Third
Sunday of Easter
I would
like to begin by talking a little bit about Peter. Peter was a
character. I have to believe he was an open book when it came to
his feelings and I am so impressed with this passage that I would
like to repeat that last sentence.
“Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth, so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed. Through the enduring word of God.”
I love
that phrase, “love one another deeply from the heart”
There is so much emotion from that statement. I imagine you all have
had those kinds of feelings of loving someone so deeply that you feel
overwhelmed with emotion. It is a feeling so intense that it
consumes your every thought. You are filled with great joy and
miserable at the same time. There is passion in love.
I
believe that Peter had that kind of passion for those around him as
well as a passion for God. Peter had that same 'burning of the heart'
feeling that the two disciples had as they listened to Jesus on the
road to Emmaus.
The
road to Emmaus. I really like this story. Jesus does not let them
know who he is until they are at supper where he breaks bread after
blessing it. The veil over their eyes is lifted and then poof!
Jesus disappears. There were two things that Jesus did in this
story. He shared with them the word. He told them how his death and
resurrection were a part of what had already been foretold in
scripture from the time of Moses. The second thing was to bless and
break bread with these two disciples.
This
tradition of meditating on the word and breaking bread through the
Eucharist are two thousand year old practices that we practice today
in the church. They are the heart of our service.
Of
course, the odd part of this story is that the disciples didn't
recognize Jesus. My question is, what about us Christians today. Do
we recognize Jesus in our lives? Do we have a veil interfering with
our vision too? Listening to the evening news or reading the Des
Moines Register can convince about anyone that there is not much good
happening in this world. There isn't much good news.
I am
here to tell you there is good news. People do care for one another.
I have a problem with my leg and I see people doing small favors for
me all the time. They open doors for me. They have me sit while
they do some small task. Several weeks ago we had an event for the
volunteers in the Main Street program. I was going through the doors
at Carpenters Hall carrying a container of hot dogs. My leg started
to give on me and I almost fell. Three people rushed over, took the
pan and urged me to sit down. The cynics in the room might say they
were worried about the hot dogs but I think they were worried about
me.
Paul
reminded us that we are the body of Christ. Those people rushing
over to help poor fumbling Fred were practicing their Christianity.
In their own way they were showing love for their neighbor. I
challenge you to look this week at the people in your life and see
Christ working through them. Lift up your veil.
Amen
Blessings and Peace,
Deacon Fred
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