What Do You Stand For?

Acts 17:16-34

We don’t talk about Stephen a lot in church, the Stephen from the Book of Acts. I’m not sure why because Stephen was an amazing follower of Jesus. He was the first person martyred for believing in Jesus. He was a man of conviction, courage, and commitment. Stephen spoke plainly and directly to those who opposed him. Even though a mob had taken him outside the city walls and stoned him to death, Stephen remained committed to his faith in Jesus Christ asking God to forgive them for what they were doing to him. Stephen stood up for what he believed in and paid the ultimate price with his life.

What do you stand for? To what are you committed and what price are you willing to pay for that commitment?

In our New Testament reading today, we join the Apostle Paul in Athens, Greece. Paul is on the run from a mob of Thessalonians who want to see him arrested and jailed for sharing the Good News. He’s waiting for his travel companions, Silas and Timothy, to arrive so they can continue on their journey. This is his first time visiting Athens. He’s not sure what to expect. He is totally caught off guard by what he sees and experiences. Let’s see what happens…

(Read Acts 17: 16-34)

As mentioned in the text, Paul preaches and teaches in the main marketplace of Athens, the agora, which was a common practice for men of that culture to do each day. Athenians loved new ideas, thoughts and philosophies. They were not doers. They loved to talk but did not try to come to any conclusions. They worshipped everybody’s gods: Roman, Persian, Egyptian and Syrian as well as their own. One commentator described Athens as a “great university town” filled with the intellectual elite of that time and place. And those gathered at the “Areopagus” are the brightest and finest minds of Athens and they know it. They are curious about what Paul has to say. However, they do not hold him in high regard. They describe him as a charlatan, an ignorant show-off, a babbler. The word babbler in the Greek is “spermologos” which means “one who picks up scraps of information; a re-teller of second hand knowledge”. In the eyes of these learned men, Paul has no clout or credentials. He’s second-rate; a hack. But they are still curious…

The Areopagus is a high-level administrative court named after the Hill in Athens named for the Greek god Ares and later the Roman god Mars. Paul is placed before the highest court among the brightest and smartest Greeks of that time, the powers that be, to defend his strange “new teaching”. Imagine arriving in Washington DC for the first time sharing what you stand for with passers by on the Mall. What you are sharing is upsetting the hearers, but instead of calling the police, you are taken directly to the Supreme Court of the United States to defend what you stand for before the highest court in the land. No preparation. No friends or colleagues are there to stand by you and support you. You’re all alone standing before nine of the brightest legal minds in the country. You’re put on the spot in a very intimidating position. What would you do? What would you say? How would you react?

The Apostle Paul stands before the powers that be and delivers a brilliant sermon proclaiming what he stands for. First, he acknowledges the religious fervor of the Athenians. Second, he offers a sympathetic critique of idolatry. And third, he concludes with a universal call for repentance and declaring the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The reaction from the Athenians was mixed. One group, the Epicurean philosophers, mocked him, especially about Jesus being raised from the dead. For the Epicureans, death was the end of it all. Another group, the Stoic philosophers, put off coming to any conclusions about what they had heard hoping to hear more about it soon. A third group, some believed what Paul preached, repenting their sins and accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The two converts were named in the passage: Dionysius, who was most likely a member of the Areopagus and thus a wealthy member of Athenian society, and Damaris, a woman who given the fact was present in the marketplace and at the Areopagus was probably not a reputable, respectable woman of the times. Through this third group, we see how the Gospel message has universal appeal to people of all walks of life.

Paul’s confession that the living Jesus is the only Messiah and the one Lord means that all other competing loyalties and practices must be set aside in order to begin a new life in him. As we know from our scripture today, most in Athens are unable to do this, they are unable to take a stand, come to a conclusion or make a decision.

This holds true today. You and I are bombarded by words, images, messages, symbols and more every moment of every day competing for our time, our attention, our emotions and our wallets. Are you willing to put your faith above all other competing interests? Are you willing to take a stand with your child’s coach that your child can not play on Sundays because your family’s Christian faith takes priority? Are you willing to take a stand with a teacher, speaking truth to power, that their screaming and yelling doesn’t motivate you or your child to improve and grow, but actually kills your spirit?

