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3 Easter - Gifts
of God
April 10, 2005 Sermon
by Rev. Peggy Tuttle, Interim Rector
Readings
As the family was driving
home from church services the mother commented, “The choir was awful
this morning.” The father said, “The sermon was too long.” The 7
year-old daughter leaned up over the back seat and added, “You’ve got to
admit it was a pretty good show for a dime.”
The Road to Emmaus is familiar to many of us. It is a story of Jesus
coming among the disciples as a gift - - No strings attached.
It is the third day after Jesus was crucified. The women who visited the
tomb at dawn have found it empty, and they have spoken of a vision of
angels who declared that Jesus is alive. Other disciples have gone to
the tomb and have confirmed that it is empty; but as far as Cleopas and
his friend know, Jesus himself has not been seen.
Unsure about resurrection they question what an empty tomb means. They
are disheartened and confused. With no thought of why they should do so,
these two disciples decide to walk to Emmaus. They can think of nothing
else to talk about, so they sadly review the events of the past three
days.
And then a stranger joins them on the road. Of course, we know who it
is, but these men can’t see beyond themselves. The Risen Jesus involves
himself in their conversation and so warms their hearts that they beg
him to stay with them in Emmaus and he accepts.
As they sit around the table this guest assumes the role of host. He
takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it and gives it to them. In that
act, their blindness falls away and they see who he really is: the gift
of God for the people of God.
Jesus comes among them as a gift. A free will gift - - no strings
attached. Why? Because God remains faithful even if we do not. Emmaus
demonstrates that Jesus does not come among us demanding newness of
life; he confers newness of life. Amendment of life is a consequence of
grace, not its precursor.
God uses whom God chooses. Even in our waywardness and sinfulness we
remain instruments of God. Pilate and Caiaphas; the Sanhedrin; Judas;
Peter, James, and John; the Emmaus disciples themselves—all, in their
own way, despite their twisted ness—still remained instruments of God in
the Paschal mystery. That God is able to use us, not just in our
fleeting moments of righteousness, but in the depths of our waywardness,
is a profound truth of the Resurrection faith.
A few weeks ago I had the privilege of leading worship for CHUM Church.
CHUM stands for “Churches United in Ministry” so it is ecumenical in
nature and actively serves many people throughout this area. CHUM Church
is a monthly worship service for physically and mentally challenged
adults.
This was my first time to participate in Chum Church so I went thinking
more about what I would be doing when it was over and less about what
could possibly happen while I was there.
Once a year Chum Church has a communion service led by ministers of
different denominations. This way the clients have an opportunity to
experience different ways of observing how to receive communion. This
year we, at St. Paul’s, were the host church and I celebrated the
Eucharist. Well, it was far from the way we do it here, but that didn’t
matter. It was Eucharist in every sense of the word; saints communing at
the Lord’s Table.
This group of people has been taught that “God is with us all the time.”
Ministers are encouraged to say as often as possible, “God is with us,”
so the clients can participate in the service by responding, “all the
time.” And they respond vigorously, believe me.
So here I was consecrating bread that was already broken in pieces and a
chalice of grape juice. Far from what we in the Episcopal Church are
accustomed to seeing when we celebrate Eucharist. Susan Deetz, one of
our deacons, was assisting me and things were going along noisily, but
pretty well. There we were in the midst of distribution and Susan was
taking the bread and juice to the choir. A voice could be heard above
all others saying, “Hmm, this tastes good!” That simple statement
brought tears to my eyes. Yes, this gift of bread and wine we call
Eucharist does taste good. It is a gift freely given.
Does our partaking in the Eucharist obligate us in any way? This gift of
bread and wine we call Eucharist is a gift freely given. No strings
attached.
That’s hard for us to get our heads around. Doesn’t everything have some
obligation attached to it? What about the way we view our money? Do we
give and give freely or do we give only if it goes to a designated place
for a designated purpose? Strings attached.
There are no strings attached to God’s love. No obligation attached to
the bread and wine. Maybe that’s why we have such difficulty sometimes
accepting God’s unconditional love. We don’t get it. Everything we do we
do with strings attached.
How many times have I heard that a small pocket people don’t pledge
because they disagree with how the church spends their money. Strings
attached.
We have so much to be thankful for. We live with such an abundance and
yet there are a few who feel they need to control every dollar given to
the church. What a shame to let a few control how ministry is done in
this gifted place! We are not going to let those strings strangle the
life out of this vibrant, generous, healthy, happy parish. Let’s remove
the strings. Pledging is only returning to God what is God’s to begin
with. Anything over a pledge is a gift. Let’s get back to making gifts
to God. Free gifts.
We receive the body and blood of Jesus who died for us. He gave himself
as a gift for us and to us. We are all invited to receive this
Eucharist. It is a free gift from God.
The invitation to the table is so simple yet so clear, “The gifts of God
for the people of God. Take them in remembrance that Christ died for you
and feed on him in your hearts by faith.” It is an all inclusive
invitation. What more needs to be said?
On that Sunday a few weeks ago, God chose to use that voice across the
room that said, “Hmmm, this tastes good.” That voice broke open my heart
so that I could taste and see the goodness of the Lord. The gifts of God
for the people of God. Given freely. Take and eat and feed on him in
your hearts by faith with thanksgiving.