Sometimes I wonder what leads me to do the things that I do. I wonder how we can without thinking be so inhuman, so threatening, so out of control. I wonder if thinking realy changes this? I wonder how our being claimed by God as the children of the Kingdom, co-inheritors with Jesus Christ, and still do the stupid things that we do. Yes we as Lutherans believe we are simutaniouly Sinner and Saint. So we can be claimed and named by God and yet still be sinners, still do stupid things to our brothers and sisters. I struggle with this though. I struggle with my own sinfulness, my own humanness. I struggle with this in trying to understand how I can be called to be a leader of the church if I am so sinful. I struggle with how God could us me.
I know that God uses all of us, even those who may not believe in God. I can not put God in a box and say he can not have effect on anything or anyone. Or that we all are effected through others by God. I am this day struggling with how I can be a called leader and live in my sinfulness.
I struggle with this know that I can do all things through Jesus Christ who gives me strength. Yet I wonder where that strength is at when I act out in my sinfulness. Where is the strenght to live in the glory of God when I lash out in my sinfulness? God never leaves me, so how can I possibly lash out in sinful nature and still be with God? How do I live in this dichotomy, and continue to be able to be a leader in this church?
We are all leaders in the church, we are all gifted, we are all children of the same heavenly father. I am struggling this day with my place in this kingdom, I am stuglling with how his love can still be with me, through the lashing and sinful things I have done.

Open mouth insert foot….

Have you ever done something to someone that is just wrong? And then thought about what you did and felt really bad for it? Well that just happened to me. The family was over at some friends house having dinner, and we started talking about Easter candy. So I asked my fellow class mate what he was doing on Easter, because I was thinking of going to North Carolina on Easter to have the new offspring baptized, and Krista said that is something new, that is not what you said before, and I got all upset and started yelling. Everyone was saying fight fight, and I just kept going. I do not know what came over me, but I just let it fly. And I felt bad right after that. I knew I over reacted, but I did not know where Krista got that from.
Well I told her I was sorry, but I do not know if it did any good. I asked when I had said that we should not baptize on Easter and she said back in North Carolina. I am sure she is right, she usually is, but I for the life of me do not remember saying this, or ever believing this. Easter is the one time to have the children of God baptized, when Christ is resurrected, what a better way to be accepted as a co inheritor with Christ!
So now she is still mad, and she is right to be. I should have asked her first off when I said that and talked about it rather than jumping to conclusions. What is that: Hind sight is 20/20….
Why can’t we do things right the first time? At least there is grace, and I can hope that it will abound from my wife, who is usually always right about my ridiculous life.

I am wondering why it takes a natural disaster for us to rally and do something about the needy in the country, let alone the world. Sure as a church and a country we rallied when the tsunami hit and we sent aid and help to those in need, and now we are faced with about the same thing in our own country, but why does it take people being pushed out of their homes and living in sewage to get us to care about other lives?

Does their need all of a sudden over whelm our needs? Does the fact they do not have a home impact me more than the $500 I had to put out to fix a rental truck? This was money I could have easily spent on something else, but because of an accident I have to fix this truck. It was not a natural disaster, but why should I be moved to do something for those in New Orleans becasue they have lost their homes, and I have lost this money? It should not take a natural disaster to make us care about the rest of human life. It is our ethical responce to care for all life. We have a will to live, and as christians, this should push us to a reverence of all life.

I know we will rally and help those in needs, but we need to do this even in the best of times and bear each others burdens. Wherever 2 or 3 are gathered in the name of Jesus, he is present, and we need to love like Jesus loves.

Romans 8:12-25

Consequently then, Brothers and Sisters, debtors we are, not to the flesh to live according to the flesh For if according to the flesh you are living, you are going to be dieing, but if by the spirit, you are exterminating the works of the body, you will be given life. For as many as are lead by the spirit of God, these are the sons and daughters of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to go back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption when we are crying out, “Abba, father” The spirit itself is testifying to our spirit that we are children of God and since children, also heirs, indeed heirs of God, co inheritors of Christ, if indeed we are suffering with him, in order that we might be glorified with him For I believe that the sufferings of this present time are not equivalent to the glory that will come to be revealed to us For the eager expectation of Creation is eagerly awaiting the revelation of the children of God For creation was subjected to purposelessness, not of its own free will but through the one who subjected it, on account of hope also that creation itself will be set free from the slavery of corruption into the glorious freedom of the children of God For we are knowing that all creation is moaning and suffering together until now and not alone, but we who are having the first fruit of the spirit, we ourselves are groaning in ourselves for the adoption we are expecting, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we are saved, but hope that is seen is not hope, for who is hoping in what is being seen? but since we are hoping in that which we can not see, through waiting patiently we patiently wait

