When I did my Clinical Pastoral Education at Maine Medical Center, I vividly remember one of my patients, a dear, elderly Episcopalian man who was dying. This man deeply touched my heart. I will never forget the day I read him today’s story from Luke’s gospel. After I finished reading, he said to me, “There’s always an Emmaus.” The next day, my friend died, but I shall always remember what he said in response to that story.
There is always an Emmaus. Biblical archeologists tell us that the exact location of the village of Emmaus is unknown. There are at least nine possible locations that are candidates for the small biblical town, but historians tell us there is no record of any village called Emmaus in any other ancient source. We simply do not know where Emmaus might have been. Tradition tells us that it might have been a place just a few hours walk from Jerusalem. However, New Testament scholars, Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan, suggest that Emmaus is nowhere. Emmaus is nowhere precisely because Emmaus is everywhere. Every one of us has at one time, or indeed for some of us, many times, traveled along the road to Emmaus. Yes, there is always an Emmaus.
I know that I have been on the road to Emmaus most of my life. I’ve had lots of company on that road to Emmaus as many others have walked with me, taking me to a deeper understanding of scripture and a deeper understanding of faith in the risen Christ. Like Cleopas and his companion who traveled that road to Emmaus while broken and grieving, I have made that journey in a state of confusion, bewilderment, and brokenness. And, as I have traveled that road, the risen Christ has been present, speaking to me through my companions in the conversations we have had. You see, I have always had questions and I have voraciously wanted to learn more and go deeper in my understanding faith, religion, and indeed life. I have always loved to discuss the important things of life, and I have always had an insatiable appetite and hunger that burns within me as I want to better understand the deeper truths regarding faith, God’s presence to us, and what that means for our understanding of the world, sociology, culture, science, my life, and our lives as people of faith. Yes, there is always an Emmaus and, yes, I have traveled that road most of my life.
Learning about this earth, the planet on which we live, and the natural world has also been an Emmaus journey for me. Last Wednesday was Earth Day, and today is the Sunday the Green Team was going to lead worship as we celebrate this earth, this gorgeous planet on which we live, and the risen universal Christ’s presence to us in all of creation. For the past 50 years the world has set aside April 22nd to think about the gift we have been given in this home we call mother earth. Earth Day almost always falls during our liturgical season of Easter. So, it is fitting that, as we celebrate the resurrected Jesus, we celebrate Earth Day. During this time we are reminded that we celebrate the one who was born so that we could know God’s presence in our world and in our flesh, the God who suffered and continues to suffer the burdens and sorrows and pains of our world, even the pains of this suffering creation. Easter is about new life and the risen Christ bringing forth new life. And, friends, that is not simply some kind of disembodied life that only awaits us in some future consummation. It is the first fruits, the seed that rises as a green blade to bear fruit. In the northern hemisphere where we live, Easter arrives with the signs and symbols of spring, the flowers, and the songs of returning birds. As we pay attention to these signs and symbols, this focus can become one of the ways in which we discover the risen Christ among us. We discover we are deeply and inextricably connected to creation and re-creation, to our Creator and this Earth.
So, yes, we observe and celebrate Earth Day in the church! The ELCA has had a focus on caring for creation since our denomination was formed. And, as we mark 50 years of this Earth Day celebration, we also look ahead. We look to the 11 remaining years before it is too late to stop a 2° Celsius temperature rise for our planet. We know that a commitment to address this issue needs to happen now. We know that it takes all people across the globe, people of all religions, to work together to adapt, to mitigate what is coming, and provide the necessary change that is urgent. Over 97% of climate scientists in this world are warning us and telling us what we need to do now. And, in fact, some of them are members of this Faith community. They are prophets in our time. And, if we truly care for our neighbor, we need to listen to their message and respond appropriately. As people of faith, this response is something that is rooted in our faith and it is all about living out our love for our neighbors.
As I said, our Green Team was going to focus on this today, but our lives have been interrupted and disrupted by the COVID-19 virus. And, as we listen to the scientists regarding both this virus and climate change, we need to face the deeper truth that the disruption we now face is only a foretaste of the disruption we will likely face if the world does not address the issue of climate change. Most scientists agree that addressing climate change is THE most important task for humanity. But, there is hope! We can do this. When we look at the way the world has come together to act and address COVID-19, it gives us hope that we can also come together to address climate change.
