RCL Year B - Baptism of Our Lord - January 8, 2012

The Rev. Kenneth H. Saunders III
Trinity Church

Towson, MD

RCL Year B - Baptism of Our Lord - January 8, 2012

Genesis 1:1-5
Psalm 29
Acts 19:1-7
Mark 1:4-11

Have you ever stopped to think about - Who you are? Think about who you REALLY are?  Is who you are - what you do? or is even who you are – who you’re related to?

All y’all know that I am from the south. You’ve got to love the south… in the south, who you are is definitely who you are related to… I can hear it now… when you walk up to somebody on the street and introduce yourself…

The next phrase out of the other person’s mouth is Who’s your Mamma? or Who’s your Daddy? Who are you related to? Who are your kin folk? Who are your people? and – if you happen to be lost, you ain’t from around here, are ya?

When we stop to think about who we are, we get caught up in a sort of identity crisis… Where when who we are (or who we are related to) and what we do, start to mesh together and become part of our personae.

It’s hard for some folks to figure out who they really are. They live years living into a farce or fake, plastic personae of who others think they aught to be… It’s difficult and sad when society has such the grip on us that it dictates who we are… to the point that we are expected to dress a certain way or have a certain amount of money to be worth anything…  

So I would like to pose the question to you this week… what does Christmas / the Epiphany / and the Baptism of the Lord all have in common?? The one thing that they have in common is identity! The identity of who Christ is… 

The thought about Jesus’ identity could even be stretched back to Advent when we contemplated the identity of the one we were waiting for…

Epiphany is a season of light and identity… not just Christ’s identity, but also of our own identity… the readings for today, that surround the baptism of Christ shed a lot of light on who Christ is and who we are as his followers. 

The book of Genesis is about God’s great beginning in the creation of the world – A world that was a void, without form, Where darkness covered the face of the deep. God spoke forth light in the first mighty act of creation To shine forth and illuminate the world…

And just as God brought forth the light in the beginning God again brings forth the light – and again and shares it with us…

And in the Gospel lesson, the ones going out to John the Baptist to hear him preach were filled with expectation of who he might be, and they were questioning the identity of the One who was supposed to come after him. They were asking, If you’re not the one, then who are we waiting for?… John tells them that the One who comes will baptize with the holy spirit and with fire… 

After Jesus was baptized by John in the river Jordan he was praying and the heavens opened up and the holy spirit descended on him in the bodily form of a dove. Then a great voice came down from heaven “You are my son, the beloved; with you I am well pleased”… And it was witnessed by everyone there…

Jesus’ baptism sets the example for us…

Jesus’ baptism was the Genesis of his life and ministry. The beginning of his traveling, calling, teaching, and healing… Baptism for us is the Genesis of our Christian life and our ministry as followers of Jesus Christ. Is an initiation into the Christian faith… It is that initial sacrament through which God adopts us as Children of God… it initiates us and makes us full members and allows us to be fully included into Christ’s Body the Church by water and the Holy Spirit. 

And our baptism is witnessed by the whole community and the whole community makes promises to help us live into our Baptism… In a few minutes, we will once again stand with Annie as she takes her baptismal vows and re-new our own vows… those promises that commit our lives to Christ… 

And we know, that regardless of the age we were when we were baptized, that God’s grace came raining down on us to adopt us as children of God and make recipients of the Holy Spirit… and we also had a Christian community backing us up…

See, the Christian life doesn’t occur in a vacuum it is not just “God and me” or a “Jesus and me”… It is experienced in a Community gathered, a community of Christ adopted by God and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Through our participation, we become the beloved of God those favored by God and we are given the task of doing God’s work in the world.

We know most assuredly that Jesus Christ is God… And that God came to this world as one of us to redeem us, to restore us to God’s favor, so that we might become his Children and therefore heirs of the Kingdom of God, - to forever be in the presence of the One who created us.

Baptism clothes us with God’s grace and surrounds us with God’s light and protection. It gives us a “new life” in Christ… God gathers us as a community, and gives us identity… our only true identity as God’s Children… 

Then God empowers us by the Holy Spirit to act… to act and build up the Kingdom of God.

(Please Stand)
Therefore, brothers and sisters, I call upon you now, to renew the solemn promises and vows of Holy Baptism, by which we once renounced Satan and all his works, and promised to serve God faithfully in his Holy Catholic Church.

