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04.06.08
Third Sunday of Easter
ROAD TRIP
PSALM 96; LUKE 24:13-35
- Capturing the Moment
- Snapshots & Home Movies
- My dad was crazy about cameras—he loved to take pictures
- Any time anything was going on, Dad would have the camera out taking picture
- He loved to capture the moment—whether it was a family trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo, the school picnic at Kennywood Park,, the family vacation at Conneaut Lake, a birthday party, Christmas, Easter, or whatever
- I remember him with his Kodak box camera gathering us all together for group photos
- Every moment of family history was frozen in time with the click of a shutter
- The one thing Dad loved more than his Kodak box camera was his Brownie 8mm movie camera
- Both of those cameras hung around his neck everywhere we went, and we’d all wait with anxious anticipation for the film to be developed
- Then we’d gather together to browse through the black and white snapshots in the living room
- Once the snapshots were dispensed with, Dad would set up the movie projector so we could relive our most recent adventure as it was projected on the living room wall
- Any time neighbors, friends and relatives came over, out came the snapshots and the movies so they could enjoy our experiences also
- Janie and I were much the same, especially after the kids were born
- We went through roll after roll of Kodak film, and our collection of snapshots is overwhelming
- And along with the still photos, we also have our own collection of Brownie Super 8 movies that help us relive many of the earlier moments of our life
- Our Super 8 movie projector had long ago been trashed, so a couple of years ago, our son gathered up all those reels of old family movies and had them put on DVD so we can continue to enjoy them today
- Although the technology has changed, we all still love to capture the moments of our lives so we can relive the things we’ve experienced
- Digital cameras have replaced the older film-loaded ones, and those old Brownie movie cameras have been replaced with digital video cameras
- We no longer have to wait for developing either
- We can download all of our photos and movies onto our home computer, Photoshop the snapshots to improve their quality, edit the movies with Microsoft Movie Maker, email them to all our friends and family, and even post them on the internet for all the world to see
- Telling the Story of Life
- Pictures tell the story of our life
- They document our journey from infancy to childhood, and on through our teenage years and adult years
- They help us relive those moments that make life special
- And we take picture, not only so we can relive those moments ourselves, but so we can share those moments with others
- Pictures help us tell our stories and pass along important history and information
- Pictures also help us to experience places and events that we have not been to ourselves
- A summer or two ago, our son and his wife took a trip to the Grand Canyon, where they hiked down the canyon one day and hiked back up the next day
- In true Duncan family style, they took a ton of pictures
- That’s a place Janie and I have never visited, but through those pictures, we were able to participate in that adventure with them
- And they enjoyed reliving the moment as they shared the story of their road trip, filling in the details of their adventure represented by each of their pictures
- We are all on a journey through this adventure we call life, and we all have stories to tell from our time on the road
- Stories about the places we’ve been and the people we’ve met
- Stories about the times we’ve had, both good and bad
- Stories about the lesson we’ve learned and the ones we failed to learn
- And they’re stories most of us love to tell
- The reason we love to tell them is that we don’t want to be forgotten
- We all want to live forever, although we know that our bodies will eventually die
- So we pass on our stories with the hope that a piece of us will remain after our bodies pass away
- How will we be remembered?
- What will be our legacy?
