Words of Welcome

  Maximino Cerezo Barredo (Spanish, 1932–), “In the Breaking of Bread,” 2001.  Luke 24:13-35      On Easter Sunday, we heard John’s story of Jesus’ resurrection appearance to Mary Magdalene (John 20:1-18) . This morning, we heard Luke’s account of Jesus’ appearance to two of his followers, one of whom was named Cleopas. Luke tells us that the two disciples were traveling to a place called Emmaus. As they walked along the road to Emmaus, they discussed the events that took place over the weekend, including reports that some of the women in their group had encountered angels at Jesus’ tomb who told them that Jesus had risen from the dead, as well as the report of others in their group that the tomb was empty ( Luke 24:1-12 ). Despite these reports, these two disciples had chosen to head out of town toward a place called Emmaus. Although Luke tells us they were going to Emmaus, some seven miles from Jerusalem, you won’t find a place by that name on any map. So,...

  John 6:56-69 Last Sunday I shared a word from John Calvin, who wrote about the connection between Jesus’ declaration that he was the Bread of Life and the Lord’s Supper. He wrote:  [T]he Lord intended, by calling himself the “bread of life” (John 6:51), to teach not only that salvation for us rests on faith in his death and resurrection, but also that, by true partaking of him, his life passes into us and is made ours—just as bread when taken as food imparts vigor to the body.   [John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, IV:17.5].    I invite you to keep these words in mind as we dive into the reading for today from John 6, which continues the discussion from last Sunday. To set the stage, I invite you to envision Jesus teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. He’s telling them that he is the bread from heaven. He also tells the congregation that those who partake of his flesh as true food and his blood as true drink will abide in him, and he w...

John 6:51-58 Welcome to the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John. This morning we jump right into the middle of a long and complicated story that began with Jesus feeding the 5000 but has taken some interesting twists and turns. So, this morning we’re doing something similar to jumping into the middle of a TV series that’s been on for several weeks and we don’t have a clue as to what is happening. Therefore, I need to catch you up with the story. According to John, after Jesus fed the 5000 the crowd tried to make him their king, but he slipped away to a quiet place where he could pray. Then, when evening came, he took a stroll across the lake toward his home base in Capernaum. But, first, he caught up with the boat carrying his disciples across the lake. The next day the crowd gathered once more in Capernaum hoping Jesus would give them more bread. That leads to a conversation about bread from heaven. You know, like the manna Moses provided, or, rather, God provided in the wildernes...

John 6:56-69 Has a preacher ever said something that offended you? Did you decide never to go back to that church? I expect we’ve all been there at least once in our lives. Since I’m the guest preacher this morning, I’ll do my best not to offend you. I don’t want to get Pastor Alex in trouble for inviting me here to preach this morning.  While I’ll do my best not to offend you, could Jesus say something that might offend you? Have you ever run into something that Jesus is recorded as saying that shocked you?  As we read the Gospels, it quickly becomes clear that Jesus had a tendency to step on toes and push people’s buttons. On one occasion, according to Luke, Jesus visited his hometown of Nazareth. Since they had heard he was something of a preacher and healer, they invited him to say a few words in their synagogue. That didn’t go well. By the end of the service, the home folks tried to throw him off a cliff. Fortunately, Jesus escaped and headed off to a friendlier ven...

Psalm 19 Today is World Communion Sunday, and in my theology of the Table, Jesus, the Word of God incarnate, encounters us in this meal. Psalm 19 speaks of other encounters with God, both in the silent voices of the heavens and in the words of Scripture. Together the heavens, Scripture, and the Table proclaim the glory of God. So, what word from God are you hearing in these voices?   The Psalmist declares that “the heavens are telling the glory of God.” Or as Michael Morgan’s version announces:  The heav’ns unfold your glory, Lord/ In every realm of space/ The outmost bounds of all that is/ Resound your wondrous grace [ The Psalter for Christian Worship , p. 29].  The Psalmist also declares that the “Law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.” Or, in the words of Michael Morgan: “Your Word is sure and perfect still, a source of light and life.” The lectionary’s Old Testament reading for today comes from Exodus 20, which reveals the commandments of God, ...