RCL Year A - 20 Pentecost (Proper 26) - October 30, 2011

The Rev. Kenneth H. Saunders III

Trinity Episcopal Church

Towson, MD

RCL Year A - Proper 26 - October 30, 2011

Joshua 3:7-17

Psalm 107:1-7, 33-37

1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

Matthew 23:1-12

It almost comical – when people ask me how long I have been a member of the Episcopal Church, I tell them that I am a cradle Episcopalian – To some folks, this implies that I was born into the Episcopal Church and raised by parents who were members of the Episcopal Church.  However, I quickly have to clarify it…  I consider myself a “cradle” Episcopalian, but that doesn’t meet the purest of the definitions.  I am a Cradle Episcopalian that remembers my baptism – because I was baptized when I was 4 years old.

My parents did not grow up in the Episcopal Church, and were not members of the Episcopal Church when I was born.  They were members of another branch of Christianity, a denomination that is considered much more zealous as the minister gets up in the pulpit and preaches what are referred to as hellfire and brimstone sermons.  Sermons that try scare people into believing this or that, trying to enforce a self-created religious purity code of uber-righteous living.  A standard that no member of that church or anyone else for that matter could live into.

Well, it caught up with them…  I have heard the story many times…  My mom and dad were in church one Sunday and there was the preacher, beating on the pulpit, telling the folks that if they did or didn’t do this or that they were going to hell in a hand-basket…  You can’t play cards, you can’t dance, you are not allowed to have a beer with your pizza, you weren’t allowed to read certain books or listen to your favorite band on the radio, because those things were laden with the devil.

What the gentleman that was spewing these things from the pulpit didn’t know is that he had been caught…  caught at a local establishment in the company of a young lady that wasn’t his wife, drinking and listening to the devil’s music.  Hypocrisy is a nasty thing that can destroy a community of faith. 

The story goes that my mom, not wanting to ascribe to the hypocritical rules of that community anymore – in the middle of the sermon – picks up me and the diaper bag and leans over to my father and tells him that she’ll be waiting in the car…  The rest is history…

The readings this morning are full of the same ideas, “They preach, but they do not practice.”  “They do all their deeds to be seen by others.”  These are Jesus’ indictments against the scribes and the Pharisees…  Hypocrites, that Jesus calls “blind guides” and a “brood of vipers” in other parts of scripture.  In Jesus’ time, the Pharisees were a self-righteous and pious group of people that had perverted the intent of the commandments of God to such a degree, they no longer were able to practice what they preached.

They wore phylacteries – little leather boxes that contained the words of the Shema and Torah strapped to their arms and to their foreheads – with little practice in their life or understanding of how to follow them or live into what they were wearing.  In Jesus’ eyes, they were doing it just to look important and be seen as pious individuals, showing others how religious they were.  It was common in Jesus’ time and place to accost someone in public that wasn’t practicing what they were preaching…  So that is exactly what Jesus was doing.

And so here we are today…  struggling together to learn what Jesus is trying to teach us.  Trying not to live hypocritical lives and be seen as more important than any other…   trying to be true to ourselves and help those around us the best way we know how.  It’s our Christian life, and it’s a daily struggle… 

And being the priest, the called leader in the Christian community, the struggle is even greater – because others constantly have differing high expectations, opinions and ideas of what you are supposed to do (or not supposed to do) and how (or how not) you are supposed to do it.

In fact, Bishop Porter Taylor warned our group of candidates as we were preparing for our ordination.  He warned us to be careful and stay true to yourself and who we were or we would most assuredly lose our soul.  I can attest to you that after several years of ordained ministry, he words are wise and very correct.

I have seen some folks get so tied up in who they thought they were as ordained people – that they forget “who they are” and “whose they are” as beloved children of God…   I hope and pray that I have remained true to myself and continue to remain true to myself…

Those of you that have grown to know me over the past 6 months, know that I still try to remain the first to knock myself off of any pedestal that people try to put me on – and if I ever fail to do that, I can always trust my beloved wife to step in and do it for me – because we know that hypocrisy can ruin a Christian community.

But, for us Episcopalians – it’s sometimes a very hard concept for us to get our heads around – with me as your priest, standing her in a pulpit wearing a long colored robe, bowing to the cross as I take my place of prominence in the liturgy, facing the altar to pray on behalf of the community, and empowered to break bread and bless wine so that they become for us the presence of Christ in our communion.