- On a Road Trip With Jesus
- The Emmaus Disciples
- The writer of Luke recounts an event that occurred in the life journey of two of the early followers of Jesus
- In the absence of cameras to capture the event, Luke paints a word picture for us of an event that changed their lives
- These disciples were literally on a road trip with Jesus, yet they were unaware with whom it was they were traveling
- On their way from Jerusalem to Emmaus on the evening of that first Easter day, these disciples were engaged in a serious debate
- In the heat of their debate, a stranger joins them (from whence he came, they didn’t know)
- This stranger questions them about the nature of such a serious debate
- Surprised that even a visitor to the region would be unaware of the events that transpired over the last several days, they began to tell him about what happened to Jesus, about their hope that he was the Messiah and how that hope was dashed to pieces because of the crucifixion
- Then they shared with him the perplexing news that on that very morning, his tomb was empty and there were rumors that he had been raised from the dead
- Listening to them with compassion, this stranger began to help them sort out their feelings as he explained to them from Scripture why Jesus had to suffer and die
- His explanation gave them a better understanding of God’s purpose in all they recently experienced, and their souls burned within them as he spoke, yet they didn’t understand the reason why
- Upon reaching their destination, this stranger acted as if he were going on further, but they compelled him to come into their home and spend the night with them
- And around the dinner table, as this stranger blessed and broke the bread, there was something strangely familiar about him
- They had experienced this before with Jesus when he fed 5,000 with five loaves and two fish
- They had experienced this before with Jesus just a few days ago as Jesus broke the bread at Passover
- Through this act of breaking bread, their eyes were opened
- This was no stranger at all—this was Jesus, alive and well and traveling with them
- Then, just a quickly as he appeared to them along the road, Jesus vanished from their sight
- What happened next is the focal point of the whole story, and the reason why Luke includes it in his gospel
- Immediately they returned to Jerusalem to spread the news that Jesus was alive
- This was no small task since Emmaus was seven miles from Jerusalem, their journey was done on foot, and they had to travel back there at night
- Yet, nothing would deter them—they had to go and tell the others
- This news was too good to keep to themselves
- They had to share the story of what happened along the road, and they became part of that first group to witness to others that Jesus had risen from the grave
- Sharing Good News
- Despite what we may believe because of all the bad news we hear, Good News travels faster than bad news
- When something bad happens in our life, we dread the thought of passing it on, but when something good happens, we just can’t wait to announce it
- Think of how excited we are to share the news of a promotion at work, the marriage of our children, the birth of a child
- We want others to share the joy with us, so we can’t wait to pass good news along
- Those disciples just received the greatest Good News of all, and that was news that had to be shared
- The sharing of God’s Good News is what Psalm 96 is all about
- God is the God who makes all things new, so we are compelled in this Psalm to call upon all the earth to sing a new song
- God is not only the Creator, God keeps on recreating, so each new day requires a new song
- This Psalm give the clear understanding that all the peoples of the earth are to be reached with the Good News of God’s love so that everyone and everything in creation may join in the chorus of praise to God
- This Psalm has a missionary purpose and calls us to be messengers of the love and grace of God
- Before us is the challenge not to keep God’s Good News to ourselves
- Of all the things we are bursting at the seams to share with others, we are most reluctant to share with them the Good News of God’s love
- We’ll tell them about our daughter or granddaughter’s wedding, about the birth of our grandchildren, and we can’t wait to show them our pictures with pride as we recount every last detail
- This is all good news that deserves to be shared, yet we’re reluctant to share with others the greatest Good News of all—that Jesus lives among us, that we have met him along the road, that he travels with us day after day, that our life is better because we know him
- We pass on a legacy through the telling of our stories, yet so much of what we pass on will soon be forgotten
- If we truly want to pass on a legacy that will last, then we need to pass on our stories of faith
- Each of us has a story to tell about how we have experienced Jesus on the road trip of life
- That’s what evangelism is, really—it’s simply telling the stories of our experiences with Jesus
- Evangelism isn’t going door to door and asking people is they’re saved
- It’s not walking up to a stranger on the street and asking them if they found Jesus
- Evangelism happens when we are open to opportunities to share our experiences of Jesus with others, and when we are willing to take advantage of those opportunities
- We don’t need to be gifted preachers to share the Good News about Jesus
- We don’t need to have the entire Bible memorized, nor do we need to have all of our theology straight
- All we really need is a love for Jesus and a willingness to tell others how his love has changed our lives, how he helped us during the difficult moments in life, how he travels with us each and every day
- These opportunities will present themselves during the normal course of daily living
- All we need to do is to be willing to respond when the opportunities present themselves
- So, what’s happening on your road?
- These disciples couldn’t wait to tell what happened on the Road to Emmaus when they encountered the risen Christ
- What’s the story of your journey?
- How has your “road trip” been going?
- When and how have you met Jesus on your journey and what was that like?
- The Emmaus disciples told what happened on the road
- It’s a story we, too, can tell