TAKE, BLESS, BREAK, GIVE Sermon 4-6-08
Scripture: 1 Peter 1:17-23; Luke 24:13-35
We are an Easter people, Amen? As post-resurrection Christians we have heard, some of us for many, many years, stories about the appearances of Jesus to the faith community. Today’s scripture has one of the most well-known stories—the Walk to Emmaus. Let’s look again at the scripture you just heard: two people are leaving Jerusalem, to go to Emmaus. One is named Cleopas; many scholars think that the other person may be his wife, Mary, as there were missionary couples in those days. Why were they on their way to Emmaus? There may have been several towns called Emmaus which meant hot springs. For these two, maybe Emmaus was home, and they were eager to go home and try to sort out why all of these things had happened to Jesus, their beloved leader. Maybe they just had to go some place and hideaway and try to figure out “what next”. When we don’t know what to do, or we have lost hope some of us probably wish we could find a place, an Emmaus where we could hide away and have some quiet to try to make sense of things.
As these followers were walking along discussing all that had happened in the last few days a stranger joined them and asked what they were talking about. They did not recognize this man and went on to tell him all about the arrest, trial, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. And then this stranger started interpreting scripture to them, explaining how all that had happened needed to happen to give glory to God. Still the couple had no idea who this man was. Yet they invited him to stay with them for the night. I wonder how many times Christ has been present to us and we knew it not. How often we do not see or hear the Christ in the daily, ordinary living of our lives! How many times have we missed a spirit-filled opportunity because of our lack of hospitality! Even though I love the scripture where Jesus says when you do it to one of the least of these you do it unto me, or NOT. I know I let lots of opportunities go by. Maybe you do too.
Back to the scripture: Once Jesus accepted the invitation and sat down to eat with them, putting into motion the title of today’s sermon, the four-fold action of take, bless, break, and give, their eyes were open and they recognized the risen Christ. Now for those of you that are familiar with the Bible, Jesus had done this before—at the feeding of the 5000 and most recently at that Passover Supper the Thursday that Judas betrayed him. Throughout the Gospels, so much of Jesus’ ministry took place at meals. He was portrayed by his enemies as a drunkard and a glutton! Take, bless, break and give are not just part of our Holy Communion sacrament, they are the whole of the Christian life. Let’s look at each of these words separately:
Take: Jesus is there for us, ready to take what we bring to him whether it be a concern, an anxiety, or a gift. We offer what we have to him and more importantly to others in his name. We bring to him our dreams, our passions, our sorrows. We bring the work that we do, the art we create. We offer our brokenness as well as our best selves, and Jesus takes it all.
Bless: Whatever we give to the Lord, whether it be an internal or external thing, Jesus blesses it and offers it on to God. He doesn’t evaluate or criticize, he simply blesses what we offer and gives thanks. Just as Jesus blesses, we too can bless each other and give thanks for the goodness that has been given to us. In fact there’s no better way to respond to life than to bless and praise God.
Break: Jesus breaks the bread because unless it is broken it can not be shared. Just as at Jesus’ crucifixion his body was broken for us so he shares our brokenness, our pain. Very few if any of us can go through life without suffering—failure, loss, divorce, loneliness, illness, death. Brokenness is part of the journey of life. If we can befriend that brokenness, it’s possible to learn from it and to grow because of it. Sometimes it’s through the brokenness that we can be transformed. If a snake does not shed its skin it will become sick. A snake sheds its skin when it’s inside becomes bigger than its outside, a process that continue throughout its life. Part of our brokenness is a need to shed whatever is dead, whatever doesn’t work for us anymore. It could be dead ways of thinking or believing or seeing or relating. Shedding opens us up to self-transformation.
Give: Jesus gives us the bread and wine in remembrance of his life, death, and resurrection. As followers of Jesus when we eat at the Communion table, we know that the Risen Christ is in us. This holy communion that we receive from Christ we then give to those we meet on the way. “He took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them and their eyes were opened and they recognized him.” In giving and receiving our eyes are open so that we are better prepared to bring about God’s kingdom, that life of abundance where peace and justice reign.
Take, bless, break, and give. To close I share a summary of these actions as preached by Rev. Lori Sowdon:
We take the gifts of life, consciously aware of the Giver, our God. We bless the gifts, offering thanks for the gifts and praise to the Maker. We are broken in life, broken yet not destroyed, broken and healed, broken and raised to new life, broken to shine with the glory of God. We give, sharing God’s gifts with others. Perhaps our greatest expression of gratitude is in giving the gift away.
Take. Bless. Break. Give. These are the actions of a life lived in thanksgiving to God. May these four movements mark our lives as disciples of Jesus. May they become daily acts, drawing us into closer communion with God and with one another.