Matthew 26:26-30 Since today is Transfiguration Sunday, we celebrate the glory of God revealed to the world through the ministry of Jesus. On this Transfiguration Sunday we also bring to a close my “Eating with Jesus” sermon series. Throughout this series we’ve been meditating on what it means to be a missional congregation that gathers for communion with Jesus at an open table.    We began this conversation in Genesis, on the day the Lord met Abraham and Sarah in the persons of three strangers, whom Abraham and Sarah welcomed to their Table ( Gen. 18:1-8 ). We were reminded that it’s possible to entertain angels without knowing it, which means that it’s important that we show hospitality to everyone ( Hebrews 13:2 ), including sinners and tax-collectors. Yes, Jesus ate with “those kinds of people” as well. We’ve been to the wilderness, where Jesus fed the 5000. We’ve contemplated the meaning of Jesus’ words about his body and his blood. We’ve also considered w...

1 Corinthians 11:27-34 When we are young, we learn our table manners. They may be culturally defined, but there are some things that you do and some things you don’t do. That makes cross cultural dining an adventure, because when you go into a different culture you may not know the proper etiquette!  As for me, when I was a child I learned that I shouldn’t talk with my mouth full of food. I also learned a proper way of holding the fork and the knife. And, I was taught to wait until everyone was served before I began eating. Whether we obey the rules or not, they have a purpose!

John 6:25-40 After his baptism, Jesus went out into the wilderness and fasted for forty days and nights. By the time the fast ended, Jesus was famished. Then the tempter came and said to him: “If you are the Son of God command these stones to become loaves of bread.” Though Jesus was very hungry, he told the tempter that “one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” ( Mt. 4:1-4 ).  In the Gospel of John we find Jesus facing another temptation. On the morning after he fed the multitude, the crowd followed him across the lake, hoping that he would feed them once again. Jesus left the crowd behind the day before because he realized that they wanted to take him by force and make him their king ( Jn. 6:15 ). Clearly his withdrawal didn’t deter them, because they hoped he would be a new Moses who would provide manna from heaven. Jesus responded to their requests by telling them that he was the bread of life. He was the bread from...

Matthew 14:13-21 After Israel crossed the sea to freedom, they began to complain that Moses had led them into the desert to die of starvation. Slavery was bad, but starvation was worse. God had compassion on the people, and promised to give them bread from heaven  (Exodus 16:1-4 ). Then, the morning after God made this promise, the people looked out and found a white substance covering the ground. They gathered it up and made bread from it. They called it manna. This manna sustained the people of Israel during their journey across the desert ( Exodus 16:13ff ).  As we continue with our “Eating with Jesus” sermon series, we hear Matthew’s report that Jesus has retreated to a deserted place after Herod Antipas had John the Baptist beheaded. Most likely he went into the wilderness to pray about his future. Would his fate be the same as John’s? It was there, in the wilderness, that Jesus shared bread from heaven with hungry people caught in a deserted place. Accordin...

Matthew 9:9-13 With whom did Jesus eat? That’s one of the questions we’re exploring in this sermon series. We started with Abraham and Sarah, who welcomed God to their table by showing hospitality to three strangers. Strangers are one thing, but what about sinners? What are the rules and regulations? By the second century, it’s clear that only the baptized could come to the Table. Later on, Alexander Campbell had to get a token from church elders before he could take communion. Apparently he passed their test, because he got the token, but then he decided not to use it. Like his father, he realized that having too many rules kept people from experiencing Christ’s Table. It seems that the rules were designed to make sure that only the righteous could gather with Jesus at the Table, but is this what Jesus had in mind when he commissioned the disciples to break bread in remembrance of him? 

Genesis 18:1-8 Today we begin a conversation I call “Eating with Jesus.” It’s my contribution to our emphasis on the relationship of an Open Table to our call to Mission, which is being underwritten by a  Vital Worship grant  from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. While most of the sermons in this series will draw from the New Testament, I thought it might be good to start with a story from Genesis about the day that Abraham and Sarah welcomed God to their Table. To give a bit of New Testament support to my thesis, consider this word from Hebrews 13: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it” ( Heb. 13:1 , CEB).

