Sermon for April 6, 2008

“They asked each other, 'Were not our hearts burning within us while Jesus walked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?' ”

       How many of you are regular walkers as a part of your exercise program?   I am not here to put you on a guilt trip if you don’t?  Maybe just an encouragement to help you with your physical and emotional health! I know since moving to Castle Rock 5 months ago, I have noticed that Castle Rock is a "WALKING TOWN!"   If the weather is nice, people walk outside!  If the weather isn't so good, people will still walk outside all bundled up!
       I read the other day that some community colleges and Adult education centers now offer classes on "WALKING!"  A professor at  one  of  the  colleges  was  quoted  as saying, "WALKING HAS BECOME A LOST ART DURING THE AUTOMOBILE AGE, BUT IT HAS RECENTLY BEEN  RESURRECTED  IN  THE  PAST FEW YEARS AS MORE AND MORE PEOPLE WALK ON  A REGULAR BASIS!"  He also said in the article that "THERE'S A LOT MORE TO WALKING THAN MERELY PUTTING ONE FOOT IN FRONT OF THE OTHER.  WALKING CAN BE AN IMPORTANT MEANS OF COMMUNICATION AND A VALUABLE EMOTIONAL OUTLET AS WELL AS PHYSICALLY HEALTHY!"
       This article came to  mind  as  I was reading our Gospel lesson from Luke 24: 13‑35  of  the  story of Jesus and the 2 disciples walking  and  talking  together  on  the  road from Jerusalem to Emmaus, a  walk  of  about 5 miles.  They talked about all that had occurred the past 4 days in their life.  They were pretty shook up, confused, filled with grief and sorrow, were tense and anxious and had many questions about all that had occurred that past week.   Have any of you had weeks like that?  It may have been last week or month or year!  It may be time for US to go “WALKING AND TALKING WITH GOD!”
       The 2 disciples thought and talked about Jesus‑ their leader, their friend from Nazareth whom they loved very much and had just seen die on the cross of Calvary.  They thought that Jesus was going to be the one who would be their Savior but the events of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday had caused their hopes and dreams and plans to collapse like a house of cards!
       The 2 disciples  talked  about  how  Jesus was tortured,  humiliated, how He suffered and died on the cross and then to top it all off‑ the body of  Jesus was no longer in the tomb, as they had been told. Jesus had said something about rising from the dead on the 3rd day but the disciples had not been able to put 2 and 2 together and tie the events of Holy Week with what had just occurred.  They were "WALKING AND TALKING" together to try  and  build  each  other  up  and  to have an emotional release of  their  frustration  and  emptiness from everything that had just occurred.
       Looking back at the disciples  in  our text, it would be easy to "CRITICIZE" them  for  their  lack of faith in Jesus, for not listening to him,  remembering  what He had told them and believing  in  Him. They  had  doubts  and frustrations because they could not completely understand everything about Jesus and His life  and  ministry  and they had the privilege and  luxury  of  seeing  Jesus  "PERSONALLY  AND  FIRST  HAND THEMSELVES!"
       It is often easy to criticize other people when they seem confused or when things are not going well for them, but instead let's look at the "GOOD THINGS" that the disciples were doing and especially what Jesus did for them on the road to Emmaus, which Jesus Christ still does for us today!  The 2 disciples were "SHARING TOGETHER" with each other as they were "walking and talking" together.  They were "OPENING THEIR HEARTS AND MINDS TO EACH OTHER AND TO GOD"  even  though they didn't realize that Jesus  was  physically  walking and talking with them.
       We live in a world and society today where people, even in the Christian family   of faith, SELDOM share their innermost thoughts and concerns with each other.  In times of grief and sorrow, we are  told  not  to show weakness, now to cry, not  to  reveal  our  emotions  and  feelings  and to be strong!  Pride and  fear  of  embarrassment about what people MIGHT think about us and our need  to  keep up our reputation often prevents us from  sharing  our  thoughts  and  sorrows in our life.  And on the other extreme, SELFISHNESS AND TRADITION and knowing how some people like to "EXAGGERATE AND BRAG" prevents us from sharing our joys sincerely and honestly!
       We  have  an  opportunity  today  to  reflect  upon what actually occurred in the lives of the 2 disciples on the road to Emmaus and how that same  type  of experience can and does occur in our lives today as Christians when we "WALK AND TALK WITH GOD"  in  our  everyday  lives!   Sometimes  we  can  be overwhelmed  like  the  disciples   in  our  text  were  with problems, frustrations and tragedies in  our life.  We try to solve them ourselves and not ask for God's help or for the love and support and care of fellow Christians. As a result we often experience more pain and suffering and frustration in our life.  It can be very difficult at times to understand and to believe in God's promises in His Word, the Bible, especially when things aren't working out in our life!