Are we willing to stand up against injustices happening all around us? Supporting efforts to dig wells and build water treatment plants in third world countries? Working to teach people all around the world how to grow the food they need to live? To fight to end the sexual exploitation of women and children worldwide? To work toward greater conservation of our energy resources?

We must be willing to take a stand on these issues and many more. As Martin Luther King Jr. did in the ‘50s and ‘60s regarding equality for all people, we must take a stand. As the young Chinese student stood alone in front of approaching army tanks in Tiananmen Square, we must take a stand. As Craig Gross, the founding pastor of X3Church in Colorado working to fight the infiltration of the pornography industry into our common culture, we must take a stand. It was Thomas Jefferson who once said, “In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principal, stand like a rock”.

And it is as a rock that we must stand as a missional church, seeking to serve the world and fight the countless injustices around the globe. We take a stand with how we conduct ourselves in public and private. We take a stand with how we use our God-given talents and abilities in service to others. We take a stand with how and where we spend our money, giving gifts to God not because God needs anything, but rather we need to give to ground ourselves in our confession that God gives to us.[1]

I want to share with you one of my favorite stories from the Second World War. A large British military force on the European continent, along with some English citizens and diplomats, retreated to the French coastal port of Dunkirk. With its back against the English Channel, the British army faced a German army that threatened to drive it into the sea. To save what he could of his army, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called for all available sea vessels, whether large or small, to evacuate the soldiers and civilians from the besieged French beaches and bring them back across the Channel to safety.

An incredible array of ships and boats raced to the rescue—fishing boats and cruise ships alike. As the flotilla made its way to the beach to pick up soldiers and then move out again, Nazi aircraft set upon them like vultures while German artillery pummeled them with shells. Ships were strafed with machine gun fire, and some were blown out of the water altogether.

Three German fighters attacked the defenseless Lancastria, a converted cruise liner, whose decks and hold were packed with soldiers. One bomb dropped directly down the ship’s smokestack, tearing a huge gap in her lower hull. Nearly 200 men were trapped in the forward hold of the now severely listing ship. No one doubted that the liner was going down. Chaos, smoke, oil, fire, and blood, mixed with the terrified cries of the men trapped below, created pure pandemonium on deck as those hopeful of surviving searched for lifeboats or simply leaped into the water.

Moving through the middle of this living nightmare, a young Navy chaplain quietly worked his way to the edge of the hold and peered in at the darkness below.

Then, knowing he could never get out, he lowered himself in.

Survivors later told how the only thing that gave them courage to survive until passing ships could rescue them was hearing the strong, brave voices of the men in the hold singing hymns as the ship finally rolled over and went to the bottom.

This young Navy chaplain took a stand. He took a stand that no matter what the circumstance, he was committed to bringing hope and care to those in need no matter how hopeless the situation appears. The chaplain was convicted by the Holy Spirit to comfort the men trapped in the hold knowing that he would die with them. The chaplain was given the courage to act based on his convictions and commitment.

I want to encourage you to know what you stand for and stand firm. I want to encourage you to take action and stand up against the injustices we see all around us. What do you stand for?

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[1] Mosser, David N. The Stewardship Companion (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2007) p.41.

To Seek A Newer World

Acts 11:1-18

Lord,
as we listen to your holy Word, open our hearts and minds to the power of your Spirit, call us out of darkness, and lead us into your marvelous light. Amen.

Have you ever had a break through? Have you ever had one of those “Aha!” moments in your life when you finally understood an idea that had eluded you or discovered a solution to a problem that you studied and worked through over and over again. Break-throughs are great, reckless, extravagant, and wild. They can turn our world upside down and change us forever. That’s the power of a break through!

The Apostle Peter had a break through as he traveled spreading the Gospel. In his travels, he is led by God to convert and baptize the first Gentiles, the first uncircumcised believers of Jesus Christ. A new day has dawned and the world is changed forever, for God is doing a new thing. God had broken through to the peoples of the world offering them new life in Christ.

Now back in Judea, in Jerusalem, the apostles and believers were not thrilled with what Peter had done. They summon him to Jerusalem for some special “congressional hearings”. With Peter present, the leaders in Jerusalem stick it hard to Peter. They don’t mince words with their questioning. “Peter, what are you doing getting mixed up with the Gentiles? What are you thinking by eating with them?”