When you turn on the news what do you hear? Murder, breaking and entering, robbery, death. Where is the hope to be found in our society today? Is there any good news to be found? If we live as Paul tells us in the spirit than we have hope in what will come, but how does that play out in our lives?
Let me tell you a few stories. There were a mother and a father that had a 4 year old boy. They were very protective parents and watched their son like a hawk. Well over this past 4th of July weekend, there was a lot of commotion and the father was trying to get some yard work done and was cutting the grass. And the mother was busy inside taking care of things that needed to be done. The boy did what all boys will do and went to play video games. Well the only problem with this is he got into a car that was all shut up. No open windows and he shut the door behind him. The father thought the mother was watching their son, and the mother thought the father was watching their son. And the son was in a car in the hot sun, playing video games, and was over come by the heat and died. Where is the hope in this situation? What do these parents have to cling to? Who is moaning and suffering with them in this time of great lose and suffering. Or how about another family, the parents of another 4 year old boy. This time the father is a doctor and usually does not take their son to the daycare center. But this morning is a different morning and for what ever reason the mother is just not able to take their son to the daycare center. So the father straps their son into the car seat and heads off as usual. Now the boy is just quite, maybe he fell asleep, or maybe he was just not very talkative, or maybe his father was busy talking to the office on his cell phone and the son just did not want to interrupt. For what ever reason though, the father got caught up in his usual daily routine and forgot his son was in the car. Remember it was not usual for him to drop his son off at daycare. The father went to work, and the son sat on the back of the car all day in the hot sun. This has the same tragic ending as the first story. The boy died, and here the father is charged with 2nd degree manslaughter. Where is the hope? Who is moaning with this father and this mother, who is groaning in their pain? And what about yet another couple who are trying to have kids, the time is right, we are ready for kids they say. And they finally get pregnant. But then 10 weeks in disaster strikes, and the baby is lost to a miscarriage. What did they do wrong, was it because they were out on the hot sun on the 4th of July at a picnic? They made sure they drank lots of water… Why did this happen, who is groaning with them? Who is suffering with them? The couple goes on with their quest for children, because the time is still right and they are still saying they are ready to have children. And within 8 months of the last miscarriage, there are issues that need to be checked out by her doctor, and they discover they had another miscarriage. Where is the hope for this couple? Who is moaning and groaning with them, and who is suffering with them? How can these three families live in the hope of the expected liberation of all creation, and not live in the fleshly suffering of their situation. Death, crime, violence it seems is all that permeates our news casts and fills our societies? How can we claim the glorious freedom of the children of God we are entitled to as Paul tells us?
Paul says that we did not receive a spirit of slavery to remain constantly in fear, but we have been adopted as children of God, and if children then heirs to the kingdom, fellow heirs with Christ to the kingdom of his and our father in heaven. We will suffer with him, but we have obtained the inheritance of a life time. And Paul continues to say that the sufferings of this time, the things we experience now, be that pain and suffering, are in now way comparable with the glory that will be revealed to us in the liberation redemption of us in the coming of the kingdom of God. We hope in what we can not see, the heirs to the kingdom, hope in the kingdom that we can not see. If we could see the kingdom, and had already realized our inheritance would we need to hope in it? But even though we can not see it we can rest assured and trust in God to uphold his promises to us. Yet Paul also says that creation is eagerly awaiting the revelation of the children of God, and is moaning and suffering, or is having labor pains. Creation itself is groaning for the coming of the children of God, creation is eagerly awaiting the liberation and redemption of the children of God and for the liberation and redemption for all of creation. The coming of the kingdom, but is creation moaning and groaning alone? No!! We are moaning and groaning and suffering with all of creation, and just why is that? Is it because the suffering is so bad, or this world is so corrupt and has lost all purpose? By no means Paul would say to us. Creation is moaning and groaning for the coming of the kingdom, not because life here is so bad, but because life then will be so good. We moan and groan for the coming of the kingdom of God, because there is no comparison to the kingdom to what we see now. The suffering will be so out done by the glory that will be revealed there is need to moan for the coming of the liberation and redemption of all creation. Yet Paul would say we moan because we have obtained glimpses and portions of the coming glory. We are already in the kingdom of God, yet we are not fully in the kingdom of God. We live in the already but not yet of the coming kingdom of God. The hope we have in the life in the spirit secures for us the salvation promised to us through the death on the tree and resurrection of our savior and brother. We have secured the promise that the spirit testifies to us daily. We our groaning heirs to the kingdom of God. Yet where is the hope all around us, every where we look it seems we see nothing but pain and hurt, suffering and agony. It is the hope we live in that helps us await the full coming of the kingdom. Paul said for I believe that the sufferings of this present time are not equivalent to the glory that will come to be revealed to us. And today I can stand before you as the husband of the woman who had 2 miscarriages within a years time and say that hope exists even in the darkest times of our lives, because the spirit continually reminds us that God is the one we belong to, and we are heirs to his kingdom and can trust in the promises made through Jesus Christ our savior. As Isaiah tells us in chapter 44 I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. Do not fear, or be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? You are my witnesses! Is there any god besides me? There is no other rock; I know not one. As Jesus explains to the disciples in the explanation of the parable of the wheat and the weeds, the angels of God will remove all suffering and causes of evil in the culmination of the kingdom of God. We are living with the weeds, yet we live in the hope that God will not renege on his promises. And we receive the same promise in Psalm 86 that even though the insolent rise up against me and ruffians seek my life, God will give us strength and is faithful in his promises. All creation groans and moans with us in our suffering, and we can hope in the promise the spirit reminds of us, we are heirs to the kingdom of God, children of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus. Groaning heirs live in the hope and the promise that God will call us as Eddie Carswell says, “Arise my love the grave no longer has a hold on you, no more death sting, no more suffering, arise my love.” No more suffering as the glory overcomes everything we know. Groaning heirs, groan for the coming kingdom, and live in the hope the promises will be fulfilled. Amen.