We have obvious pious practices that help us engage the divine and worship God with gestures and bodily motions.  So, it’s difficult to hear readings that seem to tell us not to be pious and not to call others father, rabbi, teacher, or even instructor…  when in fact, the Christian church has called the leaders of the community father since it’s foundation – mostly as a symbol of relationship of the community to the one who nurtures the community and sometimes needs to exercise discipline and make tough decisions.  Paul even refers to himself as one who relates to the community at Thessalonica as a father, urging and encouraging and pleading with his children.

Jesus’ warning here in Matthew is to the Pharisees, a group of people who thought themselves more important than others, more righteous - deserving of God’s favor…  it was an attempt to knock them off of their pedestal and have them come to their senses about who they really are and what they were really doing.  Jesus knew that the Pharisees had empty practices that didn’t do anything for them – they just wanted to be seen by others.  They flaunted their piety in order to win human approval – not approval from God.

In the life of the hypocrite, the light of self-promotion is always on and narcissism always prevails.  And in this lesson, Jesus uses the term hypocrites as a broad term when he speaks to the crowds and his disciples and focuses the attention of the crowd on those who seek human approval and praise, rather than approval from God.

And then, without us realizing it, Jesus gives us a remedy to this hypocrisy – pure divine grace.  God’s love and favor for us doesn’t need human approval…  if we accept God’s love for us and believe and intend to live a life worthy of God…  Jesus keeps on loving us and loving us, despite all of our human failings and blemishes.

Neither the problem nor the solution lies in the clothing we wear or the terms that designate our place in the community…  The point of today’s reading is clear and it is found repeatedly in the teachings of Jesus…

Jesus is telling us again that God always comes first!  Nothing else deserves first place or preference…  Nothing else gets to be placed on the pedestal, if you are truly to be called a servant of God.

RCL Year A (Proper 19) - September 11, 2011

The Rev’d Kenneth H. Saunders III                                                                     

RCL Year A (Proper 19)                                                                                                   

September 11, 2011                                                                                 

Trinity Episcopal Church                     

Towson, MD

Exodus 14:19-31           

Psalm114

Romans 14:1-12  

Matthew 18:21-35

Have you ever been so frustrated with someone that you just wanted to grab them by the throat and choke the life right out of them?  As gratifying as it may seem to any of us…  we know that it just doesn’t solve anything.  This kind of action solves nothing in our world, but only adds to the frustration and violence that caused the original situation in the first place.

We know that violence and a physical altercation like that wouldn’t solve a thing because we are intelligent people of reason and understanding, but most importantly, we know that we have a God that has forgiven us…

Last week, Jesus taught us what to do if we felt that someone in the Church wronged us…  We were to go to that person face to face and speak to them, reason with them, learn the circumstances, forgive them and pray with them…  If that didn’t work, we were to take a couple of more with us to meet with the person, letting those others help us digest the situation, reason together, learn from each other, and forgive them and pray with them…  But as we all know, these are all tough things to do when you are angry…  I mean really really angry… with an anger so deep that it becomes the acid of hate that starts eating right through the container of your soul…

We know that Peter understood anger, and we know that he understood forgiveness, but he comes to Jesus anyway and asks…  How many times do I forgive?  As many as seven?…  the amount according to Hebrew custom, that was considered extremely generous… and Jesus says no…  you should forgive them 77 times…  which was a colloquial way to say always.

So Jesus tells us a parable to explain his teaching…  The parable of the unforgiving servant…  about a King wishing to settle his accounts going to the folks that owed him money and collecting…   A servant was brought to him that owed him 10,000 talents…  and that makes us think…  how much is 10,000 talents?

Well, a denarii is a day's wage… and talent would be 15 years of wages…   so this guy owed 150,000 years of wages.  If we compare this to a person today that makes just minimum wage (a mere $13,625 a year) – He would owe about $2,043,750,000 an absolutely absurd amount in any standard of place and time… 

So the king calls him forward and demands that he liquidate everything that he has, all his possessions…  himself and even his wife and his children which were considered property back then…  to make payment…    The servant is devastated and pleads with the King for mercy and the king has pity and releases him, and then does the unheard of and forgives him his massive amount of dept… 

Wow…  this guy should be thankful, happy…  dancing on a cloud…  he owed over 2 billion dollars and his account was completely zeroed…  but what did this guy do?  Yeah…  he got real bold and full of himself,  and when he came upon someone that owed him money, in this case only 100 denarii, he grabs him by the throat and says “give me what you owe me!”  The man pleads with the servant, just as he did with the king…  but when the man couldn’t pay, the servant had him thrown in jail… 