The Jerusalem church saw themselves, not as Christians, but as an extension of Judaism, as a new sect of the Jewish faith. They followed the old laws, mandates and instruction of Judaism. They believed in Jesus as the Messiah, but they still saw themselves as part of the Jewish tradition. They had a limited understanding of what God had called them to be. They didn’t and couldn’t see the big picture of God’s plan of salvation of the world which as we know today included the Gentiles.

How often do we as the church of Jesus Christ limit our understanding of God’s calling on our lives? How often do we as the church of Jesus Christ remain in the familiar, in our comfort zone, in the safe, secure places where we live.

We are called by God as Christians to reach out beyond our immediate sphere of influence; to break through the familiar, the old assumptions, the traditions that can tie us down. We are called to carry the Gospel to new places and to new faces; to seek and create a newer world in Jesus’ name.

Methodist Bishop William Willimon told a story about a young, idealistic college student who found himself in the worst housing projects of Houston. This young man was a new Christian. He grew up in a safe, affluent suburban neighborhood and was blessed with a loving family, good schools and lots of opportunities. In college, he had taken several courses on the Bible, church history, and Christian theology. He dreamed that one day he would graduate and go into the world to preach the Gospel to all people converting thousands to the Christian faith. This young man left his comfort zone, his safe, secure place and became an urban missionary without a clue on how to evangelize in the middle of the inner-city. Even though frightened and intimidated, he was excited to share his faith. He approached a large tenement and made his way in down a long, dark, dirty corridor and up a flight of stairs. As he walked he heard a baby crying from one of the apartments. He knocked on the door and was met by a woman holding a naked baby. She was smoking and really was in no mood to hear about Jesus. She cursed at the young man and slammed the door.

The young man was devastated. He left the tenement and sat on the curb. He thought to himself, “Look at me. How in the world could someone like me think I could tell anyone about Jesus?”

Then the young man looked up and saw a dilapidated old store on the corner. It was open, and he went inside and walked around. In the store he remembered the baby in the tenement was naked and the woman was smoking. Do you know what the young man did? He bought a box of diapers and a pack of cigarettes and headed back to the apartment. He knocked on the door. Before the woman could start cursing him out again, he slid the diapers and cigarettes inside the open door.

After a moment, the woman invited him in.

The young man played with the baby. He put a diaper on the baby even though he’d never put a diaper on a baby before. And when the woman asked him to smoke, he smoked – even though he’d never ever smoked before. He spent the whole day playing with the baby, changing diapers and smoking cigarettes.

Late in the afternoon, the woman asked him, “What’s a nice college boy like you doing in a place like this?” He told her all he knew about Jesus. This took about five minutes. When he stopped talking, the woman looked at him and said, “Pray for me and my baby that we make it out of here alive.” He prayed.

This young man experienced a break through! Led by the Holy Spirit and supported by the power of God, he shared the love of God with a downtrodden woman looking for a new way to live, a way out of her current situation, and did so with a box of diapers and a pack of cigarettes. God called this young man to get out of his comfort zone and beyond his immediate sphere of influence. Like this young man, we are called to obey God’s purposes for our lives: to act, to move, and carry the Gospel of Christ out of our familiar spheres of influence and into new places and to new faces to create a newer world in Jesus’ name.

This is the purpose of the church. The Danish theologian Hans Kung describes it this way. He says, “We must entice people from the world to God. We are not to shut ourselves off from the world in a spirit of asceticism, but to live in the everyday world inspired by the radical obedience that is demanded by the love of God. The church must be reformed again and again, converted again and again every day, in order that it may fulfill its task.”[1]

I am convinced that one of the main reasons for the decline of mainline Protestantism is our lack of focus. If we hope for something more, for a new heaven and a new earth, we must know the cost involved and be willing to pay it whatever it may be. We need a break-through!

When we look at the ministry of the church in the United States over the last century or so, we see God break through into the world outside the walls of the church. The faithful members of the old mission boards of the Protestant churches reached out beyond their immediate spheres of influence to reach the world, home and abroad, for Christ. They saw the needs of hunger, poverty, and disease in the new immigrant groups in their communities and with people across the globe. Hearing God’s call upon their lives, they saw the need and tried to fill it. These mission organizations sent missionaries all around the world to bring the Gospel to all nations and peoples of the world. For Presbyterians, the nation where we had a large impact and now a strong presence is in Korea. In fact, the largest Presbyterian Church in the world is in Seoul, South Korea. Churches both Catholic and Protestant sought to help the sick and injured. Hospitals were created to meet the needs of society providing healing and health to all in need. This legacy lives on in the names of hospitals in major cities across the country.

