A sermon by the Rev. Dr. Wayne Menking, Director of the LSPS Program, given in Christ Chapel on April 18, 2006

Luke 24: 13-49

We can well imagine the mood of the conversation on the road to Emmaus; two disciples of Jesus trying to explain to a "stranger" the events that have just happened in Jerusalem. They are somber. Their confusion and disillusion are clear: "We had hoped he was the One…" But he wasn't! This Jesus who so boldly proclaimed in the temple, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing," was the one in whom they had invested themselves. Perhaps more to the point, he was the one in whom they had invested their hope -- their hope that this was the Messiah who would bring the promises of God to fulfillment. But no -- the powers that be have had the final say. He is now dead, and the hope which these men had for the future is now gone.

Nothing is more devastating than when you have invested and staked your life into an expectation of a future, only to have that future completely pulled out from under you. Anyone who has lost a loved one prematurely knows the feeling. Everything you had hoped for, everything you had envisioned is gone. The present seems hardly worth living when the future is taken away. This is exactly what's happened to the followers of Jesus. The future has been taken away.

But the Easter story intervenes. In two separate, but clearly related events, Luke has the risen Jesus appear, first to the men on the road to Emmaus, and then again to the disciples. In both instances, the physical act of eating occurs as if to make the clear point: what they are experiencing is tangible and real. In and through the course of both conversations, their eyes are opened and they come to recognize the risen Lord. Suddenly, disillusion and despair gives way to hearts brought back to life. The future of the Kingdom of God is not dead. It is alive, in flesh and bone, in One who is physically eating with them. Not only is Jesus alive, the Kingdom of God is alive! And in this recognition, the followers of Jesus are empowered!

What is so unique to the Lucan version of the resurrection is the extent to which it is closely linked to power. To be sure, the ascension follows closely on the heels of the resurrection, but what is more telling about Luke's perspective is that the power to carry out the mission of Jesus is now being transferred to his followers. In fact the whole Easter story concludes, "…stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." Luke's version of the resurrection is clear: the power of the church to carry out its mission -- indeed to continue the mission of proclaiming and bearing witness to the Kingdom of God -- has its very foundation in this resurrection and in the disciples' physical experience of the Risen Lord. The powers of the world have not had the final say! And herein is the crux of the whole matter. The powers of the world, the powers that be, in whatever forms the come, have not had the final say about life.

This Easter and this text in particular couldn't have come at a more opportune time. I must confess that I've been feeling rather gloomy of late, and I suspect you have, too. Not long ago, TIME magazine told us in no uncertain terms -- "Be Worried, Be VERY Worried." That's all I needed. Watching drought conditions worsen on a weekly basis, anticipating another horrendous hurricane season, I've not just worried, but have wondered with some fear and trepidation about the kind of world my children will grow up in. My fear has been compounded as I see watch our government's steadfast refusal to join the rest of the world to do something about this problem. The future that I had imagined for them seem to be deteriorating at best.

Then the immigration debate heats up, and I am heartened by the voices that are standing up and crying out. Yet I watch and hear the meanness with which people are fighting back -- send them all home! And I can't help but wonder if the powers of this world won't have the final say -- yet again!

I'm sitting at dinner with my good friend who is a geologist and we are discussing the new drilling sites on the Barnett Shale in and around Fort Worth. And he tells me, Wayne, when this is gone, it's all gone! And I wonder about the powers that be who refuse to acknowledge the increasing limits of our global resources and who steadfastly refuse to lead us to new possibilities. Yet again, they seem to have the final word.

No the future has not been looking all that great lately, and the powers that be seem to be having the final word on just about everything! Indeed, the temptation to despair is great these days. It is the temptation to withdraw, to think that nothing matters, the temptation to feel hopeless, helpless and powerless. Perhaps even more to the point, it is the temptation to give up on God and the world!

Consider, though, what happens when the followers of Jesus recognize and realize that the powers that be have not had the final say about their future, and the future of the Kingdom of God. What happened when they realized that this Kingdom of God, which they had heard Jesus preach about and in which they had so totally invested themselves, really did hold ultimate truth and power? They received courage and a power to live! They received power and courage to go out into the world, to be in it and to engage it! They received courage and power to stand up against the imperial powers of their time. They were able to face death, knowing that even death could not hold ultimate power over them.

The difficult part of Easter is not about believing whether resurrection happened. That's the easy part! The difficult part is believing -- amid all the powers that seem to be having the final say about life -- that God's future for the world is not dead! The difficult part is not letting resurrection be some kind of private refuge that keeps you withdrawn from the world, but rather believing it in such a way that it is the power that shapes your whole perspective, understanding and attitude about life. How many of us for example, claim belief in resurrection, yet walk around with gloom and despair? The difficult part is putting our faith in the truth and power of the Kingdom of God, when everything else around us tells us that the Kingdom is for naught. That's why this celebration of Easter, and every Easter that has been or is to come, is so important. It's not just the beautiful and uplifting music. It's not just about feeling good, although that's important. It is time to renew our footing and foundation, a time to be reminded in Word and Sacrament that God's hold on life and the future remains, in spite of all that may appear. It is a time when our faith, courage, imagination, hope and power are renewed.

As you live in these difficult times, when all around you says that the powers of the world are having the final say about life may you find within yourself the conviction to claim, whether dimly or loudly, it matters not: He is risen, He is Risen Indeed!