Oooo…  This didn’t make the king happy one bit…  When the King found out, he had the servant brought before him again, to find out why the servant had not forgiven the other as he had been forgiven.  Then he handed him over to be tortured until he repaid all that he owed…

When someone else sins against me?  How many times must I forgive them?  As many as seven?  Jesus says, no -“You must forgive them always…”  Sometimes the pop-Christian perspective is to say – that’s pretty easy…  forgive and forget…  let go and let God…  this in part may be true, but the human memory can be far more durable than human will…  in being lassie-fair about it all, the act doesn’t become fully erased in our minds, despite our hearts determination to be rid of it completely.

Forgiveness is difficult and our patience runs out very quickly…  This causes our reactions to look like more of the servant, choking his fellow servant.   The root of the difficulty to me seems to be our hardness of heart… 

Jesus sets up a dichotomy of difference between the seven and seventy-seven years, the servant and the king, the 100 days and the 150,000 years…  all to show us that forgiveness is not easy, even when it seems outrageously simple on paper. 

As Christians, we should continuously work on accepting our forgiveness and start to let go of the things that aren’t worth holding onto in the first place…  As Christians, we should be bearers of the message of reconciliation…  We should work at being Christ to others…  But that forgiveness part, that’s difficult, and it doesn’t do us any good to pretend otherwise.  

I am here to tell you that forgiveness is only possible, by the Grace of God!  But it is hard work for us and in order to forgive…  We have to work at it…  To let the flakes and the layers fall off of our tough exterior shell that has become hardened and bitter by our powerful desire for vengeance.  Paul reminds us that we are not to pass judgment on others, nor or we to despise them…  because God judges rightly and with an accuracy that we cannot even claim to have.

God may judge, but God also redeems with great mercy and compassion and gives with great generosity.  We should show others this great generosity… especially the folks that we want to choke the life out of… We need to reconcile with them to show them true forgiveness…  And have them encounter in us the vision of God in Christ, the God that loves us and suffers with us to seemingly impossible degrees…  only then can the love and empathy in them spring up and grow in their hearts as it does ours.

I saw an incredible movie several years ago called “Pay it Forward.”  It is a story about the young Trevor McKinney, who got caught up by an intriguing Social Studies assignment.  The assignment was to think of something to change the world and then put it into action.

Trevor conjures the notion of paying a favor not back, but forward - repaying good deeds not with payback, but with new good deeds done to three new people.  Trevor's efforts to make good on his idea bring a revolution not only in his life but that of his family, but even in those of an ever-widening circle of people completely unknown to him.

In effect, he was changing the world…  by “paying it forward” – Even though this movie had no religious theme or undertone, for me it really summed up the just of our lesson this morning…  Pay it forward…  never letting the chain of love end with you!

Whether we are the offenders, in need of great divine mercy and forgiveness or the offended in need of divine grace and patience… we have no refuge than that of the goodness of God, made known to us in the person of Jesus Christ.  And if our hearts are open to such mercy and grace, -- out of that divine mercy and grace flows true generosity and true forgiveness…

We all have a God that has forgiven us…  all we need to do is accept it, act on it, and pay it forward…  thanks be to God!

RCL Year A (Easter 4) - May 15, 2011

The Rev'd Kenneth H. Saunders III

Trinity Episcopal Church

Towson, MD

RCL Year B (Easter 4) - May 15, 2011

Acts 4:5-12

Psalm 23

1 John 3:16-24

John 10:11-18

Today we get to leave those post resurrection appearances of Jesus for a minute… You know, those wonderful accounts of Jesus appearing to his disciples after the resurrection, showing himself to his disciples in the breaking of the bread, and revealing himself as he opens the scripture to them and eats with them.

Today we get to focus on something a little different… In today’s gospel reading, here in the middle of our celebration of the resurrection we get to learn a bit more about who Jesus is. But, like so many other bible references, theses images today seem a little strange to us and they are not very easy to understand. We don’t quite understand why Jesus refers to himself as “The Good Shepherd.”

Jesus says that He is “The Good Shepherd,” the model shepherd that lays down his life for the sheep. I don’t know about you, but I don’t know of any “sheep ranches” here in Towson. Driving around Towson, I see lots of buildings and shopping malls… and even yesterday I saw the exit for the zoo off the beltway, but no sheep ranches.