What motivated these Christians to break through and meet the needs of the world around them? What cost are you and I willing to bear? Are we willing to sacrifice to God the familiar, our comfort zone, and the safe, secure places where we live?

We process and experience life differently today than we did twenty, fifty, or a hundred years ago. Smart phones, social media, email, wireless internet access, and text messaging have completely revolutionized how we communicate and relate to one another. As a result, our spheres of influence have grown astronomically. We can talk with someone in China on a mobile phone while riding in a cab through Downtown Dallas on the way to attend a video conference call with clients in Sydney, Australia. How can we, the Christian church, take full advantage of these changes? For example, how can we utilize the internet to share our worship services with a broader audience? How can we use social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest to reach out and minister to people of all ages? The possibilities are numerous and within our reach, if we are willing to take the chance.

We have something incredible to offer the world, the Living God of the Universe, the ultimate truth. The world is a very different place today and we can no longer afford a “business as usual” attitude. There are ministries our congregation is involved in that are losing enthusiasm and energy and some we are no longer involved in. We are no longer involved with the Longview Interfaith Hospitality Network and will end our involvement with the Backpack Program at the end of the current school year. Our Saturday Bread ministry is losing steam with participating congregations wanting to drop out. What is God trying to tell us? Is there something new on the horizon? The Session will decide on Wednesday night whether we as a congregation want to commit ourselves to participating in the New Beginnings Assessment Program. Such a commitment will require us to make some tough decisions and choices that will produce short term pain, but yield long term gain. It will require participation from all members of the congregation.

So when you leave here today, pay attention; be watchful! Revelation chapter 3 says that the Lord opens doors no one can shut and shuts doors no one can open. The leaders of the Jerusalem church did not see or understand the new thing God was doing in the world through the Apostle Peter. We need to watch for God at work in our life and in the world around us. So seek after Him with all you’ve got. Get after Him with the best effort you’ve got and leave the results, the outcome, the grades in school, the college acceptances, your financial success, and everything else to God.

God has broken through and offers all people, all of us, new life in Christ. What part will you play as a servant of God to bring this new life to the world?

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[1] Kueng, Hans.  The Church (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co., 1976).

The Way of the Shepherd

John 10:1-21

I used to play the trombone in high school. To properly play the trombone, you have to have a good ear to stay in tune. There are seven positions on the slide of the trombone. If you don’t hit the right position in the right spot, you are either way sharp or way flat. When I first began to play, I was all over the place. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t tune my trombone by ear. I played a lot of bad notes: I was either way sharp or way flat. There are many positions one can play on the slide of the trombone. However, there is only one right spot for each note to be considered in-tune.

Just as there is only one point where any single note is in tune, so there is only one way by which we will be saved and have a right relationship with God. John uses what was a familiar image to the people of his day, the sheep and shepherd, to illustrate this relationship between God and us.

Jesus says, “I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.” This is the way of the shepherd: Jesus is the way to life, real life; life as it was meant to be lived. Jesus leads us to a life of freedom and wholeness. It’s the best alternative to the voices and pressures all around us acting as thieves and bandits attempting to turn us away from God, seeking to kill and destroy us, the sheep of God’s pasture. Jesus is the Gate to abundant life.

There is this great movie that came out on DVD several years ago entitled, “Facing the Giants”. It’s about a high school football team that trusts in God and achieves the impossible. In the movie, there is a scene where David, a former soccer player now playing football, is learning how to kick extra points and field goals. He’s always kicking the ball either wide left or wide right. David is frustrated and the assistant coach is frustrated. The coach tells David that the only way it will work is for the ball to go through the middle, not wide left and not wide right. David insists that’s what he’s trying to do, but the coach goes on. Listen to what the coach tells him. He begins with scripture, “The gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. That’s not us. That’s wide left and wide right. But the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14) The wide gate is wide left and wide right. Anybody can kick the ball wide left or wide right. My mama can kick the ball wide left or wide right. It doesn’t have to look pretty. It doesn’t have to look smooth. It could look like a dying duck, but it’s gotta go through the middle. Now David, you’re gonna have to choose the narrow way because that’s how you’ll get your reward. Now, send that ball through those pearly posts!” David tries it again and heeding his coach’s advice, he kicks the ball straight through the middle, looking like a dying duck!

