04/24/23 - Time-Traveling with Jesus - Westminster Presbyterian Church Westminster Presbyterian Church | Serving God and others with open mind, hands and heart - 04/24/23

04/24/23 – Time-Traveling with Jesus

TIME TRAVELING WITH JESUS

April 23, 2023
Third Sunday of Easter
Ps.116: Acts 2:14, 36-41;1 Peter 1:17-23; Luke 24:13
Rev. Denise Clark-Jones

Time travel. It’s one of the most popular creative devices employed in the plot lines of novels, movies, and television shows. The most enduring science fiction series to revolve around time travel is Dr. Who, which is going strong 60 years after it began. Not being a science fiction fan, I must admit I have never seen an entire episode of Dr. Who, but I have seen clips of episodes — once in a seminary class. I do understand the connection between faith and science fiction and its not because I see the bible or the Christian faith as either science or fiction. In the science fiction genre, the underlying motivation of the protagonist is the wish to make the world a better place. Time travel is used to create an alternative reality by intervening in events of the past to create a more just, more secure more compassionate present. It’s a second chance that paves the way for a better future.

Haven’t we all had daydreams about going back to earlier times in our lives and making different decisions? We can spice up those fantasies even more by imagining ourselves as having different attributes, which we envision would have made our second chance life easier or more productive. If I could time travel back to my younger self and be given the gift God gave King Solomon, I would love to start over with more intelligence and wisdom. “Oh, the things I could have done,” I imagine” — as opposed to the title of the Dr. Suess book, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go,” a popular graduation gift. Unfortunately, going back is not an option in our time-linear, mortal lives.

Part of our desire for do-overs in our lives is rooted in the need for forgiveness. The famous writer, Anne Lamott, who is also a devout, yet unconventional Presbyterian, once explained: ““Forgiveness is giving up all hope of having had a better past.” Forgiving others is hard, but so is forgiving ourselves.

From the book of Acts, last week we read the first part of Peter’s first sermon. Today we have heard the conclusion of the second part. Peter shocks the huge crowd, gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish feast of Pentecost, by announcing their responsibility in Jesus’ death. For Peter it was like the old adage: ‘Those who complain about what other people are doin’ are mostly the ones doin’ the doin’.’ Peter experienced his own shame and acknowledged guilt of denying Christ on the day of his crucifixion. In this sermon, Peter sounds like a fire and brimstone preacher when he declares: “Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom YOU, crucified.”

Here’s where we need to make the distinction between shame and guilt. The Oxford Dictionary defines shame as: “a painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behavior.” Guilt is defined as: “the fact of having committed a specified or implied offense or crime.” Peter has already acknowledged his own guilt and his preaching is the action he has taken to rectify or redeem the wrong that he did. Now, instead of running away from the conflict and consequences of the world for witnessing the gospel, he is running headlong into it. Courage and commitment have replaced his cowardice and betrayal. He now understands what Jesus asked him to do and he does it. When he heard the cock crow in the courtyard the third time, he had been filled with shame and had lost all hope of redemption. Shame paralyzes hopelessness, Guilt can motivate with hope for a better future. Having witnessed the risen Christ, and experienced forgiveness, Peter was able to fulfill his calling to spread the gospel and baptize. Like time-traveling heroes, the reader is encouraged to respond as did that crowd over two thousand years ago: “What should we do?”

Peter sums up his sermon’s objective: “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” He wasn’t trying to shame the crowd; he wanted to save and energize them. If using numbers as the basis of success, Peter’s first sermon was, indeed, successful. We are told that over three thousand people were baptized that day. However, the way I see it, our gospel reading tells us Jesus was an even more successful preacher and teacher to the two Christ followers to whom he appeared on the road to Emmaus. We don’t know what all of the 3,000 newly baptized did afterward, but we do know that Cleopas and his companion immediately began spreading the word that Christ has Risen.

The scene opens with Cleopas and his traveling companion, walking on a road away from Jerusalem after the crucifixion but before they had learned of Christ’s Resurrection. Their misery was expressed in one of the saddest sentences ever uttered: “We had hoped.” Dashed hopes are soul-searing. For them, Jesus was their hope for a brighter future. They had hoped Jesus would deliver the Jews from the oppression of the Roman Empire. They had hoped that Jesus would restore their dignity in a society in which they were marginalized. You can imagine these two travelers walking with heavy steps and sagging shoulders with the kind of grief that affects your whole body, weighing it down with sadness so it is hard to even get out of bed in the morning.

