrity, discipleship gone wrong is what Jesus’ “woes” (or maybe “how terribles”) in Matthew 23 are. Jesus’ diatribe exposes hypocrisy, insincerity, a horrible mismatch between faith and action. Should-be disciples abusing the system for personal gain at best or to bring others down.
Petty micromanagement while neglecting truly spiritual matters. Seeking attention for looking good on the outside but actually being rotten on the inside.

If John 17 points to perfect completion of God’s plan,
Matthew 23 points to perfect rejection of Jesus:
from A to Z you have destroyed what God has sent (see verse 35).

• Recall that though we are three Sundays after Easter, this passage is still in early Holy week… It is Jesus’ last interaction with the crowd until Pilate brings him out on Good Friday.

Notice Jesus’ words that ‘they’ will kill and crucify those that God has sent, that the blood of the righteous will be on their hands, and that “I assure you these things will come upon this generation.”

The next interaction with the crowd? The crowd calls for Jesus’ crucifixion (chapter 27) and even says “his blood be on us and on our children”. (27:25)

• We have in the Gospel of Matthew Jesus’ recipe for discipleship,
and this example of antidiscipleship, if you will.

We have a warning, or a challenge, or an antidote,
or all of the above:
To be a disciple requires connection. Connection with Word and with other disciples. Connection with God. Laying aside of ego (antidiscipleship) and “let go, let God.”

• Hymn 583 You Are the Seed

Matthew 23:13-19        (CEB)        Easter 3  04/10/16

¹³ “How terrible it will be for you legal experts and Pharisees! Hypocrites! You shut people out of the kingdom of heaven. You don’t enter yourselves, and you won’t allow those who want to enter to do so.

¹⁵ “How terrible it will be for you, legal experts and Pharisees! Hypocrites! You travel over sea and land to make one convert. But when they’ve been converted, they become twice the child of hell you are.

¹⁶ “How terrible it will be for you blind guides who say, ‘If people swear by the temple, it’s nothing. But if people swear by the gold in the temple, they are obligated to do what they swore.’ ¹⁷ You foolish and blind people! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold holy? ¹⁸ You say, ‘If people swear by the altar, it’s nothing. But if they swear by the gift on the altar, they are obligated to do what they swore.’ ¹⁹ You blind people! Which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy? ²⁰ Therefore, those who swear by the altar swear by it and by everything that’s on it. ²¹ Those who swear by the temple swear by it and by everything that’s part of it. ²² Those who swear by heaven swear by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.

²³ “How terrible it will be for you legal experts and Pharisees! Hypocrites! You give to God a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, but you forget about the more important matters of the Law: justice, peace, and faith. You ought to give a tenth but without forgetting about those more important matters. ²⁴ You blind guides! You filter out an ant but swallow a camel.

²⁵ “How terrible it will be for you legal experts and Pharisees! Hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and plate, but inside they are full of violence and pleasure seeking. ²⁶ Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup so that the outside of the cup will be clean too.

²⁷ “How terrible it will be for you legal experts and Pharisees! Hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs. They look beautiful on the outside. But inside they are full of dead bones and all kinds of filth. ²⁸ In the same way you look righteous to people. But inside you are full of pretense and rebellion.

²⁹ “How terrible it will be for you legal experts and Pharisees! Hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. ³⁰ You say, ‘If we had lived in our ancestors’ days, we wouldn’t have joined them in killing the prophets.’ ³¹ You testify against yourselves that you are children of those who murdered the prophets.³² Go ahead, complete what your ancestors did. ³³ You snakes! You children of snakes! How will you be able to escape the judgment of hell? ³⁴ Therefore, look, I’m sending you prophets, wise people, and legal experts. Some of them you will kill and crucify. And some you will beat in your synagogues and chase from city to city. ³⁵ Therefore, upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been poured out on the earth, from the blood of that righteous man Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you killed between the temple and the altar. ³⁶ I assure you that all these things will come upon this generation.

³⁷ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You who kill the prophets and stone those who were sent to you. How often I wanted to gather your people together, just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you didn’t want that. ³⁸ Look, your house is left to you deserted. ³⁹ I tell you, you won’t see me until you say, Blessings on the one who comes in the Lord’s name.”^{[Psalm 118:26]}

Emmaus Walk: A Monologue

A monologue from the point of view of Cleopas
written by Jim Hatherly
accessed at www.dramatix.org.nz
The author may be contacted at jamhat@mts.net
Used at Bville First UMC 4/3/2016

It's a short journey from Jerusalem to Emmaus. 
But for me it was the journey of a lifetime. 
A couple hours walk, at most, in real time. 

But it was enough for the Spirit to work on us.  In us. 
To move us, teach us,
reveal to us what we should have seen with our own eyes,
and believe with our own ears.

We had been told by the women.  

The three Marys who had been there, at the tomb? 
But you know how it is with us men, sometimes. 
We don't believe what we're told half the time. 
Especially by women who seem all pumped up and excited. 
I know they were the first witnesses. 
The first evangelists, I guess you could say. 
But we called their story an idle tale,
and went back to our card games and drinks. 