How many of you can tell me where you were on the morning of September 11, 2001? If you were in school, you probably know what building you were in, what class room you were in and what was happening when the announcement came over the speaker. And if you were working, you probably know if you were at the office, in a conference room, or at your desk, out with a client, or maybe on a sales call. I know almost precisely were I was, I was on Southern Pines boulevard, in Charlotte, North Carolina. I was at work, on the phone with a customer working on a computer support issue. Soon after getting off this call, I called my wife and told her to turn on the TV, as I knew she was at home and would not have the TV on with Charis there. These events brought chaos into our lives. These events caused and still cause chaos to be all around us. And in this congregation where one of the planes went down really close, the chaos is ever present. This event effected me, as I was suppose to be going on a three day spiritual retreat which started on Thursday the 13th. We waited for most of the day after the attacks to see if the retreat would be canceled, as the leaders of the retreat spoke with the leaders of the Western North Carolina Via De Cristo movement. The decision was to move forward with the weekend, because if we were to cancel the weekend, that would be just what those who did the attacks would want us to do. On this weekend where we remove ourselves from the chaos of the world into a perfect peaceful time with God, I was to give a talk on what it means to be a friend and to bring a friend to Christ. This retreat was a wonderful time in God’s perfect created order. And away from the chaos of the world, in the ordered space with God, my life got a little more chaotic. You see it was on this weekend that I finally discovered that this is where I am supposed to be. Be that because the three spiritual leaders on the retreat were all second career pastors, or because away from the chaos of the world I could hear God more clearly. What ever the reason, in the perfect ordered peace of God’s creation, my world got a little more chaotic. So I came home from the retreat, and told Krista I think I, I think we need to go to seminary. She thought ok, in a few years we can go and that would be great, Charis is only 5 months old, and it will be better when she is a few years older. And I said no, we need to go in the fall. So we started planning for this. I began the candidacy process in North Carolina, where I was accepted as a candidate. I applied to the seminary and was accepted. We started to put our house on the market. And then my wife comes to my office, carrying a pink and blue balloon, announcing the coming of our second child. In the midst’s of preparing of preparing to go to seminary, trying to sell our house, do everything that needs to be done for candidacy, our lives got a little bit more chaotic, by the coming of our second child. A joyous occasion, which added to the stress of my and my family’s daily lives.
How do we live in the chaos of this world? Well we can see it is not all chaos. If we look at the snippet we got from Genesis this morning, from the creation story we can see the perfect ordered perfection that God has set into motion. In this creation God speaks it into existence, and then sees it, puts it in place and says that it is good and moves on to the next item that needs to be done. Perfect ordered perfection. God creates it and it is good. And it is in its place. If we read a little further into Genesis, we can see where chaos enters the world. We see where man and woman ate from the tree that God told them not to eat from. Sin enters the world and chaos over takes us. But in this chaotic world filled with sin is the perfect ordered creation of God destroyed? No, it still exists as an under girding for all of us. We were a part of that creation, and it was created for us, so even in the sinful chaos of this world, we still have the perfect ordered creation of God.
So as internship draws to an end, and we go back to seminary for another year of school, and then we wonder where in the world will first call be… We live in the chaos, and it seems to be all that is around us. Maybe the best thing would be to remove your self from the world. To go to that mountain top and live in the perfect ordered creation of God. Completely take yourself out of the chaos. But remember what happened to me earlier when I went to that perfect ordered creation of God, removed from the chaos. My life got more chaotic. We also see in the gospel reading for today, that Jesus tells the disciples to go. They can not be on the mountain top, only in the perfect ordered creation of God. The must go into all the world, making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them everything that I have commanded you. Yet even in the perfect ordered creation of God with Jesus on this mountain top, there is chaos. In the beginning of the reading, it says the disciples worshiped Jesus, but some doubted. The disciples doubted, chaos was there, and affected them. Even in the chaos we are told to go. We are to go out into the world and be the hands and feet of God. We are to go out and continue the mission of Jesus, the mission of God. But the one thing I think we forget when we look at the great commission is the final sentence. We always remember to go and make disciples, baptizing, and teaching all nations. The last sentence is I am with you always even until the end of the age. But even that really is not the whole last sentence. It is really and Remember I am with you always even until the end of the age. Jesus is telling the disciples and us, that in the chaos of the world, when it seems I am far from you, I am with, just remember. Remember I am with you always. In those moments where the dark world is closing in and chaos is over taking us, and you can not see me, I am with always. Paul told the same thing to the Corinthians, the God of Peace and love will be with you. Just remember.
As we go out into the chaos of the world and we come to those moments of decisions there are 2 things we can think about. One is the Robert Frost poem, Two roads diverged in the yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both and be one traveler so long I stood and stood I long and standing still for longer still, looking down one path as far as I could and it looked fair, and looking down the other path and it looks just as good. But the one thing I think Robert Frost forgot is there is actually three choices here, because there is the one to the right and the one to the left, but there is also the path behind you. But the other thing we need to remember is no matter which path we take, that Jesus is with us. As we go out into the world, living in the perfect ordered creation of God, we will be in the chaos of life and sin, but we must go and make disciples, and continue the mission of God, and know that we are not going out alone. As Paul said, the God of Peace and Love will be with you. And Jesus told us, Remember, I am always with you. Go into the chaos and remember. Remember. Amen.