       We hear the facts that Jesus loves us, that He suffered and died on the cross for us so that our sins are forgiven.  We learn that Jesus Christ rose from the dead on that first Easter Sunday to give us hope and joy and the promise of eternal life in heaven and that He cares for us and provides for all of our needs!   Yet there are still times that we doubt God's love and feel far away from God and need some proof of God's love in our life and we want it right now!
       I know that  I  experience  those  feelings  and  try to follow the example of our text to have "WALKS AND TALKS WITH GOD” and  with  other  believers!   One particular time that stands out in my mind occurred just over 22 years ago at the birth of my oldest son Michael in St. Louis, Missouri whose birthday was on April 4.   I  had about 4 months left  in  Seminary as I needed to attend Summer School to finish  my last 3 classes,  had  no  idea  where  we would be living, was frustrated because  there weren't enough calls in the Spring Placement so I was  going to have to wait at least 3 more months until July to hopefully receive a call into the Pastoral Ministry.  I had invested 5 years of my life into the Seminary education and there was a great deal of uncertainty in my life.
       On April 3, 1986, Marcie and I were at St.  John's Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri for her to give birth to Michael and things were not working out as we had planned.   She had been in labor for 10 hours from 6 a.m. and it looked like she was going to need a Caesarean surgery operation so that our baby could be born.  We had only paid for a regular delivery and I had no idea how much a Caesarean operation would cost or how I was going to pay for the operation. At the time, I was working in the Seminary Bookstore for $4.50 for 10 hours a week.
       So what did I do? I took a walk outside the hospital to get some fresh air at about 4:00 in  the  afternoon  and remember feeling like I had failed as a husband  and  as  a father for not adequately providing for my wife and family.  I was upset with God, with myself, with the seminary. I  walked  and talked with God for about 1 hour as Marcie  was  asleep  in the hospital room  thanks to an Epidural and I talked with  God  about  my  frustrations  and  feelings.
       The passage Matthew 7: 7 came to my mind which is, "ASK AND IT WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU, SEEK AND YOU WILL FIND; KNOCK AND THE DOOR WILL BE OPENED UNTO YOU!"   I  told God, "I can't handle this and  I placed  my  entire  situation,  future, frustrations, anxieties and worries  into  God's  hands.   I said, "God, if you decide to bless me with a baby, I'll just take out a loan and start paying it off on a 5 year plan on top of my seminary loans". And I finished my prayer by saying, "GOD, YOUR WILL BE DONE".
       By God's grace He blessed Marcie and I with a healthy son after 18 hours of labor at 12: 53 A.M. on Friday morning April 4, 1986- 8 lbs. 8 oz, 22 inches long, so Michael was a pair of 2’s, a pair of 4’s and a pair of 8’s to help me remember!  I also discovered 2 months later that there was an insurance policy from the seminary that  I  didn't understand  or  know about that covered the cost  of  the  operation  completely because it was an Emergency C-section.  I continue to be humbled and thankful to God for His blessings in my life especially when things seem out of control or overwhelming!
       I share that with you as just one example of many that God is with us each step of the way!  In our anxieties of everyday life, we are reminded in our text that "JESUS IS WITH US EACH STEP OF THE WAY" even when we don't realize it or recognize it!"  As we  walk with Jesus in post‑Easter Days today, we can listen to Him  as He "WALKS AND TALKS" with us personally in His Word, in the Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion and in our worship together!
       Jesus wants us to know Him on a personal basis, like the best friend that He is for us, to talk with Him like we do to our closest and best friend, because our God is a personal God who takes care of our biggest problem of sin as well as all the challenges we face each day of our life.  No problem is too big for God to handle and to resolve according to his good and gracious and perfect will.
       These  walking   and   talking   disciples  soon  became "RUNNING" disciples who  couldn't  wait  to tell others about what Jesus Christ  had  done  for  them.   The frustrated and empty disciples were filled with God's love and were blessed with a peace and joy and confidence which believers alone have as a gift from Jesus Christ!
       Because we are sinners we have peaks and valleys in our spiritual lives.  But the important thing to remember is that we have a LIVING SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST, who always “WALKS” with us in our life of faith.  He also “TALKS” to us in His Word as we share with Him our worries and concerns and answers us according to His perfect will.  WALKING AND TALKING WITH GOD‑ OUR SPECIAL GIFT OF FAITH WE HAVE AS GOD'S PEOPLE HERE ON EARTH EVERY DAY OF OUR LIFE!