To tell the truth, we didn't know what to do,
or what to believe any more. 
Everything we had hoped for had been lost. 
Our leader, and, with him, our dreams,
nailed to a cross.  Buried in a tomb. 
The crowds that had followed him, listened to his teachings, brought their children for blessing, their sick for healing, 

where had they gone? 

The religious authorities, who ought to have listened, if not understood, had instead been jealous of his popularity, felt threatened by his mass appeal. 

The Romans thought he was about to amass a rebellion. 

It had all gone so wrong.  So terribly wrong. 

The last few days were a nightmare for us. 
Terrifying. 
Jesus betrayed by one of our own. 
Turned on by the mob. 
Tried.  Whipped until he bled. 

And then - I can still hear the nails being driven into his wrists.  

The thud of hammers. 
The taunts of the soldiers. 
The cry of abandonment from Jesus' own throat.

I'm sorry.  I must not talk of those things again. 
Or perhaps I must, at some later time.

The story needs to be told. 

But the story I just shared is not the end of it. 
We thought it was.  But there is more.

As I said, after the crucifixion,
we were confused. 
Frightened for our own lives.  Leaderless. 
Even we felt betrayed.  By Jesus himself. 
Would we go back to our villages, to our fishing and tax collecting and carpentry.  As if nothing had happened to us for three years?! 

We sat and talked, in hiding most of the time…
the rest of Friday. Saturday. Sunday. 
Discussing the movement.  Leadership. 
Vision for the group. 

Disband or re-group? 
No one wanted to actually say it, 

but it was on all of our tongues, unspoken. 

Jesus was a deluded prophet. 
And we had all fallen for his line.

And then the women came back,
full of this improbable story. 
That Jesus had risen from the dead. 

We were not quick to fall for this line, too.

Peter, however, wondered about the story. 
He at least gave some credence to the women. 
The benefit of the doubt. 

He finished his hand of poker 

and went to the tomb where the body had been buried. 
Where the women had supposedly seen
the angels.  Where they heard the news. 
"He is not here, but has risen."

"No point arguing about it, angels or not," Peter grumped, 

"Let's go see for ourselves." 

And off he went,
leaving the rest of us to stay for another hand. 
Yet another conversation about our future.

Peter came back a short time later. 
He confirmed what the women had said. 

Empty tomb.  No body. 
But what did that mean? 
Only that the body was gone. 
Stolen by the guards, as a joke to throw us off? 

It was something to go on, but not enough. 

And by this time, we were so skeptical that nothing short 

of the risen Christ himself would convince us. 

Not angels.  Not hopeful women. 
Not even an empty tomb.

John had things to do in Emmaus. 
"Come with me, Cleopas," he said. 
So off we went.  Talking as we walked,
pondering, again, the events of the last days.

The road to Emmaus is well-travelled. 
Dozens of people are back and forth,
walking to work, coming back from the market
in Jerusalem.  It was late afternoon by the time we got going. 
Plenty of time to get there before dusk.

As we walked, a stranger came beside us.  

Friendly enough fellow.  

We chatted about the weather for a while, 

then he asked, 

matter-of-fact, what we were talking about as we walked.  

Seems he had overheard some of our conversation 

as he caught up to us.

John and I looked at each other.  We stopped. 

A feeling of sadness came over us. 

I could see it in John's eyes, and feel it in my heart. 

Here it was.  The public moment.
Here with this stranger,
we might pour out our pain, sorrow, loss. 

How much would we say? 

I suspected, somehow, 

that the man was quite unaware of our story. 

So I tested him out.  "Are you the only one in Jerusalem 

who does not know the things that happened there in these days?" 

To confirm my suspicions, he said, "What things?"

I looked at the stranger again. 

He knew nothing. 
Nothing about our lives. 
Nothing about Jesus. 
Or the community we had joined, the movement, the dream, 

the teachings, the miracles. 
The cross. 

Have you ever had that experience? 

A time when someone asks you, "What's wrong?"  

And you realize that, short of saying, "I'm sad," or "I'm afraid," 

there is nothing to do but tell the whole complex, sordid, 

painful story of how you got to that feeling? 

I took a deep breath and poured out the story.  

All of it.  

Including his words and actions, his passion and compassion.  

His betrayal and death.  Even the deep sense of disappointment we had, that we thought he would be the one to redeem Israel. 

I ended with the story the women had shared, 

and that Peter had confirmed. 
The empty tomb.   And our still empty lives.

The stranger shook his head. 
At first I thought he felt sorry for us,
that he empathized with our loss. 

But his head was shaking in disappointment. 

"How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe!" 

John and I looked at each other. 
"How could this man say these things to us? 

Has he no feelings?  Who is he to judge us like that?"

But the stranger went on,
and as he talked we listened. 

We heard him tell stories we had learned from childhood.  

Bible stories.  From the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zephaniah, to Moses, and back again.  Familiar prophecies, all put together, splendidly knit into a fabric of hope. 

All to do with the Messiah, with God's promises, with deliverance.  