As Christians, we name “love” as an act of ultimate importance. Friends, love includes addressing climate change and caring for this planet! Just as honoring the stay at home order and practicing social distancing is all about loving our neighbor, caring for this earth, and working to make a difference, is also all about loving our neighbor! The impending impacts are so catastrophic, and our window of time is getting short. As people created by God and placed in relationship with all of creation, all the threatened creatures, from the most vulnerable human populations to species endangered by extinction and ecosystems moving toward collapse, there is so much at stake. Rooted in scripture, and our understanding of the risen Christ, we can draw on all that Jesus did and taught in the context of our beautiful, life-giving, and threatened world. Resurrection takes place in bodies and is encountered in and through bodies. And the encounters are not limited to human bodies but to other forms of life and matter around us. Our Emmaus journey can help us see more clearly that we are enmeshed in the communion of the planet and cosmos. We can allow our hearts to burn within us as we, too, walk with the Risen One and have our eyes opened to our deep connectedness to this earth. We can have our eyes opened to recognize and discern, through words and conversations with scientists, by actions of gratitude, and even in the simple but sacred ritual of breaking and sharing bread.
Friends, there is always an Emmaus. At the heart of the Emmaus story is an urging towards a deeper faith: to recognize and discern, not just to see. Like Cleopas and his companion, we need to open our eyes to what is before us. As ecological readers of today’s gospel, this means being attentive to the material, to matter itself as we look at this world, to be eyewitnesses to everything we see around us, and to grow and mature in our understanding so that we recognize the relationships that form our Earth community. And, as we learn and grow, we are on the road to Emmaus. Yes, there is always an Emmaus.
This past week, I came upon this phrase, “Easter reminds us that some of God’s best work happens when the world is darkest.” That phrase had deep meaning for me as we are presently living in a metaphorically dark time. With COVID-19 raging throughout the world, we are experiencing a real time of darkness as we live with much uncertainty, disruption, loss, fear, grief, and doubt. And, yet, as we experience this form of darkness, the message of Easter reminds us that God has the last word and God is at work when the world seems to be at its darkest.
When we experience times like this, we tend to experience more doubt. We question God’s presence to us and with us, and we ask the question, “Where is God in all of what is happening?” We ask this because we cannot always see what God is doing as we experience pain. And, we often are afraid to be honest about the fact that we have doubt. However, as theologian Paul Tillich suggests, doubt is a very necessary element in faith. In fact, a living faith includes doubt and such doubt requires risk and courage. In her book, Outlaw Christian, Jacqueline Bussie, when talking about doubt being a good and necessary element in faith, writes:
How can doubt, rooted as it is in uncertainty, be a good thing, or at the very least an acceptable thing? For starters, we should acknowledge and name the doubt within us because, much like snot and passing gas, doubt is natural and human – that is to say, embarrassing and unwelcome but real and impossible to be healthy without, much as we want to pretend otherwise. But more than just natural, doubt is also necessary, healthy, and good for our faith life. Doubt functions as a robust spiritual virtue, rather than faith’s wimpy opposite. (Outlaw Christian, p.50)
Yes, doubt functions as a robust spiritual virtue. In fact, I believe doubt is the seedbed of faith. Doubt is often where the seeds of faith are planted, and then they then begin to grow.
Well, in today’s gospel, we come face to face with doubt. And, while doubt comes to the forefront in the story of Thomas, the truth is that all the disciples were experiencing doubt. It is the day of the resurrection and the disciples are sitting in a room behind locked doors because of fear, doubt, and quite likely more than a little shame. And, Jesus appears among them. They all doubted him! They doubted it was Jesus! It is only after Jesus shows them his hands and side that the disciples rejoice because they have seen the Lord. But, Thomas was not there with the others on that evening. And, while all the disciples experienced doubt, for some strange reason, only Thomas gets labeled “doubter.”
Far too often we judge Thomas because of his doubt. We need to cut him some slack and give him a break. In Thomas we find the yearning of one who truly wants to see with his eyes and touch with his hands that of which he has been told. He has real questions, real concerns, and a desire for a real encounter with the risen Lord. I think the story of Thomas captures our hearts and minds because we, too, were absent to the Resurrection experience two thousand years ago. When faced with the mystery of the Resurrection, the story of Thomas names that part in each of us that wants to scream out, “Show me!”