Have you ever wanted something really bad? Have you ever wanted something so much that you did not think you could live without it? Have you ever wanted something but not had the resources to get it? Or how about at Christmas or your birthday, have you made a list and checked about a billion times to make sure that everything you want is on there, and then you would go to everyone you know, and maybe a few people you did not know, to tell them your birthday was coming and here is a lit of items that they could get for you. These are the things you just can not live without. The things you have to have, and of course we are not let down when the gifts finally come in. We are built up with expectation and know that we will get just what we asked for, right?
Life is a gift. It is not always the gift we wanted, or the gift we expected. We might have asked for a really cool pair of jeans, oversized, low riders, with flames on the pockets, and everything that would make us be cool, and be a part of the in crowd. But instead we get a pair of sensible Khakis. Life is like this. Our time in this world is full of things we wish would never happen, with times we wish we did not have to go through, and things that happen out of no where. Life has a way of throwing us curve balls, and be what we did not expect, but still life is a gift. And all of life is not bad, there are a lot of times we get exactly what we want, and we can know that we are loved even in the bad times.
In our Gospel lesson for today, Jesus gives us 3 gifts. The first gift Jesus gives us is eternal life. In verse 3 Jesus says and this is eternal life that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. Eternal life is knowing God and Jesus. What does it mean to know God, and Jesus? We can read the bible, and know about God and Jesus, and the Holy Spirit can help us know God, but what does it mean to “know”? The word for know in Hebrew and also in Greek, has a connotation of intimacy. There is an intimate relationship here. So how do we know God? We know God like we know pain. Most of us can speak about physical pain from an intimate standpoint. We know what pain is, not because we have read about it, we know what pain is, because we have experienced it. Be that from surgery, or breaking a bone, scraping a knee, slamming a finger in a door, these are things we have experienced. This is a knowledge that is not intellectual, but it is personal. We have had a relationship with pain. We know pain, and we can know God, through a personal relationship, and this is eternal life, which is given to us, by God, through Jesus, as it says in verse 2 since you have given the son authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. The second gift that Jesus gives us is the word. Jesus is able to give us the word, because the father has given the word to him. Everything that Jesus gives to us is first given to him from the father. Everything is given to Jesus, specifically in our passage: people, authority, the work, everything, the word, and God’s name. It is by his receiving these things he is able to pass them along to us. He is in a way the middle man, and this is one middle man you do not want to go around. He allows the grace and love of God to be showered over us, he is the restorer of the relationship that is broken by sin, and allows us to “know” God, and be known by God. Jesus is the one who brings us into relationship with the father, through is brokerage of the gifts given to him to give to those whom are given to him. Jesus emulates his relationship with the father, who gives everything to him, by being the giving agent for the community of faith. He even asks for us to be one with the father, as Jesus and the father are one. There is one interesting phrase in all of this discussion of the gift of the word. It actually comes up four times in our gospel lesson in various ways. To all whom you have given him. Jesus is able to give the gift of eternal life and the word to those whom God has given him. We are a gift to Jesus. We are the gift given to him by the father. Our lives are a treasure that has been given to Jesus, so that his work and mission which is the fathers might be continued, through us, the agents of Jesus who has given us what has been given to him, so that we might continue to give it to others. If we can equate this with something all of us will know about, choosing teams. God has chosen us to be on Jesus’ team. God puts us on Jesus’ team. God must think that we are valuable assets for Jesus’ team. However we must be one, as Jesus and the father are one, so there is no one of greater value than anyone else, and the other team is really hurting, because it seems there maybe no one on it. So we are a gift to Jesus, and can see that all things come from God, through Jesus, just as our faith is a gift, based in the faithfulness of Christ to go to the cross, and give us eternal life, and the gift of the intimate knowledge of God in the relationship he secured for us there. God gives us to Jesus, because we were God’s and he can give us to Jesus, and in turn Jesus gives us the gifts of eternal life and the word, which are only two of the three gifts I said Jesus gives us.
The gifts of eternal life and the word are mentioned in our text, but the third gift, is one that our text is. This gospel reading is part of what is called the high priestly prayer of Jesus. In this prayer he prays for himself, his disciples, and for all those who are yet to believe. In our reading for today we see Jesus praying for himself, and the beginning or the section on the disciples. The disciples in this section are all those who believe, including you and I. This can be argued of course that it is only the 12 whom Jesus picked, but that is not what is important here, because you see the third gift Jesus gives us, is the fact that he prayed for us. He prayed for you and for me. He went before the father and brought up your name. The power of pray is a wonderful gift. Jesus prayed for us. This means, first of all, that we are all in need of prayer. We can’t do it by ourselves. Secondly, we are guaranteed help from God. How could God refuse the Son’s requests? However, we may not always want God’s help that Jesus has asked for. We may want to be part of the world, rather than hated by the world. We may not want to be sent into the world where God would have us go. We may not want the unity that becomes our witness to the world. Do we want Jesus praying for us? If so, we need to listen carefully to what he has requested from God. We need to prepare ourselves for God to answer. Prayer will get us an answer maybe not one we want, just like the gift of life. I remember a time when Krista and I prayed for something near and dear to our hearts. We had wanted this for sometime, and it was just not working out on our own. Then one night she asked me if I had ever prayed for this gift to be given, and I had not, and neither had she. So that night we prayed, and grace was given. It may not always be the gift we thought we were asking for, but God’s grace is shining on all of us, in the wonderful gifts of eternal life, the word of God, and Jesus intercession or prayer for us all.
χάρις is given. Accept this gift of grace with the abundant joy with which it is given, be constantly devoting yourselves to prayer, and know that the God of all grace, who has summoned you to his eternal glory in Jesus Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you, as you are his witness to each other and to all the world. χάρις is given. So let your light so shine, that others will see God, and be touched by his grace.
Amen.