So, we’ve got to stop a minute and understand… the folks that Jesus was talking to understood what a “good” shepherd was, and how important their function is to the raising of sheep. Jesus uses the image of “shepherd” as a metaphor – a metaphor to explain who he is… By saying that he is the “Good Shepherd,” Jesus says that he is THE faithful leader, guardian, protector, healer, and loving guide of his people - US… his sheep.

Over the years, it seems that we have romanticized the image of shepherd a bit… When we think of “shepherd,” we think more of a young man (maybe in the Christmas play) with a some kind of towel on his head… standing out in the field with a crooked pole watching over a group of animals that are grazing in the grass.

But, people who know what shepherds are, know they are much more than that. Shepherds had to be tough and courageous, a bit rough around the edges, out on the fringes of refined society… they are the “other” folks, who were not always accepted… More like the kind of people that are considered the “outcasts of society” – the ones that Jesus makes it a point to be with, to eat with, and to teach.

And Jesus says, “I am the Good Shepherd, I know my own, and my own know me.” We are Jesus’ own. We are the sheep of his pasture… wait a minute – yes – I said sheep. We are sheep - but don’t misunderstand Jesus’ metaphor… He is not calling us simple mindless animals that eat grass all day and stand around and go baaaa…

There is a distinct difference between sheep and any other pasture animal. Sheep are interesting communal creatures… they will stay huddled together in a flock. Unlike cattle that can be rounded up and herded together from behind and pushed in a direction, sheep need to be led from the front… I understand that if you try to herd sheep and prod and push sheep from behind to try to get them to go anywhere, then they will scurry around and get behind the shepherd. Sheep need to be led… Led by a Good Shepherd.

So, sheep are not “dumb” animals. They know their shepherd, and they will listen to their shepherd’s voice as he calls them by name. You could have 3 or 4 different flocks together in a sheepfold, as is common in sheep country, all grazing on the same pasture, comingled, and when the shepherd calls them, they will follow his voice… and go where he leads them, because they trust the Good Shepherd to lead them to good pasture, and keep them safe from danger.

But there are many voices vying for the sheep’s attention. Voices that try to endanger us, the sheep. There are voices of this world today that want to lead us sheep astray. You have probably heard them – or something like them… voices like self reliance, self sufficiency, greed, and idolatry. Voices that try to make us think that we don’t need each other or a good shepherd… voices of this world that try to break up the harmony of our flock and make us start judging one another.

Being timid animals, sheep are vulnerable and are not able to protect themselves, they need the shepherd’s protection… Protection from the wolves, and other predators that may be after them. But if the sheep are as true to the shepherd, as the Good Shepherd Jesus is to the sheep, then they will listen to the Shepherd and follow where he leads, and He will look after them.

But often, at times, we aren’t good sheep. We are stubborn and we don’t go where the Good Shepherd leads. We like to think that we have it all figured out ourselves, and we like to separate ourselves from the other sheep the sheep that aren’t like us, rather than stay with the one flock, under the control of the Good Shepherd.

There are many who are out there that try to be the shepherd and lead the sheep where they think they need to go. Leading them to places that aren’t good for the sheep… Places of danger… There are even ministers out there who think that they are shepherds, possibly trying to scare the sheep into staying with a flock… Telling them that they are the only ones who know the way to the greener pastures.

As your priest, I will be the first to tell you that I am NOT a shepherd, and I will never claim to be a shepherd – Some of you have probably been taught that a minister is some sort of shepherd… I don’t think that it is the proper representation… it really shouldn’t work like that.

I am more of a sheep among the sheep of God, always trying to point the way and show the other sheep who the One true “Good Shepherd” is. It is important that I always follow the Good Shepherd too, following where the Good Shepherd leads.

I heard someone say once that the priest is more of a sheep dog, helping the Good Shepherd keep the sheep in line, and helping protect the sheep against the evil wolves of this world… but we need to remember also that even the sheep dog follows where the “Good Shepherd” leads.

In this passage, Jesus is that only ONE True Good Shepherd, protecting, guiding, loving and caring for the sheep that are His - us. Never forsaking us, always faithful to us, nourishing us, giving us hope, and saving us from ourselves. Jesus isn’t any ordinary shepherd, he is the “model shepherd” (the “Good Shepherd”) that embodies strength and power, sympathy, kindness, and mercy.