Thomas has just had a very harsh encounter with reality. Reality had hit hard in the form of a cross when his dear friend had been crucified. And, for Thomas, when he fled that horrible scene, not only had Jesus died, Thomas’ hopes and dreams had also died. Jesus’ crucifixion had destroyed his hopes for the future and very poignantly reminded Thomas that there is an end. And, it is the same for us. When the harsh realities of life hit us – whether it be the death of a family member, the loss of a job, an unexpected illness, a broken relationship, or whatever – reality deeply cuts into our hopes, our dreams, the very fabric of our relationships, and we are reminded that there is an end. There is an end over which we have no control as we feel we have been taken captive by an extremely cruel conqueror. And, we usually experience doubt! I think many of us are experiencing such doubt as our “normal” way of life has been hit hard, interrupted and changed by this cruel COVID-19 virus.
As we look at the experience of Thomas, reality had left him emotionally bleeding and broken. So, when he again joins the community of disciples, within the context of those who proclaim Jesus is alive, Thomas lays bare his doubt. He is very honest about his doubt as he says, “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe.” In the depth of his despair Thomas articulates his doubt, and it is in that place where he is now confronted with the risen Christ. It is in that place of despair that Thomas is greeted by the risen Lord whose presence exudes forgiveness and grace when he hears the words, “Peace be with you.” In that moment, Thomas knows he is in the presence of God and he believes. Greeted by forgiveness and grace embodied in Jesus’ words to him, Thomas then makes the great confession of John’s gospel: “My Lord and my God!”
In this experience of Thomas, we find that doubt is a question mark and faith is an exclamation point as he makes that great confession. And, if we look at our own lives, I think we might discover that the most honest, believable, and realistic stories we have lived include both doubt and faith. Thomas lays bare his doubt which takes him to this encounter with the grace of God, embodied and enfleshed in the risen Lord Jesus. Doubt drives him to question, and that question takes him to this place where the risen Lord becomes present to him, the place where his entire reality is changed. The despairing Thomas does not escape from the real world and there is not a break from the tangible reality of the world. No. But, there is something very different, something very, very new. God’s grace and God’s kingdom have invaded the real world. God has transformed it, and nothing will ever be the same again.
Thomas experiences Easter in the way many of us begin to experience it. Thomas finally gets Easter when he brings forth his questions. He wants to see and touch. He wants tangible proof and needs his own encounter before he can trust the story. It is doubt that compels Thomas to ask the questions and it is doubt that takes him to the place where he is looking for what is really real, and what truly matters. You see, without doubt, our faith is shallow and rootless. We fail to go down deep. And, quite honestly, if we do not express doubts and have only certainty, it closes us off to the newness that we so long for. Doubt is a sign of a healthy and deep-rooted faith, though most of us are taught to believe the opposite. And, when doubt takes us to the deeper places in faith our reality changes. We are transformed and our perspective on all of life changes.
The story of Thomas and his doubt is one of the most compelling, believable, realistic stories in the Bible because it is our story. Doubt is an element of faith because it gives birth to the questions that arise which take us to the deeper places in life. Doubt functions as a robust spiritual virtue, rather than faith’s wimpy opposite, because the questions that arise are the heartbeat of our faith! They enable us to be open to the risen Christ who is always breaking into our lives, even into this present darkness, as God is continually at work, making us new. Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Safety is something that is on all our minds these days. And, along with that concern, most of us are living with a certain amount of fear. As we live with this stay at home order, we do so because we are rightly concerned for people’s safety, concerned for the safety of those in our families, and concerned for our own personal safety and security. We do this because we are justifiably fearful of this COVID-19 virus and the way it is spreading in our world. While this concern is necessary and required, the intentional focus on safety intensifies our fear and anxiety as it permeates our culture and each of our lives.
Well, in the last chapters of Matthew’s gospel, we find people who were fearful and intently focused on safety, their own safety and security. When Jesus was betrayed and arrested, the disciples were fearful and so they sought safety in the cover of darkness by deserting Jesus and fleeing the garden. Peter was fearful and sought safety in that courtyard by trying to stay a distance away from Jesus, while trying to follow what happened to Jesus during his trial. And, after Jesus was safely dead, the chief priests asked Pilate to place guards at the sealed tomb where Jesus’ body was laid to rest. They remembered that Jesus had said he would rise again in three days. They were fearful and wanted a secure tomb. So, Pilate told his soldiers to “make that tomb as secure and safe as you can,” as he placed twenty-four-hour guards to keep watch.