Luke 24:13-35
Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.” Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Will the real Jesus please stand up? How many of you remember the game show To Tell the Truth? On this show three people would stand up and say they were somebody, for instance three people would stand up and say I am George Pisanick. And then a panel of contestants would ask questions of the three George Pisanicks, until they would then venture a guess as to which one was the real George Pisanick. Then the host would say will the real George Pisanick please stand up…
Now this text reminded me of this game show. Now there are only three main characters in this story, but all I could think as I was reading this was will the real Jesus please stand up…
As we look closer at our story we see three sections, one on the road to Emmaus, another at the table with the stranger, and then a quick return trip to Jerusalem. Let us look at each of these a little closer. Cleopas and the other disciple, meaning these were men who had been following Jesus, were walking to Emmaus from Jerusalem. They were probably sad, filled with hopelessness at the loss of Jesus and wondering what had happened. And as they walked a stranger joined them on the road. A stranger who was Jesus. But they did not recognize him. Why did they not recognize him? They word here for kept is passive in the Greek, meaning something or someone kept them from seeing who Jesus was. That could mean that it was their understanding of who Jesus was or is that was getting in the way of them seeing him, or could it be that God was keeping them from seeing who Jesus was so he would have a chance to explain the scriptures to them? Or could it possibly be a little of both, because our understandings are not what God has in mind, so the things that God does do not make sense to us, and so we do not think that it could be God… Have we ever let our own image of who Jesus is get in the way of us seeing Jesus? Have we ever thought that something God was doing could not be God, because it absolutely made no sense? Will the real Jesus please stand up?
So Cleopas asks the stranger if he is the only one who does not know what has Just happened in Jerusalem? And Jesus asks what things, and Cleopas gives Jesus the Readers Digest condensed version of the Gospels. He speaks of a great prophet in deed and word, how the ministry of this man led him before the high priests and the leaders who handed him over to death by crucifixion. He was the hoped for Messiah the one to restore Israel, and now it has been three days, and the women reported he is not in the tomb, and some other disciples reported the same that the tomb was empty, but no one has seen him. The one thing missing from this version is the experience of the risen Christ. There is still no hope in these men’s voices, or in their walk. They have understood who Jesus was from what they have seen, their perception of Jesus was one of what they wanted or expected, not of what he really was. They are able to witness or evangelize on the life of Jesus, but not on the true life of Jesus, the one that continues in them and all who are disciples, they can tell the story, but they do not understand the story, or who Jesus is. The resurrection that should have restored their hope and produced greater faith seemed to have no effect on them. Will the real Jesus please stand up? Jesus then takes over and says they are foolish and slow to believe, and then explains that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and enter into his glory, through his explanation of how the Old Testament pertained to him. He interpreted the word of God to them, so they might understand who he was and is, and how he has changed their lives. But even after his explanation of the scriptures they still do not know who he is… Will the real Jesus please stand up?
As they were preparing to stop for the evening, Jesus was going on ahead, and they asked him to stay, because it is late. They all sat down at the table, because 7 miles is a long walk, so they needed to refresh their bodies with rest and drink, and something to eat. Jesus the guest, took the bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to his hosts. Then their eyes were opened and they knew who he was. Now were these two men at the other events in Luke where bread was broken and set before the people? They might have been and seeing Jesus break the bread might have been enough to jar them out of the hopeless depression they could have been in to recognize him. And then again they might not have been at these other two events, and were merely affected by the power of the sacramental meal to have their eyes opened. Either way this text tells of the power in the sacramental meal. As the bread was broken, they recognized Jesus and understood the story they had heard, the burning of the scripture in their hearts as Jesus unfolded the story for them. Jesus had fellowship with them through the sharing of a meal. The way in which you showed a bond with people in the first century, you ate with them. A meal at which Jesus was a guest, and yet the host. Even here when we celebrate communion, Jesus is the host, it is Jesus table, and the fellowship we have with him that is revealed to us in the true presence of our Lord as he comes to us in the Holy Eucharist. Cleopas and the other disciple did not have a clear understanding of who Jesus was, or the story they were expounding until the meal, the powerful meal that brings us closer to God. Will the real Jesus please stand up?
And then they run back to Jerusalem, the 7 mile trip that probably took them quite a while the first time, was a lot shorter with their new found happy feet. They ran to Jerusalem to tell who about Jesus appearance? The other disciples, but before they could tell about Jesus appearing to them, they first had to listen to the account of the appearing to Peter, and then they could tell their story. We need to know when to speak, and when to listen. They can tell the others what happened, but they could not bring Jesus with them, and they could not make Jesus appear before the disciples. Jesus reveals himself to us through many different means, but he only reveals to those who are ready to receive. He revealed himself to his disciples, not in the synagogues to scare people into believing, but to those who could see him, and would be strengthen by his appearance, but also remember from last week, that blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. We have ways of seeing him with out seeing him. The Luke text gives us two, the word, and the sacramental meal. We can see Jesus through the reading of the scripture; the Bible reveals Jesus and God to us in new and exciting ways. And the Eucharist is the real presence of Jesus to us, he is in with and under the elements of Bread and Wine, and he comes to us and reveals himself to us as he hosts us at this time of fellowship where we are renewed in our baptism. Baptism is another way in which God is revealed to us, as Paul says in our Acts reading for today “Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” This is another way God is revealed to us, the Holy Spirit. We are constantly with Jesus and walk with him through this world. The hopelessness of the crucifixion was destroyed in the resurrection, hope was restored and our lives redeemed to a fellowship with God. 1 Peter says “Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.” Will the real Jesus stand up? If we live our lives in the glory of the resurrection and allow Jesus to reveal himself to us, and we do as the mission statement says, to reveal Jesus Christ to each other and all the world, then living in the faith and hope that is set in God through the death of Jesus on the cross and his resurrection from the dead, we can all stand up when the call is given for the real Jesus. Live in your baptism, and the revelation of Jesus in the scripture, and his true and real presence in the Eucharist. Will the real Jesus Please stand up!!! Amen.

John 19:38-42
And after these things Joseph of Arimethia, who is a disciple of Jesus secretly because of the fear of the Jews, requested Pilate that he might take the body of Jesus, and Pilate permitted. Therefore he came and took his body. And Nicodemus came also, the one who came to him first by night, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes something like one hundred pounds then they took Jesus’ body and wrapped him in linen pieces with spices, according to the custom of Jewish burial. And there was in the place where he was crucified a garden, and in the garden a tomb in which no one had yet been placed therefore because it was the Jewish Preparation, since the tomb was near, they placed Jesus there.

