3rd Sunday in Easter

May the Words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be always
acceptable in your sight, oh Lord our strength and our redeemer.

Good morning!
And happy Easter!
(It IS still easter.)

And keeping that in mind:
Imagine: Two friends of Jesus walking down a road.
They can’t believe what just happened.
That Jesus has died.
And that some people think he is now alive.

They can’t believe any of it.
A stranger joins them,
And they welcome him: Just like Jesus taught them.

They’re confused.
Wondering what really happened.
They have heard the stories--
That Jesus has been resurrected.
But they haven’t seen with their own eyes yet.

One of the friends--
Hopes.
Hopes that the rumors of new life and resurrection are true.
Wants to shout an alleluia, but is hesitant.

The other--
Doubts.
Doubts deeply.
Too troubled that Jesus has died.
After all--
The messiah was not supposed to die.
The messiah was supposed to be the reigning king.
Cloaked with jewels.
Undefeatable in his power.

The hopeful friend says,
“What if?”

The doubtful friend says,
“HOW COULD HE HAVE DIED?”

The stranger listens.
And then offers some pretty bizarre words.

The confused friends,
And more confusing stranger,
Stop in a village.

The friends have reached their destination.
And they invite the stranger into their home.
To eat and to rest.
Just as Jesus taught them.

Sitting at the table,
The stranger picks up the bread.
Blesses it.
Breaks it apart.
Hands it to the two friends.

And suddenly they know.
It’s Jesus.

Fear--
Anger--
Anguish--
Exhaustion--
All of it evaporates.

Because here is Jesus.
Right before their eyes.
Just like they were told.

And as soon as they realize it--
Jesus is gone.
Vanished--
Evaporated--
Disappeared.

And the friends are astonished.

How could they not have known?

Throughout the whole day?
They were talking about him.
And he was with them the whole time.

Yet they didn’t know until they sat down to eat together.
To eat.
To be fed.
To be nourished in order to sustain their lives.

Jesus feeding them--
Sustaining their lives--
Allows them to see.
Allows them to know.
Allows them to rejoice.

This is my favorite story in the Bible.
And I could talk about it all day--
Because there are so many things I love about it.

And my husband Chris and I chose this reading for our Wedding Ceremony.
That seems weird right?
We didn’t read “love is patient, love is kind.”
Although that’s a good one.

We didn’t ready anything with the word “Love” in it.

But this story--
This story IS love.

Love in its deepest form.
Love in all of its complexity.

Because the fact of the matter is--
Even when we love deeply--
We sometimes miss the risen Christ right in front of us--
In the people we love.

It’s the reality.
We “Say” That we look for Christ in everybody.
But sometimes it’s hard.
And sometimes it’s even harder with the people where closest to.
Because we’re just “too close”

We deeply love our children--
But sometimes…..
Sometimes…
Our anguish gets the best of us.

And we forget that Christ is right there--
In the beloved child of God clinging to an iphone:
Or throwing a tantrum.

We deeply love our spouses--
But sometimes…
Sometimes…
A sentence that hurts--
Or an annoying habit

Get’s the best of us.

And we forget that Christ is right there.
In the beloved child of God who didn’t deposit the check in the bank.

This story is powerful,
Because it reminds us that the risen Christ is indeed risen and alive.
The risen Christ is among us, within us.
Even when we can’t see Him.

And a lot of times: Our human condition gets in the way. And we just can’t see it.
Even two of Jesus’ best friends miss it.

Until--
Until they’re fed.

And that’s why the Eucharist--
The celebration of communion is so important.

Because when we get caught up in everything that life throws at us,
It’s sometimes hard to see.

But every week.
We have the opportunity to gather together.
To break bread.
To pause.
And to remember that the risen Christ is truly here.
Truly within each of us--
In our spouses,
In our children,
In our friends,
In the people who walk along the street.

Even when we’re angry.
Even when we’re hurt.
Even when we’re doubting.
Even when we’re confused.
We are still fed with the bread of life.
The bread of heaven that Jesus has given to us.
To sustain us.
To nourish us.
To show us the deepest kind of love.
Even when we have trouble seeing it.

Amen.