Scripture: Luke 24:13-35
- It’s sad, but not too surprising, that those two disciples left Jerusalem, even after they’d heard rumors of his resurrection.
It was too much. Why would anyone want to stay after everything that had happened to Jesus?
Wouldn’t it be better to get out of Dodge?
To leave behind all the trauma and failure and remorse
To go back and reclaim some emotional safety in their hometowns?
After all, their hopes had been so high:
I. That Jesus was the one who could deliver Israel - But those hopes had been violently beaten down
So they were giving up their dreams of building a new kind of family and a new kind of nation
going home probably felt like the safest thing to do
What they may not have realized was that, in going back home, they would be giving up
I. Those core values they had been shaped by with Jesus,
Ii. and the familial relationships they had built among the other disciples. - The Church today is taking its own Emmaus walk.
We are walking away from the holy places that once gave our lives a purpose
We are losing touch with our core values and abandoning our spiritual families
In the recent book “The Great De-Churching”, by Jim Davis and Michael Graham, they found that 40 million people have left church participation since the turn of the new century.
This is just Christians, people who used to be committed church goers and are no more;
It doesn’t take into account younger generations who never had a connection to the church in the first place.
The 20th Century was a time of historically high prosperity and popularity for American churches;
And were able to accomplish a lot!
I. 20th Century Christians addressed so many moral issues of our time;
Ii. We built hospitals and homeless shelters and childcare facilities;
Iii. We addressed literacy and hunger and poverty;
Iv. We built big sanctuaries on every street corner, with parlors for the women’s groups and gyms for kids’ programs
V. We cozied up to presidents, empowered the women’s movement and the civil rights movement and anti-nuclear movement - When we gave our energy and money to the church, we knew what we were giving to:
I. We gave to build strong institutions that could nurture the values we said we lived by.
Ii. It felt like we were on the winning team in our culture.
Iii. I grew up believing that history was on our side, we were on an upward swing toward the promises of God coming true.
Iv. And still, I cannot shake that optimism, not matter how unfashionable it has become!
V. some of you might say the same about yourselves - But a lot of people have lost their optimism about the Church.
I. More and more we are like those disciples fleeing Jerusalem,
Ii. weighed down by disillusionment, religious trauma,
Iii. or just the busy-ness of modern life, that keeps us from engaging in the faith practices that used to ground us. - Meanwhile, competing values, stories and behaviors are invading our lives and culture;
For some, politics has become the new religion
For others, maybe its sports, or a culture of workaholism
One researcher I read says that decline in church attendance has correlated with less civil engagement and more loneliness.
In the Gospel today, Jesus’ heartbroken followers share their story with a stranger on the road:
The stranger reminds them of the long history of Moses and the prophets;
how God has always accompanied them on the road and is still leading them to the promised land.
He tries to convince them that even the horrific events they’ve witnessed are part of a bigger Divine plan,
And that, no matter where they go, God will be following them.
The stranger teaches them that everything that came before in their history has prepared them for the challenge of this current moment.
Finally, Christ reveals himself at the table with them
I. But not by taking off a mask or disguise
Ii. not by telling them verbally: “I’m the Messiah!”
Iii. He reveals himself by doing something the way Jesus would do it: breaking and sharing bread with them
Iv. Maybe he wants them to learn that any stranger, anywhere, who shares empowering stories and bread can embody the Christ.
V. Including them! Including us.
Vi. Once they see this, they want to go back to Jerusalem,
Vii. to experience a Jesus movement that now would function without the physical, human Jesus—
Viii. they became curiously hopeful about what God might do next. - Here at Lyndale, your future is uncertain.
That is true of most churches these days
And this uncertainty is reflected in the way you express your commitment.
There were some sobering statistics in your Hartford Survey results last fall.
You had over 40 people respond to the survey, a pretty good sampling of your membership:
I. 42% of you reported you have decreased your church involvement recently
Ii. 38% said they are very or somewhat likely to worship with a different congregation in the next few years
Iii. 22% said they are unsure where you would worship in the future
Iv. That’s a lot of people who are looking down that Emmaus Road and considering what to do next.
V. I wouldn’t guess this without the survey, because all the members I interact with are the deeply committed ones;
Vi. the ones who show up early and stay late and clean up in the kitchen, and attend meeting after meeting and give their gifts through thick and thin
Vii. But I can see in the survey a glimpse of another sector of members who are dangling on the edge and wondering what to do next.
Viii. An aside here: maybe there are people who need your encouragement to come back! - I know this is not the kind of thing I should talk about in a stewardship sermon; I should be cheerleading for this amazing ministry; and it is amazing what Lyndale has accomplished! But let’s be honest.
It can sometimes be tempting to follow those 40 million Americans who are sleeping in on Sundays.
The stranger on the road to Emmaus is asking you to look back and consider why you came here in the first place:
Do you remember? For what purpose did God call you here to Lyndale? Why do you think God called you here (as an individual)?
How have you held onto that original calling through all the changes Lyndale has been through? What or who keeps you here still? - Why are you different than those 40 million Americans?
Is it possible that everything that came before in your history has prepared you for the challenge of this current moment?
It’s important to think about that as you make financial commitments to another year of ministry
There is more change coming for Lyndale; that’s always true
But you have already survived and evolved so much over the years,
Evolving is part of your DNA.
One reason why I’m here is because you have already demonstrated you are willing to adapt to change.
If you’re still here, maybe it’s because you’re curiously hopeful about what God is going to do next!
Maybe you’re someone who is energized by investing in the unknown, like those first disciples did
I. Maybe you’re wired to take that leap of faith and give away a piece of yourself, your wealth, your creativity, your heart,
Ii. Maybe you’re not afraid to walk the road with Christ, even if you’re not sure where it’s going. - Or maybe your hopes have been dashed by change or disappointment;
maybe you’re standing out on the edge, wondering, is all the work of keeping a church alive worth it?
Maybe your heart is already looking down the road,
If so, I would invite you to stop and look back and remember why God brought you here
Who knows? When you look back, you may discover a mysterious stranger is following you.
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