This has been a very interesting series for the Lenten lunches. We have journeyed with Jesus from Gethsemane, to the denial of Peter, to Jesus before Pilate, with Simon of Cyrene, who probably had other things to do, to Jesus’ Crucifixion, and his death. Today, the day our savior died is the day we see him laid in the tomb. This is a dark day. As we celebrate Good Friday, many of us will use the color black, which brings a connotation of death, and will have bare alters and worships spaces where usually there would be ornaitment, flowers, and liturgical paraphernalia. We see this as a day devoid of hope. How can we hope when we have lost our leader, the messiah has died, is this what was suppose to happen.
Really think about how the disciples must have felt. They have given up three years of their life to follow Jesus. They left everything, their jobs, their families, their villages, their lives behind to follow Jesus and learn from him. Now their teacher has been crucified for high treason against the Roman’s. There is no hope. They can no longer continue the path they have followed for the past three years, at least in their minds they can’t, and they can not go back home. Can you image the ridicule they would receive from family members and neighbors? Their lives might as well be over too. There is no hope. Jesus is dead, where do we go, and what can we do.
Can we empathize with the disciples? Have there ever been situations in our lives that have left us feeling totally helpless, like there is no chance of life continuing? This is the end of it, there is no hope after this. I can think of a few situations. Have you ever not been able to have a child, it was medically proven that fertility was not there, there was not going to be any children born from this couple. Then a miracle of miracles happens, and the couple becomes pregnant. After a couple of months though there are complications, and the baby is no longer living. There has to be a DNC. The miracle has ended in no hope, the child that was to be will never be. What if you awake in the morning to go to the crib to get your 6 month old daughter? There is no movement and when you look in closer you see there is no more life in your daughter. No hope. How do you go on from this? Or what if there is a phone call late at night to your house. It is the State Police, there was an automobile accident and your 16 year old son has been killed. Where is the hope, where is the love that usually rains down on us? What if you are going into see your doctor because of the second miscarriage in less than a year, and there is nothing medically wrong to be causing these miscarriages. Where is the family you so long for, and how can you possibly continue in life in the face of hopelessness? Where do we turn when our savior is behind the rock, and wrapped in the linens of one who is dead? How can the messiah help us now?
Well we can see the hope even in this hopeless time in our text. Joseph of Arimathea was a secret disciple of Jesus. He was one of the ones possibly listed in John 12 Nevertheless many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. He could have been someone who followed the teaching of Jesus for some time and secretly held it to be truth, without wanting to jeopardize his place in the synagogue. But at the death of Jesus, Joseph lays it on the line. In the hopelessness of Jesus’ death he comes forward to request the body of Jesus be removed from the cross and allowed to be buried. Usually the Roman’s would leave the bodies on the cross for the vultures and other birds of prey, and as an example for those who would walk by to not push their luck, and stay within the bounds of the laws of the Romans. But Joseph puts everything on the line to make sure Jesus’ body is given the respect it deserves as a teacher of the truth, as the one who claimed to be the messiah. And there is another named in our text, which mixes darkness and light, hopelessness, and the bountiful hope. Nicodemus. Nicodemus is the Pharisee who first comes to Jesus under the cover of darkness in John chapter 3. We all know the story, of how Nicodemus questioned Jesus on how a person can be born again, how can some one go back into their mother’s womb? Nicodemus just did not get it then, but over time probably came to be one of those listed in John chapter 12 as the secret disciples of Jesus. We see in John 7:45-52 where the Jewish leaders and Pharisees want to arrest him, and Nicodemus stands up for Jesus. Albeit a lukewarm stand up, he is making a statement for Jesus. And here in our text, he is coming out with Joseph, shedding the shroud which they follow Jesus under. They are opening the door and walking into the light. Now in what seems like the darkest part of Jesus existence, Nicodemus steps into the light to prepare Jesus’ body for death. The darkness has been over come by the light and the fear of the Jews no longer has any effect on Nicodemus or Joseph. They are the hope in this hopeless time. They are the believers that are not in our radar screen, the ones who come to our aid when things happen in our lives and it seems like the world is shutting in on us. They are the ones who bring the hope, and love of the one who seems like he is far from us in those dark hopeless corners of our lives. They are living the love that Jesus portrayed to all who followed and listened, to all who happened on him, to all who were rejected by all others. Even in the darkest point of Jesus existence, when the 11 disciples are no where to be found, there are disciples, and there is the love, faith and hope that comes from our savior. And as Paul tells the Thessalonians so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope, there is still hope. Even in the darkest time of Jesus existence, there is hope. The light comes through the disciples who came out of hiding, to proclaim their belief in the teachings of this man, who is the messiah and the savior of the world. So they laid Jesus in the tomb, and the message of his faith, hope and love continued in the faces of the unknown disciples, those hidden from the public before, but those who now lay claim to Faith, Hope, and Love abiding, the same faith hope and love given to us by our savior, so come out of the darkness and claim the hope that is there, and will never leave. Amen

