Pastor Dismer’s sermon from Sunday, April 6

Lessons on love from Mr. Rogers and a precious grandchild reveal how God feels about us

Luke 24:13-35

Prayer: Lord Jesus, as we meet you today in your word and sacrament, open our eyes so that we will know you, set our hearts on fire, so that we will follow you, and fill our lives with love, so that we become living witnesses to your resurrection. Amen

Dear friends, our gospel lesson today is a touching and beautiful story of something that took place on the afternoon of the first Easter.

Two weeks ago we heard about the events early on Easter morning, when Mary Magdelene and some other women went to Jesus’ tomb and found it empty.

Last week we heard about the appearance of Jesus to his frightened disciples, hiding behind a closed door, on the evening of that first Easter.

Today our Gospel lesson is about something that happened during the afternoon, between these two other events.

Perhaps it seems a bit strange that we have not considered these events in the order they happened, but I like this sequence, because today’s lesson is really a summary and explanation of what it all meant, and means for us today.

Two of Jesus’ followers – not two of the original 12, but still followers – were on their way to Emmaus, a town about 7 miles away from Jerusalem, that first Easter afternoon.

They had been in Jerusalem. They knew about the crucifixion, and they knew about the women going to the tomb and finding it empty. They were discussing all this when a stranger appeared and walked beside them.

In response to Jesus’ questions they explained that Jesus of Nazareth, a prophet powerful in word and deed, had been crucified. They were heartbroken, disappointed, and puzzled. They had hoped for so much more.

They told Jesus about the empty tomb, but obviously didn’t understand what it meant.

For a few minutes, let’s imagine that we, too, are walking along this road to Emmaus.

Imagine that we are hearing Jesus explaining the Scriptures – from Moses on down through the prophets – explaining God’s plan as it was revealed, bit by bit, over time to his chosen people. Explaining why Jesus had to die.

In thrilling wonder, wouldn’t our hearts also burn within us?

As we arrive at Emmaus it is near suppertime; darkness is approaching. The men beg Jesus, “Stay with us.” “Stay with us,” we ask too. Of course, we know it is Jesus who has been walking with us.

Now imagine that we have entered a house. These two men (one of them is Cleopas) are the hosts, yet Jesus takes over the meal. As he breaks the bread and blesses it, our companions finally realize who he is!

And then Jesus vanishes. And these men, who have just walked 7 miles to Emmaus, get up and, in the darkness, walk 7 miles back to Jerusalem, so that they can share their incredible experience with the 11 disciples:

“Jesus, as a stranger, came and walked with us, he explained all the Scriptures to us, and then, when he broke bread with us, we recognized him!”

Here in this story is the whole meaning of Easter. In a sort of living parable, Jesus acted out what his followers needed to know:

That there was a reason for his death, which was revealed in the Scriptures, and they would be reminded of that reason in the breaking of bread. WORD and SACRAMENT.

My question for us today is: Do we get it? As we hear the WORD, in bible readings and hymns and sermons and discussions, do we understand why Jesus died? As we come to COMMUNION, do we understand why we share this tiny bit of bread and wine?

Why did Jesus die? Why did he HAVE TO die? In a phrase: The LOVE of God. The only thing that redeems our fallen world is God’s love - God’s sacrificial love.

Did Jesus want to die? Not really. Remember how he prayed, the night before his death: Father, if possible, remove this cup.

But in the end, in obedience, he hung on the cross. Why? Because Jesus was God’s son, sent into the world to save us. And the only thing that can save us is love. Jesus lived that love in every possible way, and died that love, so that we would understand what love is.

Let me share a couple of examples. Do you know who Fred Rogers was? Fred was Mr. Rogers, whose TV shows for children are still being repeated on the air.

Mr. Rogers was the baccalaureate speaker at Boston University the year our son graduated from that school. We attended that service.

In the sermon, Mr. Rogers told a story about a letter he had received from a young man who wrote to say that all the while he was growing up, he lived in a home where he was either ignored or abused.

Every day as a child he watched “Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood” on TV and heard someone say “You are special.” “You are my friend.”

He clung to those words every night as he cried himself to sleep, but he believed them, and they gave him hope.

Mr. Rogers said, “Why would a grown man stand before a TV camera every week for 30 years, changing into a sweater and putting on tennis shoes, and singing songs to children, and talking to puppets? Why? “Because it was a way for me to share God’s love with children,” he said.

Mr. Rogers loved sacrificially. He did things most grownups wouldn’t do, and knew he was often made fun of, but it didn’t matter.

Mr. Rogers taught me, as he has taught many, about following Jesus example of love.

Someone else who has taught me and a surprising number of others about love is our granddaughter, Jessica. She is only 2½. She is blind, and severely brain-damaged as a result of complications from heart surgery that she underwent at age 4 months.

Jessica will never call me Grandpa, or hold her arms out to me, but I have learned that I can love her just for herself, and not for anything that she could do for me. That has made me realize how God feels about me. There is nothing I can or need to do to earn or merit God’s love, yet God loves me anyway, enough to die on a cross for me. And he loves you the same way.

God’s love is the only path to peace in this world. It is the only motivation to feed hungry people, or shelter the homeless, or visit those in prison.

God’s love is what Jesus was talking about when he said, “Whatever you do to the least of these you do to me.” Love is what he was demonstrating when he healed the lepers, and the mentally ill, and forgave the prostitutes and tax collectors.

When Jesus commissioned his disciples to go into the world, making disciples and baptizing them, he was saying, “Invite them into the family of God; make them welcome; teach them what I have taught you, to love.”

Surely, if we open our Bibles each day as if we were on the road to Emmaus, we can expect to encounter our living Lord and find our hearts on fire!

Surely, as we come to the Lord’s Table and eat the bread and drink the wine, our eyes will be opened and we will recognize Jesus in this reenactment of his sacrificial love for us.

Mr. Roger’s was a means of resurrection for a lonely child; my granddaughter has been a means of resurrection, a gift of love, for me.

As disciples who have met Jesus on the road to Emmaus, in his word, and in his supper, may our hearts burn and our eyes shine with the kind of love that brings Christ’s resurrection to this troubled world. In Jesus’ name, amen.