Well, guess what! It did not work! It did not work for Peter who ended up denying Jesus three times. And, it did not work for the chief priests who tried to secure and seal Jesus in a tomb. It did not work because Jesus, the Word made flesh, cannot be contained. All the chief priests’ attempts at achieving security and safety were shattered when the very foundations of the earth shook. And, by a power greater than all their efforts, Jesus was raised!
When the very foundations of the earth shook as tectonic plates shifted, even Pilate’s security detail fell to the ground in fear. As the soldiers become like dead men, grounded in fear, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary are greeted by the angel who says, “Don’t be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.”
The women then go, and what is so interesting is that they leave the tomb with both fear and joy! While they are joyful, an element of fear has not left them. They apparently do not exactly feel safe. You see, they are living an experience in which the very foundation of the earth under their feet has shaken them to the core. Their dear friend who was dead has not stayed dead! Talk about not feeling secure and safe! And, as they run to tell the disciples, who should run into them but Jesus. Jesus, their risen Lord stands before them and says to them, “Do not be afraid.” They encounter the risen Christ and hear him say, “Do not be afraid,” and it is the very last time in Matthew’s gospel that we hear anything about fear.
As the women encounter the risen Christ, it becomes very clear to them that reality itself had changed. The Rev. Dr. Mary Hinkle Shore describes this change in the women and all of Jesus’ disciples by saying:
As the first Christians came to recognize the risen Christ, they experienced boldness and freedom of speech that surprises those of us who read their stories. It is as if their security came from the inside out. They were not afraid of people who scoffed at their claims. They were not afraid of authorities who ordered them to stop speaking of Jesus. They were free from what the neighbors thought about them and free from what the established power structure could do to them.
Now, we know that the disciples did face threats and persecution following Christ’s resurrection. The history of the early church indicates many of them were killed for professing Christ as Savior and proclaiming their faith. However, after experiencing Christ’s resurrection, even the threats made against their lives by those who were in power did not own them or define them. Fear no longer defined the way they lived or their proclamation of the good news. And, what is so amazing is that even all of the mistakes they had made, all of their fear induced foolishness and prior cowardly behavior, was met by the risen Christ who did meet them in Galilee. Their encounter with the risen Christ freed them from all that had been, and their reality was changed. And, even more, the risen Christ promised to be with them to the end of the age.
So, on this Easter morning, what might that kind of freedom mean for you? How does this good news free you from the fear that binds you? How does this good news change the way you hear the daily news reports? How does this good news change the way we feel as we live through this pandemic and indeed need to stay home? How does this good news change the way you will live as, out of necessity, we will be living a new kind of normal for some time? How does this good news transform all that defines you? How does this good news transform this faith community and the way we live and minister to the greater community? The risen Christ stands before us saying, “Do not be afraid!”
Because of Easter, we know the foundation of all that once was has been shaken and God is creating a new heaven and a new earth. And, because of Easter our lives are safe and secure, regardless of our present circumstances because our lives are held with Christ, in the very God of all creation. While we cannot escape the realities of this broken, fractured, hurting, diseased world, we defiantly place our hope and trust in the risen Christ who stands before us and says, “Do not be afraid.” Do not be afraid, because we know a Savior who died on the cross to break the power of everything that threatens to enslave or oppress or distort or destroy our humanity. Do not be afraid, because of Easter we know and trust a God who takes all our pain and sorrow and suffering and sadness and loss and even death and turns it all into new life. Do not be afraid, because of Easter we believe the new life that came into being on that early morning two thousand years ago will one day transform everything and everyone. Do not be afraid, because of Easter we believe in a God who brings hope out of hopelessness and new life out of the powers of death that are raging around us. Do not be afraid, because of Easter we believe in a God who is working to bring grace and peace and mercy and love and justice and freedom and joy and life into every life. Do not be afraid, because of Easter and because we believe in a God who raised Jesus from the dead, we believe that even death does not have the last word. God alone has the last word. You are secure!! We are secure!!
Do not be afraid! Because of Easter we are secure and our future is secure! For the powers of death have already been defeated and, no matter how viciously they presently rage or what power and authority they try to claim, Christ has already won the victory! So, we defiantly stand on this day and proclaim this good news: Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Alleluia!
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