All of us have a story to tell. Each of us has come face to face with Jesus in our own way, just like the travelers on the road to Emmaus. We don't have to be seminary graduates; they weren't! We don't have to have the bible memorized; clearly, they didn't. But to know that Jesus is alive...
Jesus is 12 years old and has traveled with his family to celebrate the Passover in Jerusalem. After a couple of days of partying, the caravan turned back toward Nazareth. At suppertime, Mary began looking for Jesus. “Joseph, is Jesus with you?” “No, I thought he was with you!”
John's the name, baptism's my game. I spent my life in the wilderness, telling people that the Messiah was coming. The crowds that came were astonishing; people whose lives were a mess. I preached repentance, telling them to turn their lives around. Many did; they waded into the frigid waters and gave their lives to God.
Our destination may not be Emmaus, but often enough we walk our own trail of tears. We may not have seen Jesus crucified, but something happens that shatters our faith. We walk home, retreating like a defeated army. Then something comic happens. Jesus appears beside us. But we don't recognize him!
Do you have a Bucket List? You know, a list of things you want to do before you “kick the bucket?” Simeon had a Bucket List. There was just one thing on Simeon’s Bucket List? To see the Lord’s Messiah?
The scene in the temple brings together a baby, a young couple, and a pair of old people. Imagine a world where each and every child is welcomed and treated as important in God's plan, regarded as a precious revelation, a sign that God remembers us for good.
Would you rather be positive or negative? Most of us want to be positive. I see something unusual about this Scripture. In these two little paragraphs, there are nine negative statements. I kept coming across "no," "not," "neither," and "nor." Those are negative words.
After you've heard the Easter story for the umpteenth time, it can become routine. If you're not careful, you can miss the message altogether. Let me borrow a slogan from an old Kellogg's Corn Flakes commercial and invite you to "taste it again … for the very first time."
What we must not do is give up. People of good will can differ on means to a good end. People in our churches can seek to follow the Bible and still come up with different answers to major questions such as abortion or health care reform, capital punishment or war.
Priests and Levites go down from Jerusalem to ask John the Baptist some questions. He works as the doorman, the doorman to God's hotel. But these priests and Levites and those who sent them refuse simply to allow John to open the door for them.