My sermon this week was based on Luke 24: 13-49.
To download an audio of my sermon, click here.
What are some adjectives you would use to describe a Christian? Rather, knowing what some people who claim to be Christian can be like, what are some adjectives you would use to describe what a Christian is supposed to act like?
I think the answer is pretty obvious. A Christian is supposed to act in loving, patient, tolerant, kind, generous and forgiving ways.
More on that later.
Today we read about the incident on the road to Emmaus, where two disciples who do not believe in the Resurrection actually meet, walk and talk with the resurrected Jesus for some time, yet they do not recognize him. Theories abound as to why this might have been: maybe they had the sun in their eyes, maybe they were all teary-eyed at the death of their friend, but that is immaterial. The point is, they didn't recognize him. Even though Jesus unfolds to them the entirety of Scripture, illuminating the prophecies about himself, something which must have taken several hours at least, they still don't recognize him.
When do they recognize him? When he breaks bread with them when they stop to rest for the evening.
Now while these two were disciples, they were not among the Twelve and as such were not at the Last Supper. So how would they recognize this gesture of breaking bread? It has been theorized that perhaps they were in attendance at the Feeding of the Multitude where Jesus divided up the fishes and loaves. If this was the case, they recognized Jesus in that moment, when he did something they recognize as Jesus-like. That's how and when they knew they were in the presence of the Christ.
Here's the uncomfortable question: how would anyone know you are a Christian?
Sure, some of us wear crosses or have cross tattoos, but I hate to say it, the cross has become a watered-down symbol in popular culture. Sure, we might be able to quote Scripture, but so can parrots. I was in traffic the other day and had someone with a Jesus fish on the back of his car cut me off and flip me the bird.
The fact is, we can say we are one thing and wear all the symbols and trappings thereof, use all the codified language of the group, but we can act like the complete opposite. Surely, the only proof that someone is actually a Christian is in the way they act.
Make no mistake, Christians are called to be better than other people. Not that we are superior, mind you, but we are called to be more loving, more kind, more tolerant, more forgiving than your average person, but all too often, people who call themselves Christians act in the exact opposite way: they preach hate, they judge, they are intolerant, they hold on to grudges as though they were life preservers.
It's not too complicated: read the Gospels, note how Jesus acted, note how Jesus didn't act, and try to do that. I am not giving you license to flip over tables in the Temple, just use your common sense.
The fact is that the disciples finally recognized Jesus when they saw him do something that reminded them of him. If we are to call ourselves Christians, that means we should be out there doing things that remind us and others of Jesus.
If you are not out there acting in kind, loving, compassionate, forgiving ways and you call yourself a Christian, you're doing it wrong.
Do it right.
Amen!
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