Jesus uses a figure of speech… a metaphor that the people of the ancient world in the middle east would understand – but they don’t get it either. With the shepherd / sheep imagery, he tries to teach them how to live in right relationship with Him and with each other. And here we are, gathered today 2000 years later, learning from this passage that we are his people and the sheep of his pasture…

Let us seek the Good Shepherd’s guidance and only His guidance and protection as we dare to follow where our Good Shepherd (Jesus) leads. Amen!

RCL Year A (Easter 3) - May 8, 2011

The Rev. Kenneth H. Saunders III
Trinity Episcopal Church
Towson, MD

RCL Year A (Easter 3) - May 8, 2011

Acts 2:14a,36-41
1 Peter 1:17-23
Luke 24:13-35
Psalm 116:1-3, 10-17

Have you ever noticed that many of the post-resurrection stories… those “post-easter” stories about the risen Jesus are centered around meals? We know from today’s lesson that the disciples knew the Lord Jesus in the breaking of the bread at Emmaus…

Jesus comes among the disciples on the road but they don’t recognize him. The disciples are sad, and are moping around on the road between Jerusalem and Emmaus, and disappointed because Jesus and his ministry didn’t quite seem to be what they expected…

He wasn’t the savior that they had hoped for. He wasn’t the one that had ridden into Jerusalem on a colt just a week prior... he wasn't the one that they expected to be the militant messiah… They felt that he was taken and crucified before he could make a difference… before he could free Israel from Roman oppression. You can feel almost feel their disappointment in the story… And then Jesus reveals to them everything that was spoken about him by the prophets… but… they still don’t know it’s him – they don’t recognize him…

They get to Emmaus, and it’s quickly becoming evening… So in an act of hospitality and welcome, that is so common in that region of the world, they invite this total stranger into their home to share some dinner and a bed… They didn’t recognize that it is Jesus. To them, this man walking along the road was just a stranger… a stranger that has now revealed the prophetic scriptures to them. They don’t recognize Jesus until he takes, blesses, breaks, and gives bread to them like he has done so many times before.

It is not a mistake – Meals are very much a central part of Jesus’ ministry. And we know that some of the dinners that he has with folks get him into all kinds of trouble… like when he eats with “sinners” and tax collectors and harlots and those outside the circle of faith. Other meals shared with Jesus feed the multitudes… like when Jesus feeds the five thousand by taking what is available and blesses it, breaks it, and distributes it until ALL are fed – Providing enough for everyone and having enough left over to fill 12 baskets.

On his last evening with this followers, Jesus shared a meal with them, during which he offered his whole self… At his last supper with his friends, Jesus takes bread, blesses it, breaks it and shares it – and tells them, this is my body – and he takes the wine and blesses it and shares it and says that this is my blood… And this offering of his WHOLE self became the act - which becomes for us the greatest celebration and expression of thanksgiving to God… that which would sustain them and continues to sustain us and feed us after he is gone.

Our eating together is always a sign of celebration… It is a celebration of our relationships being lived out. It doesn’t matter if we are feeding or being fed. Most church communities (especially Trinity) like to have meals together. They like having meals together because they like being with each other, and they like eating good food. You will also see this in most families. Those that may be gathered at Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Birthdays, Anniversaries, Mother’s Day, or any other bright occasion on the calendar that may allow us the opportunity to share a meal.

But I want us to think for a minute about the many sacred and holy things that underlie a meal that we share together. Or better yet, the meals that we share with strangers who aren’t family... In communities of faith, these meals become sacramental for us… signs of risen Christ here with us and among us. They become meals that bring us all to a common table, in order to be in right relationship with God and with each other.

That is why, from the very beginning of times when Christians began to worship in their homes and in the catacombs… a meal becomes central act of our Christian life. It is a meal of nourishment for our Christian life together. For the journey of faith that we are all on. In this meal that we share, we experience the risen Christ as a community in the breaking of the bread and then we receive that spiritual nourishment of Christ’s whole self… just what we need to sustain us in our Christian lives and on our journey of faith…

At the center of the Resurrection story is this meal shared at Emmaus: the bread taken, blessed, broken, and given and the risen Jesus is recognized. Christians understand all meals in relationship to the Eucharistic feast… Haven’t you ever wondered why we pray… and give thanks to God before we eat? The Holy Communion, and in fact all meals are for us a foretaste of that heavenly banquet that we will ALL one day share as we feast with Jesus in paradise.

The disciples knew the Lord Jesus in the breaking of the bread… May the risen Christ be known to us today as the bread is broken and the meal is shared.