Revelation 19:6-10 Photo by Crystal Balogh If you got invited to a big wedding banquet, would you get all excited? Would you see it as an opportunity to get all dressed up? Or would you wait to see if a better invitation came your way? I’ve been to a few wedding banquets in my time. Some were large and some small. Some were fancy and others were informal. Weddings are special events, and depending on your relationship with the couple, they might be can’t miss events.   A few weeks back we heard Jesus tell a parable about a big banquet, which could have been a wedding banquet. In that story all the invited guests discovered that they had something better to do than attend the banquet (Luke 14:15-24). Our reading from Revelation 19 offers us another dinner invitation. This invitation is to the “marriage supper of the Lamb,” which takes place in the heavenly realm. The angel or messenger of God has declared that “blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper o...

Exodus 24:9-11 Eating and drinking is a rather mundane activity. Most of us eat at least a couple of meals each day. We might even have a few snacks in between. In many ways eating and drinking are simply habits. We get up, have some breakfast, and maybe a cup of coffee.  Then sometime around noon, we probably eat another meal. Finally, sometime in the late afternoon or early evening, we have another meal. These meals can be elaborate or they can be simple. Eating alone is different than eating with others. So, do you ever think about how God might be present in such a normal activity as eating and drinking?  Disciples gather at the Table at least weekly. At least in theory we believe that the Table stands at the center of our worship and our spiritual life. It’s from this Table that our mission in the world extends. The worship grant we received from the  Calvin Institute of Christian Worship  is focused on helping us better understand the relationship ...

Luke 14:15-24 Today is World Communion Sunday. It was established years ago as a reminder that God’s Table is a Table of unity, even though God’s church is fragmented. All across the globe Christians are gathering to share the Supper that Jesus established so that we might remember him and in doing so share his love with the world. Though this observance has Presbyterian origins, it began to spread across the globe after the Federal Council of Churches adopted it in the late 1930s. The person who made this happen was Jesse Bader, a Disciple mission leader and ecumenist. I found a quote from Jesse Bader that helps introduce what we’re doing today. Worldwide Communion Sunday begins on the other side of the International Date Line, so that the observance starts first on Sunday morning in the churches of the Tonga Islands, Fiji Islands, New Zealand, Australia, and so on towards the West during the twenty-four hours of the day. This significant observance around the world on t...

Zephaniah 3:14-20 Peter Bruegel, The Wedding Dance -- DIA Each Sunday of Advent we process into the sanctuary, led by a child carrying a lantern.  This year we’re singing “Emmanuel,” a song that reflects on a name that means “God with Us.” Advent is a lot like the season of Lent, because it forces us to slow down and look for God’s presence in our midst. This is an especially difficult task at this time of year, because there are lots of distractions. For instance, the Christmas buying season begins earlier each year, and the radio stations go all Christmas on Thanksgiving Day if not before. Then there’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday, office parties and holiday concerts. Yes, there is much to do, and so little time to do it. So why bother with Advent? Why not go directly to Christmas?  Since this is my first opportunity to preach during the Advent season, I decided to bring us up to date. Because I’m preaching from the prophetic books of the Old Testament, I t...

Luke 24:13-35      Two disciples, one named Cleopas, journeyed to Emmaus.  Although we don’t know why they were taking this trip, they know that Jesus had been executed, buried, and according to some reports, had been raised from the dead. Could they be fleeing the city, fearing they might suffer Jesus’ fate?  Were they ready, with Jesus dead, to give up the whole Jesus enterprise?  Or, were they heading home to await further instructions? No one seems to know where Emmaus is located, but maybe we don’t need to know where it was. As Frederick Buechner puts it:   Emmaus is whatever we do or wherever we go to make ourselves forget that the world holds nothing sacred:  that even the noblest ideas that men have had -- ideas about love and freedom and justice -- have always in time been twisted out of shape by selfish men for selfish ends.  Emmaus is where we go, where these two went, to try to forget Jesus and the great failur...

John 6:58-69 Has a preacher ever said something that offended you so much that you never went back to that church?  I hope that none of you will take offense at what I say today, or if you do, I hope you’ll come back next week!   And what about Jesus, is there anything that he said that offends you?   I’d be surprised if you said no.  After all, Jesus did have a tendency to say things that got him into trouble.  Remember how his sermon back at his hometown synagogue went?  He was just coming off being baptized by John and had begun to gain a following.  But as they say – you can’t always go home.  On that evening, after Jesus read the text from Isaiah, he began to preach and before too long, the people were getting restless and just a bit angry with what he had to say.  So, instead of celebrating a triumphant homecoming, the hometown crowd tried to throw him a cliff.  Fortunately, Jesus escaped this fate and head...