“We had hoped.” In the past perfect tense, the verb, “hope,” negates itself. It means we have no hope because it has been taken from us and replaced with grief, regret, anger, or anxiety – and any number of combinations thereof. Losing hope can crush our wills and cause us to resign ourselves to a world, a life, which is less than God intends. Consider the world stage and the people trapped in war zones like the Sudan and Ukraine or in drug cartel-controlled towns in Mexico and Central America that are war zones created by criminal gangs. Millions of people are refugees, many of them children. Over 70 percent of the world’s refugees come from the most climate-vulnerable countries. Who is providing them with hope? Contrary to the basic tenets of all major world religions, it is the lower and middle-income countries that are providing the most aid to refugees, not the wealthiest who have the most to share. (1) We need only look at our own communities to witness the effects of lost hope born of a long history of income and opportunity inequality. It can weigh the body down.

For Cleopas and his companion, their loss of hope weighed so heavily upon them they could not even recognize the risen Christ when they met him face to face. It appears Jesus was shaming them when he said: “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared!” It seems to me Jesus was just using some tough love to prepare them for his refresher course on God’s Word. We are told Jesus proceeded to do what is done when Christian congregations come together: “Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.” (Luke 24: 26-27)

What re-ignited their hope? The resurrected Jesus taught from the Hebrew scriptures, which affirmed God’s steadfast love and covenantal promise. Not realizing “the Word Made Flesh” was present with them, “the Word” prepared them to see and understand, as it does for us. Cleopas and his companion felt drawn to this man and wanted to know more. That’s how most people begin their faith journey. We must engage in some intellectual and spiritual time-traveling with Jesus to participate in the present and future abundant life God intends for us.

I read an article recently that claimed that Baby Boomers started the decline in church attendance and people eschewing what is called “organized religion.” Baby Boomers, this article explained, had the notion that their children should be free to choose or not choose to learn about or accept Christianity. I remember a Baby Boomer church member explaining why he decided not to go that route with his children. He justified his family’s regular church attendance and involvement: ‘The other side is influencing them everywhere they go, why shouldn’t I do the same.’

We hear a lot of accusations and conspiracy about “grooming” children for “evil” purposes. If we believe that Christ is God’s promise of forgiveness and resurrection; God’s demonstration of God’s goodness, love, and justice; if we believe God created all of humanity with the divine image stamped upon them, shouldn’t we be grooming our children to be disciples and model discipleship for them? Faith is the divine vaccination against the “being of the world” while living in it.

I am weary of hearing the holier-than-thou excuse for claiming to be Christian, or even just “spiritual” with an undefined spirit, without making a commitment to worship in community, to learn, and engage in spiritual practices that strengthen faith, to make our presence known to those who need to be fed and healed with love and justice. Sadly, the rejection of “organized religion” is most often replaced with immersion in the popular culture of the day. Like the lyrics of the old Bob Dylan song: “You’re gonna have to serve somebody Well, it may be the devil, or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.” I always tell people if you don’t like the church you see, find another church or, even better, be a part of making the church what the bible tells us it should be.

Yes, the Church is filled with sinners, like every other “organized” or “disorganized” gathering of people. As I have often said: The only theological doctrine that can be proven is “Original Sin.” The evidence is overwhelming. But the situation is not hopeless, we can choose to read, study and meditate on God’s Word as did Cleopas and that unnamed companion. We can choose to hear the overarching themes of loving God and loving neighbor and walking life’s road ‘doing justice loving kindness and humbly with our God.’ (Micah 6:8) We even have the Divine Motivator, the Holy Spirit, to enable us to act in the ways of love Jesus demonstrated for us.

Luke’s gospel tells us that when the Risen Christ blessed the bread, broke it, and gave it to them, their “eyes were opened.” In Word and Sacrament, in an act of generosity and fellowship shared with a stranger, they saw Jesus. They recognized the Risen Christ and then rushed to share the Good News with others. In this short testimony, Cleopas and his companion modeled Christ’s commission to his disciples and the role of the church in the world. Their hope was restored, and they proceeded to act in ways that Jesus’ faithful disciples throughout the ages have done to bring hope for a better present and a better future. God is always present, always active in the world – our proper response is to fall in line with what God is already doing. This is God’s timeless grace fused with forgiveness, hope melded into action, love blended with justice. May the path we take be with Jesus so that we may do likewise in our present time and provide for the future of generations that come after us.

Amen. May it be so!

1.Church World Service. Migration, Asylum and Refugees 2023

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