Jesus says, “Anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.” We are all like sheep and God in Christ is our gate. But He is also our shepherd, the Good Shepherd. As the gate, Jesus is the means to life releasing us from the bondage of sin. As the good shepherd, Jesus leads us on our way to life, a life of freedom and wholeness.

Why did Jesus use the shepherd motif to describe how we relate to God? It wasn’t a glamorous occupation by any means. The life of a shepherd was not an easy one. Especially in the times of Jesus, shepherding was not something you majored in at college or sought out as a rewarding career. Shepherding was a hard life, a 24/7 job. The shepherd lived and slept outdoors. Shepherds were rough and tough while at the same time caring and loving toward their sheep. They were trained to see great distances so they could see danger coming from far away. There wasn’t a lot of grass and plants to graze, so the shepherd was always on a search for the best fields to graze. There were no fences around the fields to keep predators out and keep the sheep in. Shepherds were regularly defending their flock of sheep from wolves and animals that preyed upon helpless sheep. This required a great deal of love and commitment on the shepherd’s part. In fact, the shepherd was so committed to the well being of his sheep that he is willing to die for them in order to protect them. The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.

Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Unless a man has something he’s willing to die for, he isn’t fit to live.” Italian philosopher Peter Pertocci said, “No man knows what he is living for until he knows what he’ll die for.”

Jesus Christ is the Gate and the Good Shepherd. In his death and resurrection, Jesus shows us the way to abundant life at the gate and offers us abundant life by the example of his love as the good shepherd.

We are God’s sheep, his people. No matter who you are, what you’ve done or where you’ve been, God in Jesus Christ is still your shepherd. Even when we wander away from him, Jesus comes after us and brings us back to the fold. Even when we travel through the lonesome valley, tempted by predators all around us; Jesus stands up for us in our time of need. Even when bad things happen to good people, Jesus is there. Even when you’re in your secret hiding place doing something you are too embarrassed to tell even your parents or spouse, Jesus is there. This is what defines us, the church of Jesus Christ: we cannot be separated from who Jesus is and his example of sacrificial love.

The way of the shepherd, the way of Jesus Christ, is through the gate that leads to fertile pastures, not fields of decay and destruction. And in this unknown, new place, Christ protects us by walking ahead of us like a good shepherd calling each of us by name caring for all as he cares for each. Jesus Christ wants to get our lives “in-tune” with God’s will. He gives us both safety and security as well as freedom and wholeness when we choose to follow and obey Him. It is then we begin to get “in-tune” with God.

“God has promised to keep his people and he will keep his promise.”(Charles Spurgeon) Christ has come so that we may have life and have it abundantly. This is the Good News. Amen.

Major Heart Burn

Luke 24:13-35

What does Easter mean? Is there more to it than the declaration, “Christ is risen”? Is there more to it than the empty tomb and the astonished disciples? What is the Easter message and what are we to do with it? How does Easter touch human lives and make a difference in them? Is the resurrection simply just an event in Jesus’ career and nothing more? How does this story that appears to be “an idle tale” actually make sense?

The story of the walk to Emmaus is one of the most well-known of the resurrection stories. Its focus is on two human beings who knew the earthly Jesus and how they respond to the news of God’s deliverance through the resurrected Jesus. It intrudes into the lives of real people, evoking worship, confession, repentance, communion, transformation, obedience, and mutual love. They see Jesus from a different perspective, from a different point of view. They’ve known him as rabbi, teacher, but now he takes on a new role, several roles in fact. Stranger. Guest. Host. All three roles are played by Jesus himself on the road to Emmaus. He appears to his disciples first as a stranger, then as a guest and finally as a host, offering critical guidance to those of us who want to do a better job of welcoming and including people in the life of the church.

What these two travelers help us understand today is that the self-revelation of the risen Messiah comes through the interpretation of the scriptures and the breaking of bread; Word and Sacrament. This is how we, the church encounter Jesus and learn to see him as someone other than a strange fellow traveler.