The servant, whose suffering brings redemption to the people, 

and glory to the servant. 

And as he talked, we marveled. 

Our spirits were lifted. 
We remembered the power of the story to inspire, 

to touch the heart with hope. 

At the end of the journey we were tired,
but the man seemed eager to continue his walk. 

"It is dusk," I said.  "Stay with us. 
Let's share a room.  We can talk some more."  

The stranger agreed, we set up for the evening, 

and ordered some food. 

What happened next I can scarcely put into words.  

We asked the stranger to offer the blessing for our meal. 

He took the bread then, blessed and broke it, 

and then gave it to us. 

It was him!  In the flesh! 

Memories of his last meal flooded back. 

An upper room.  Broken bread.  For you. 
Bread of life.  Body of Christ. 

He left at that point – we were reeling with the realization that Jesus was with us and he left, gone. Though others saw him later. 

Many others.

Jesus appeared many times,
to many people, in many places. 

But at that time.  In that place. 
To the two of us, it was as if time stood still. 
As if a curtain had been lifted from our eyes.

It was on a road that we met him,

and in a room where we broke bread
and discovered hope.  

But let me tell you this…

All the roads you walk on
are paths where Jesus may meet you. 

And all the times and places where you break bread with a friend or a stranger may be sacred times and holy places.

Keep your eyes open,

and your hearts willing to listen. 

Christ will find you.  Enjoy his company. 

..................................................

(c) Copyright Jim Hatherly, all rights reserved.

This play is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution, Non-Commercial, Share-Alike license. Some rights are reserved. For the full license visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/ca/. A donation of equivalent to $10.00 Cdn. to the United Church of Canada Mission and Service Fund for use of this work is suggested. Please visit www.united-church.ca/msfund
The author may be contacted at jamhat@mts.net

Here We Go Again

• Resurrection Sunday

With Matthew 28:1-10

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• Christ is risen, He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Welcome! I’m glad you’re here! Some folks are here because this is their home. They come for spiritual nourishment and fellowship, for a place to give and receive, a place to belong. Some are returning or visiting. There are a host of reasons and motivations. Glad you’re here. Whether this is your familiar place or it’s your first time or something in between, I hope you’ll give us the chance to be your family. Come back next week!

• Some may be thinking Here We Go Again. Same hymns as last time you were here, same crowd. Same story, for sure. 

The resurrection story is foundational to Christianity, even more than Pilgrims to Thanksgiving or “I cannot tell a lie” to George Washington.

Here we go again (HWGA): Jesus in the flesh again.
HWGA: disciples after 3 years, another opportunity to misunderstand.

• I’m not going to go verse by verse through the scripture today (though I do that sometimes)… I’m not going to offer proofs of resurrection or ask you to come forward in an altar call and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, although I do believe in resurrection and it is certainly my hope that you know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior as I do…

In fact hear this: I believe Jesus is Lord, that in him is life and love and hope and forgiveness, that somehow he was fully God and fully human, that somehow in his life and death and resurrection salvation is made possible and offered to all.

But today I briefly want to share reflection on something I read on facebook.

A quote from Gus Speth, an internationally known environmental lawyer, worked many years with the govt in DC and held office in UN:

• I used to think the top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change. I thought that with thirty years of good science we could address those problems. 

But I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy… and to deal with those we need a spiritual and cultural transformation. And we scientists don’t know how to do that.
– Gus Speth (James Gustave Speth)

• According to a renowned scientist, the world needs spiritual guidance.
The world needs both science and religion, both play important roles in the world.

Jesus came that we might have life abundant, to reconnect us to original selves as caretakers of planet and stewards of love. 

Where there is brokenness in the human condition, 

Jesus came to address exactly that. 

And that is exactly what the world needs.

• Quote 2: The advancing climate crisis cannot be addressed as long as we remain fixated on endless growth and consumption, corporate profits, increasing the incomes of the well-to-do, neglecting those just getting by, and helping abroad only modestly.

What the world needs is lives guided by and transformed by Jesus Christ,
who lived his life for humankind, and gave his life for humankind, whom God honored by raising from the dead. He goes before us in life, in death, and in new life. Goes before us and within us today. Live by him. Choose him. Follow him.

• Celebration of Holy Communion

Matthew 28:1-10  (CEB)   Resurrection Sunday  03/27/16

28 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the tomb. ² And there was a great earthquake, for an angel from the Lord came down from heaven. Coming to the stone, he rolled it away and sat on it. ³ Now his face was like lightning and his clothes as white as snow. ⁴ The guards were so terrified of him that they shook with fear and became like dead men. ⁵ But the angel said to the women, “Don’t be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. ⁶ He isn’t here, because he’s been raised from the dead, just as he said. Come, see the place where they laid him. ⁷ Now hurry, go and tell his disciples, ‘He’s been raised from the dead. He’s going on ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there.’ I’ve given the message to you.”

⁸ With great fear and excitement, they hurried away from the tomb and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ But Jesus met them and greeted them. They came and grabbed his feet and worshipped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Go and tell my brothers that I am going into Galilee. They will see me there.”