John 13:1-17
And before the celebration of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to return from this world to the father. Having loved his own, the ones who are in the world into the end he loved them and having become dinner, the devil now had thrown into the heart of Judas Simon Iscariot that he should hand over him because he knew the father had given him all things into his hands and that from God he came and to God he is going He got up from dinner and took off his robes and he took a towel and tied it around his waist next pouring water into the basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples and to wipe them with the towel which was tied around his waist coming therefore to Simon Peter, he said to him, “Lord, you my feet are washing?” Answering Jesus also said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand at the present time, but you will come to understand with this.” Peter is saying to him, “No never can you wash my feet in this lifetime!” Answering Jesus said to him, “Unless I wash you, you are having no part of me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet alone, but the hands and the head.” Jesus said to him, “The one who has washed does not have need except for the feet to wash, but is wholly clean, and you are clean, but not all of you.” For he had known the one who would hand him over, on account of this one he said that not all of you are clean. Then when he washed their feet and took up his robes and reclining again he said to them, “Do you know what I had done to you? You are calling me Teacher and Lord and you are saying correctly, for I am. Therefore if I, Teacher and Lord, washed your feet, also you ought to wash one another’s feet For I gave an example to you so that as I did to you, you should do. Truly, Truly I say to you, a slave is not greater then his lord neither is the one sent greater than the one who sent him. If you had known these things, blessed are you if you do them.”

A picture is worth a thousand words. On my desk are pictures of me and my girls. They speak of love, companionship, friendship, fun, and many other things. I can look at them and remember the story that goes with them. And here in our sanctuary we have pictures. These beautiful stain glass windows each have a picture, a story to tell. There is the star, and the birth, the questioning in the temple as a child, the triumphal entry. Jesus knocking on the door to seek entry be that the door to your heart, or some other door. We can see these pictures and remember the stories that go with them, and probably memories of others telling us the stories, and how that effected our live. Pictures are every where and we look at them and think we know the story. We think we understand things by seeing them, just as the disciples did.
We also carry mental images with us. I have images of the Charis, Carina and Krista I carry with me, in my heart and mind. We all have them, the picture of a boyfriend or girlfriend, spouse or children. It is a comfort for us to be able to see them when we are away from them.
We also have the mental images from our texts today. Exodus gives us the image of blood over the door way, a way of saying, God pass us over. We are a part of you. We have the image from Corinthians where Paul gives to us what he received. When you heard those words spoken did you see the bread being lifted, and the cup being lifted and given to you, by Christ himself. Images are very powerful and in our fast paced world we are bombarded by images, both pictures in billboards and advertisements, and the mental images that come from smells, and sounds, and other triggers.
We see the image you have to have the best of everything to have made it, to be some body. Many of us are watching the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Soon the winner will be crowned and all of the other teams will be forgotten, because they are not the best, they are the losers, and not what is to be strived for. We live in a society where you need to be an overachiever, some one who climbs the ladder of success quickly and gets that nice corner office with the nice view. We see status as something to be obtained and maintained at all times and all cost, we can not let ourselves demean ourselves to let our status fall once we have achieved it.
This is not the image we get from Jesus in our Gospel text for this evening. We see the master and teacher, humbling himself and taking on a role that he should not be doing. Foot washing was an act of hospitality performed in the ancient Near East when a guest entered a house. In the home of wealthy Jews, a slave would loosen the sandal straps of those who entered and wash their feet. Today, Maundy Thursday the day before Jesus’ crucifixion is observed, we read about foot washing in John 13. John does not record Jesus’ last supper. At the place where the supper occurs in the other Gospels, John offers this story with its commandment to love others as Christ has loved us, a humility and love demonstrated through foot washing. The Latin word for “commandment” is mandatum, which became “maundy” in latter-day English. Jesus gave the disciples a new commandment, to love one another as I have loved you. He took the world view they had and turned it upside down. He as their master and teacher, their lord, took upon himself the role of servant, and washed their feet. This is also counter cultural for us. Rick Warren in the purpose driven life says “We serve God by serving others. The world defines greatness in terms of power, possessions, prestige, and position. If you can demand service from others, you’ve arrived. In our self-serving culture with its me-first mentality, acting like a servant is not a popular concept.” But it is not only acting like a servant, but we have to look at the other side of the equation in foot washing. Not only did Jesus have to bend his knee and take the water and move to wash the feet, but the disciples had to be willing to be served. Foot washing is an unfamiliar intimacy. Being served by God through others is an unfamiliar intimacy. We have to open up selves up to show our vulnerabilities, show that part of us we only let those closest to us see. Who wants to let the pastor or anyone else touch these barges of human flesh? It’s an unfamiliar intimacy. And that is precisely the point. When Jesus washed his disciples’ feet, Peter refused this gift. Peter, like us, didn’t want to be served in this way. Nor did he want to change places with Jesus. Peter wanted Jesus to be the focus of his uninvolved adoration. He didn’t want Jesus to enter his world as a humble servant. For Jesus, however, this entry is at the heart of fellowship: “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me” (John 13:8). No foot washing, no communion. We can not be part of him if we can not let him serve us. We have to be open and let our vulnerabilities show and not have the attitude that I can do it on my own, a real man does not ask for help. We can not let the image of ourselves be degraded to let someone serve us. We need to embrace the unfamiliar intimacy. It is not about power or prestige or possession, or position. It does not matter if you are a winner or a loser, we are all children of God, and we are given a Maundy, a commandment that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.
Love one another, who is this? Does Jesus just mean we are to love the ones in our group, those present that night, those in this congregation? Or does me mean everyone? Let us look at who was present during the foot washing. The disciples were present, and this is pretty vague, does this mean just the 12, or others as well. The only thing we know for certain is Peter was there, and Judas. Judas does not leave until verse 30. Jesus served the one that was going to hand him over to be crucified… Does this mean we are also to serve those who may do us wrong? In Luke Jesus says “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return;” We are to love everyone, the least, the little, the lost, the ones that no one else will love. It’s easy to see how the church is to act in the world when you contemplate washing feet. It’s risky. It’s messy. You feel inept and silly. You have to roll up your sleeves and go to work. You have to kneel to perform the act. You get wet and so does the floor. You touch people in ways you would not touch them outside of washing their feet. This humble gesture of foot washing points us to the path of service, compassion and love. All of this silliness and risky ness are at the bottom of Christian action in the world. For precisely this reason, the image of Jesus washing our feet, serving us in the unfamiliar intimacy may be just what we need to jar us out of complacency and conformity into the risky ness of serving Christ. Foot washing is more than a gesture. It is a model for living the Christian way. One which we can only do through the strength and guidance we get from the table, as we come and receive our lord through the bread and the wine, let us improve our serve, and see him in everyone we meet, and let them know we are Christians through our love. Embrace the unfamiliar intimacy.
Amen.