We are an Easter people, Amen? As post-resurrection Christians we have heard, some of us for many, many years, stories about the appearances of Jesus to the faith community. Today’s scripture has one of the most well-known stories—the Walk to Emmaus. Let’s look again at the scripture you just heard: two people are leaving Jerusalem, to go to Emmaus. One is named Cleopas; many scholars think that the other person may be his wife, Mary, as there were missionary couples in those days. Why were they on their way to Emmaus? There may have been several towns called Emmaus which meant hot springs. For these two, maybe Emmaus was home, and they were eager to go home and try to sort out why all of these things had happened to Jesus, their beloved leader. Maybe they just had to go some place and hideaway and try to figure out “what next”. When we don’t know what to do, or we have lost hope some of us probably wish we could find a place, an Emmaus where we could hide away and have some quiet to try to make sense of things.
As these followers were walking along discussing all that had happened in the last few days a stranger joined them and asked what they were talking about. They did not recognize this man and went on to tell him all about the arrest, trial, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. And then this stranger started interpreting scripture to them, explaining how all that had happened needed to happen to give glory to God. Still the couple had no idea who this man was. Yet they invited him to stay with them for the night. I wonder how many times Christ has been present to us and we knew it not. How often we do not see or hear the Christ in the daily, ordinary living of our lives! How many times have we missed a spirit-filled opportunity because of our lack of hospitality! Even though I love the scripture where Jesus says when you do it to one of the least of these you do it unto me, or NOT. I know I let lots of opportunities go by. Maybe you do too.
Back to the scripture: Once Jesus accepted the invitation and sat down to eat with them, putting into motion the title of today’s sermon, the four-fold action of take, bless, break, and give, their eyes were open and they recognized the risen Christ. Now for those of you that are familiar with the Bible, Jesus had done this before—at the feeding of the 5000 and most recently at that Passover Supper the Thursday that Judas betrayed him. Throughout the Gospels, so much of Jesus’ ministry took place at meals. He was portrayed by his enemies as a drunkard and a glutton! Take, bless, break and give are not just part of our Holy Communion sacrament, they are the whole of the Christian life. Let’s look at each of these words separately:
Take: Jesus is there for us, ready to take what we bring to him whether it be a concern, an anxiety, or a gift. We offer what we have to him and more importantly to others in his name. We bring to him our dreams, our passions, our sorrows. We bring the work that we do, the art we create. We offer our brokenness as well as our best selves, and Jesus takes it all.
Bless: Whatever we give to the Lord, whether it be an internal or external thing, Jesus blesses it and offers it on to God. He doesn’t evaluate or criticize, he simply blesses what we offer and gives thanks. Just as Jesus blesses, we too can bless each other and give thanks for the goodness that has been given to us. In fact there’s no better way to respond to life than to bless and praise God.
Break: Jesus breaks the bread because unless it is broken it can not be shared. Just as at Jesus’ crucifixion his body was broken for us so he shares our brokenness, our pain. Very few if any of us can go through life without suffering—failure, loss, divorce, loneliness, illness, death. Brokenness is part of the journey of life. If we can befriend that brokenness, it’s possible to learn from it and to grow because of it. Sometimes it’s through the brokenness that we can be transformed. If a snake does not shed its skin it will become sick. A snake sheds its skin when it’s inside becomes bigger than its outside, a process that continue throughout its life. Part of our brokenness is a need to shed whatever is dead, whatever doesn’t work for us anymore. It could be dead ways of thinking or believing or seeing or relating. Shedding opens us up to self-transformation.
Give: Jesus gives us the bread and wine in remembrance of his life, death, and resurrection. As followers of Jesus when we eat at the Communion table, we know that the Risen Christ is in us. This holy communion that we receive from Christ we then give to those we meet on the way. “He took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them and their eyes were opened and they recognized him.” In giving and receiving our eyes are open so that we are better prepared to bring about God’s kingdom, that life of abundance where peace and justice reign.
Take, bless, break, and give. To close I share a summary of these actions as preached by Rev. Lori Sowdon:
We take the gifts of life, consciously aware of the Giver, our God. We bless the gifts, offering thanks for the gifts and praise to the Maker. We are broken in life, broken yet not destroyed, broken and healed, broken and raised to new life, broken to shine with the glory of God. We give, sharing God’s gifts with others. Perhaps our greatest expression of gratitude is in giving the gift away.
Take. Bless. Break. Give. These are the actions of a life lived in thanksgiving to God. May these four movements mark our lives as disciples of Jesus. May they become daily acts, drawing us into closer communion with God and with one another.
posted by Sermons given at Deering Community Church @ 10:46 AM
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