With Jesus depicted as a stranger, he gives his disciples the challenge of showing hospitality. They practice philoxenia, which literally means "love of the stranger." Philoxenia is one of the Greek words used in the New Testament for hospitality. This approach stands in stark contrast to the attitude so prevalent in society today -- xenophobia, "fear of the stranger."

What would it mean for us to practice philoxenia in the life of our congregation? We do it every time we teach English to a student through our ESL ministry. We do it every time we speak to strangers in the hallways and doorways after worship, instead of visiting only with our friends. We do it every time we make an effort to get to know a person from a different race, culture, nationality or sexual orientation. We may come to discover that the stranger we encounter is not all that strange. Jesus calls us to take good care of the guests who come to us. He challenges us to feed the hungry and welcome outcasts as he did throughout his ministry. Since we, the members of the church, are the physical body of Christ in the world today, we're supposed to be his hands and continue his work. We show his presence in the world every time we practice hospitality in his name, whether we're feeding the hungry through Saturday Bread or welcoming a guest to a service of worship.

Guests are important to Jesus, which is I think why he played that role on the road to Emmaus. He wanted to challenge his followers to see him as a guest and show true hospitality. Recall with me the story Jesus told in Matthew 25. Jesus comes in the form of people who are in need of food, drink and a warm welcome. Jesus says, "Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me" (vv. 34-35).

The followers of Jesus hear these words, but they don’t get it. No comprende. They don't remember seeing Jesus and helping him, so they ask, "Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry ... thirsty ... a stranger?" Jesus answers them simply, "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me" (vv. 37-40).

Jesus comes to us as a guest, even today. When we help a person in need, we're really helping Jesus. And this happens not only in church, but on the street, in school and in the workplace. This can be tough to do, because our schools and the workplace have become competitive and anxious places, with everyone forced to do more with less and excel at any cost. But even there, when you help a person in need, you're helping Jesus.

The role of Jesus changes from stranger to guest to host when he sits at the table and breaks the bread (v. 30). We see this when the risen Christ nourishes us through the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. As the bread is broken, we're invited to open our hearts to the presence of Christ. He's comes to feed us, and to fill us with his power and his presence.

It's critically important for us to permit Jesus to be our host; to eat his bread, drink his cup and allow his body and blood to become part of our body and blood; to accept the forgiveness he offers and to allow ourselves to be strengthened and inspired.

Sometimes, it's easier for us to help others than to receive help for ourselves. We would rather be a host than let someone else host us. But today, at the Lord's Supper, permit Jesus to be your host. Open yourself to what he wants to give you. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, your eyes will be opened and you'll recognize him.

This message is a proclamation, and it's something we're all challenged to do. To make a proclamation is simply to talk about how we've experienced the work of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. It's going to be different for all of us, and differences are just fine -- they are part of the diversity of life in a church that is a home to all.

Pope Francis has stirred up the Roman Catholic Church since his selection last year, gaining particular attention for working to make the church "the home of all." In a recent interview, he talked about proclamation and Christian hospitality. "Proclamation ... focuses on the essentials, on the necessary things," he said. "This is also what fascinates and attracts more, what makes the heart burn, as it did for the disciples at Emmaus."

The road to Emmaus: this is where Jesus came to his disciples as a stranger, as a guest and as a host. Emmaus is where we learn how to welcome one another around a table, and then go out into the world with a proclamation. Emmaus is where we come together and strengthen our bonds with Jesus and with each other.

Writing in The Lutheran magazine (June, 2012), Peter Marty writes about an incident Viktor E. Frankl recounted from when he was in a Nazi concentration camp. He was at the end of his rope from the deprivation. At this point, when he had lost every possession and had every valuable destroyed, someone gave him a piece of bread. Frankl wrote, "I remember how a foreman secretly gave me a piece of bread which I knew he must have saved from his breakfast ration. It was far more than the small piece of bread which moved me to tears at the time. It was the human 'something' this man also gave to me -- the word and the look which accompanied the gift."

Peter Marty comments, "Keep on the lookout for that 'human something' the next time you break bread with another person. Their words may offer more nutrients than the bread in your hand. Their look may open the eyes of your heart. It might all be a small taste of the first Emmaus."

When we practice Christian hospitality, we become part of a mighty spiritual movement -- one that can overcome divisions in a terribly polarized world. It all begins when Jesus breaks the bread, our eyes are opened and we recognize him. Amen.