Matthew 21:1-9
And when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Beth’phage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find an ass tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If any one says anything to you, you shall say, The Lord has need of them,’ and he will send them immediately.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of an ass.” The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the ass and the colt, and put their garments on them, and he sat thereon. Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest! Today is the start of Holy Week. The time we celebrate the last supper, the washing of feet, the crucifixion, and resurrection of our lord and savior. And today is Palm Sunday. We all have our palm branches, and are shouting hosanna to the Son of David! Hosanna in the highest! Why are we doing this?
In our text today there is no mention of Palm branches. Matthew says they cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road, it does not say they were palm branches. Only John mentions branches of Palms. Mark talks about leaves from the field, and Luke does not even mention branches or leaves at all. Why do we wave the palms? What is the need for doing this, what do we need?
Well this was a sign of who Jesus really was. The fact the crowd was waving, or throwing down palms had a meaning to those present that day, just as the colt and ass had an image. First of all most people would have just walked into Jerusalem, and some may have thought it interesting that Jesus rode into the city. Others might have known the prophesy from Zechariah 9:9 that the messiah would ride into the city on an ass and her colt. Jesus humbled himself to ride into the city on the ass, but we also need to know the rest of the prophecy from Zechariah. The essential themes of Zechariah 9 are defeat and destruction for foreign nations and the return and restoration for Israel. Those who would have known this text would have seen in Jesus the coming warrior that would bring about God’s wrath on the foreigners in their city. Jesus would be the true messianic fulfillment of the freeing of the nation of Israel from the bondage of the Romans. They needed a hero, a great king to lead them into battle. This leads us to the need for the palms. The use of palms in Maccabees was related to military victories. Were those in the crowd expecting Jesus to lead them to a great military victory? Did they see his entry as the fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah and he would lead them to the restoration of Israel and the vacating of their land by the foreigners? Is that why they were shouting Hosanna? We use the word hosanna today in our worship service, but do we know what it means? Hosanna comes from the Hebrew words yasha which means save and na meaning request. Combined they make yashana which is O, save! It is a request for salvation. Did those shouting it as Jesus triumphantly entered the city know what they were saying? They were crying for Jesus to save them from the Romans, fulfill Zechariah, and rid our land of the foreigners in our midst. We need a king, we need a savior, we need a warrior to lead us into battle, save us messiah and rid our land of these people.
So today we reenact the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and wave our palms, for the military victory, and shout Hosanna to the Son of David! Save us o son of David! Just what is it we need? A superman for a savior, one who never dies, would not think of doing something as silly as allowing himself to be handed over to be killed… What do we need? What do you need?
To look at this from a different angle and to lead us into Holy Week, what does Jesus need? There is only one thing in all of the writings of the New Testament that Jesus needs, and we see that today in our text. Then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find an ass tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If any one says anything to you, you shall say, The Lord has need of them,’ and he will send them immediately.” The only thing in all of the worlds of heaven and earth that Jesus ever says he needs is an ass and a colt. He needed to fulfill the prophecies spoken about the messiah, and fulfill the plan of the Father. Remove this cup from me if possible, yet not my will but yours be done. I need an ass to ride into Jerusalem. What do you need?
What is Palm Sunday all about? The triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, yes that is what it is about… Is it about green palms, being waved as in the need of a military victory? I do not think so. The image today is the palm, but not in the sense of green vegetation. The palm and the whole hand figure prominently in this upcoming holy week. Today palms are used to obtain the ass and colt for Jesus to ride on. The disciples use their hands to place their garments over the ass and colt for Jesus to ride on. On Thursday palms are used to wash the feet of the disciples. Even when the disciples question his washing their feet, still Jesus bows in servant hood, and shows the disciples a way of life for those who want to have a part of him. There is the palm of the hand that blesses, breaks, and distributes the bread and offers the cup of the new covenant. At the table prepared by our savior with loving hands we receive strength and direction for our discipleship walk. The palms of prayer, pressed firmly together in Gethsemane. Jesus follows the will of the father, even when he may not want to go where it leads him. It is his will, the perfect one that needs to be done, not ours. On Friday we see the hands that are nail scared as Jesus is crucified. We see in Simon of Cyrene the need to take up our cross and follow him, the fact we may suffer for our faith. Palms are not green, and may lead us to do things we are not truly willing to do. If we can truly say Hosanna to the son of David, Jesus save us, we need to be ready to use our hands and bodies in service to him.
We see in Philippians that Christ emptied himself, and was obedient to a death even a death on the cross. So should we empty ourselves, and look at what we truly need. Jesus gave up the charge of his life, and maybe this is what we need. If we can empty ourselves of any notion we are in charge, and notion we can have an equal footing with God, and offer ourselves wholly to him and his service, then maybe we will see what we need in a king, a warrior to lead us to our salvation is something we have already been given in his triumphal entry. Hosanna to the Son of David.
What do you need?
Amen