Monday, April 27, 2020

Burning Hearts - 3rd Sunday of Easter 2020


26 April 2020 
Luke 24:13-35

It is written in Luke’s Gospel, “Jesus took a loaf of bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body, which is given for you.  Do this in remembrance of Me’.”  (22:19).

I mention this because the so-called Emmaus Moment has always been very odd to me.  The Resurrected Jesus was walking on the road to Emmaus with these two disciples and speaking with them, asking them questions … and they did not recognize Him.  We often speak of a “glorified body”, but it is still strange to me that these two guys did not seem to realize whom they were speaking to.

It was not until Jesus was at the table with them, blessed and broke the bread, and handed it to them that their “eyes were opened, and they recognized Him” (24:31). 

St. Augustine believed this to be the preeminent Sacramental Moment.  He wrote, “Remember, dearly beloved, how the Lord Jesus desired to be recognized in the breaking of bread, by those whose eyes had been kept till then from recognizing Him.  The faithful know what I’m talking about.  They know Christ in the breaking of bread.  It isn’t every loaf of bread, but the one that receives Christ’s blessing and becomes the body of Christ.  That is where [these disciples] recognized Him.  They were overjoyed and went straight to the others.  They found whom they already knew.  By telling what they had seen, they added to the Gospel.  It was all said, all done, all written down.  And it has reached us” (sermon 234.2).

For John Wesley, The Lord’s Supper, mysterious though it is, was very simple.  The Lord Jesus commanded us to receive this mercy.  “Do this”.  In the remembrance of the Resurrected Messiah, we are shown through the Scriptures and through doctrinal history and tradition that the surest way for our eyes to be opened is through the breaking of Sacred Bread; remembering all that goes with it.  It is, therefore, our need, the Church’s need, to be in “constant communion”.

In the early days of American Methodism, infrequent Communion was only because of the infrequency of an ordained elder’s visit, the circuit riders.  Over time it came to be known by many as Methodist Communion Sunday, usually the first Sunday of the month.  This was never Wesley’s intent, however, and he makes reference to our need to be in “constant communion” just as surely as we are encouraged by St. Paul to “pray without ceasing”.  The meaning is found in our need to constantly – and actively - remember Him.

Our need to remember, our need to be nourished, our need to be sustained, our need for constant mercy requires that we obey our Lord’s simple commandment: “Do this in remembrance of Me”.  Judging by what is written in Luke’s Gospel, then, it seems to be that this is when our eyes can be fully opened to experience His Presence, enabled as we are by the Mercy of The Lord to humbly submit ourselves to this Precious Gift our Shepherd and Teacher has left for us.  So we are left to ask, “When is there a time when we are not in need of His enduring mercy”??

Wesley also went to great lengths to answer objections to “constant communion” from those who argued according to St. Paul’s admonishment to the Corinthians (1 Cor 11:17-33) to refrain from receiving the Sacrament in an “unworthy manner” so as to avoid condemnation.  The plain truth as Wesley understood it is we are indeed unworthy to receive such a mercy.  Yet our merciful Lord commands us to “Do this in remembrance of Me”.

The manner in which we receive the Sacrament has everything to do with the means by which the Sacrament is delivered.  The long-standing practice of the Roman Catholic Church has been to require Confession prior to receiving the Sacrament.  This is the Church’s understanding of Paul’s instruction to “examine ourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup.  For all who eat and drink without discerning the body eat and drink judgment against themselves” (11:28-29).  Then he reminds us that “if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged” (vs 31).

Though we do not practice the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) as the Roman Church does, we are not excused from “examining ourselves” before we receive this remarkable Mercy.  Failing to do this honestly and openly is how we learn to take The Lord’s Supper for granted.  As Jesus established this enduring Sacred Moment we call “Sacrament”, He still pointed out that that not only would all abandon Him, one would go so far as to betray Him. 

Knowing this and calling them out on their own “unworthiness”, He nevertheless established this Mercy, this Means of Grace by which we are fed and through which we are forgiven – after we “examine ourselves”, of course, and confront and confess our sins.  As ugly as Confession can sometimes be, we acknowledge our “unworthiness” in this examination and feel our profound need to be forgiven.  So through this Enduring Mercy, to the humble and contrite heart, our Holy Father bids us to come, eat, be nourished, and be forgiven.

Some have expressed concerns about “constant communion” becoming little more than a mechanical response, a ritual that has the potential to become meaningless.  I will grant there is that danger, but I think this is what can happen when we fail to fully and honestly “examine ourselves”.  If we simply walk forward to receive Communion without opening ourselves to this Mercy, it can become just a thing we do.  Frequently or infrequently, the Sacrament can have little meaning for us if we only go through the physical motions while neglecting the spiritual disciple of our need to confess honestly and openly.

The Christian Church established Sunday not as the “new” Sabbath but as the Day of Resurrection, the Day of The Lord when we are to be reminded that neither the Cross nor the Tomb are our final resting places.  Though we must endure both, we are assured of Everlasting Life beyond each.  And we are assured each time we “Do this in remembrance of Christ Jesus”. 

As the two disciples on the road to Emmaus show us, a simple “burning heart” is not enough.  We are as unworthy to See as we are unworthy to Receive.  Yet the One who alone is worthy is the very One who commands us to Receive so we may See.  And when we See, we Remember.  And when we Remember, we will Follow.  And when we Follow, we will finally and fully Live the Life we are created to Live.

Let us never again take this Sacred Gift for granted; for it is through Him, with Him, and in Him where Eternal Life is found.  Amen.

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