Sermon for May 4,2003

Sermon for May 4, 2003
Finding the Joy Again
Acts 3:12-19, I John 3:1-7, Luke 24: 36b-48
There are those days when I think I need a head transplant. How about you? Aren't there those times when you need a new perspective? A fresh start to get going again? Do you ever feel stuck in a rut? Ever wonder what happened to all those dreams you had for yourself and your life? Ever feel discouraged with how things are going? Have you ever needed the resurrection?
Certainly that is where the disciples are in all of the lessons this morning. Jesus has died. There has been something called the resurrection taking place, but what it means is not yet clear. In the wake of Jesus' death, things have fallen apart and have not yet come together. They are wondering what to do, how to get going, what to dream now, and are feeling discouraged. The lessons show the people of God in search of a resurrected purpose, direction, and discipleship.
What is true for us in our personal lives and in the early church after the death of Jesus, may be true for religion in America as well. The Gallup Organization reported that in 2002, public confidence in organized religion sank to its lowest point since 1940. Public confidence in religion peaked in 1956 and has declined since then, with a slight rise in the 1990's. In the last year, confidence in clergy dropped from 64% to 52%. In the last year, confidence in organized religion dropped from 60% to 45%.
After two-thousand years, one might think that we would be so filled with Easter joy that we are beyond the disciple's original dismay. But we are not.
Our hearts are still sometimes filled with fear and terror as in Luke 24:37-38. We are afraid of many things. Our fears cause us to do many things that may even hurt ourselves and others. We live in anxious times.
Our hearts are still sometimes filled with doubt as in Luke 24:39-43. We doubt whether God exists. We doubt whether that God loves us. We are perhaps even more cynical than the first disciples. We live in suspicious times.
Our hearts are still involved in the rejection of the good as Peter suggests in Acts 3:13-14. We find it difficult to stand up for, do and defend the good. I wonder how many times this week we thought of doing the will of God in contrast to the number of times we focused on what we wanted to do. For every thought God gets, we usually get more than our share. We live in self-centered times.
Sometimes we still stumble and do the wrong thing because we do not know any better as in Acts 3:17 and I John 3:1-2. So many times I know I would have done things differently if I had only known, and you are the same way.
You would think that after 2,000 years we would be filled to overflowing with the joy of the resurrection to eternal life. But two Sundays after Easter, we are still finding ourselves with the disciples this morning: afraid of all sorts of things, apprehensive, anxious, filled with doubt and suspicion, rejecting the good ideas and intentions of God and others, and not knowing any better.
Is it time for that head transplant yet? How is it that we can recover and become better disciples and Christians? Is it possible for us to start over? To recommit ourselves to living more fully the life we want to live? To experience the fullness of Easter joy, day after day?
It is possible. And the keys for experiencing the resurrection in our hearts and in our congregation and in our community are also found in the lessons today. There are six keys to resurrection joy.

Key Number 1:Become aware of the wounds (Luke 24:39)
The disciples begin to get it when they become aware of the wounds of Jesus. So do we. We want to deny our wounds. There are probably times when that is necessary. But to move into joy, we must recognize the pain within us and the pain of others around us. When we become aware of our wounds and the wounds of others, we are ready to accept the healing that is offered to us. Sometimes we carry pain around for so long that it is hard for us to see it as pain anymore. But it is. And it hurts. But in that pain we begin to meet God.

Key Number 2: Eat a little bit with Jesus (Luke 24:42)
The disciples begin to get it when they have a little bit to eat with Jesus in Luke 24. The best healing at funerals takes place at the luncheon that follows all of the ceremony. All of the ceremonies help recognize the reality of the pain of death. That is good. But it is also good to eat a little bit together. There is healing in that ham sandwich and Jello, that peanut butter and jelly shared at the kitchen table with a loved one, that pizza ate late at night with a friend. The ghosts go away in the breaking of the bread.
Sometimes eating a little bit with Jesus means feeding the hungry as our people do in the shelter meals served on Sunday evenings or with the St. Paul's meals program on Mondays or as we gather food for the food pantry downtown. That, too, will begin to sustain our hope.

Key Number 3: Open the mind to the scriptures (Luke 24:45)
In Luke, Jesus opens their minds to scripture. Note that what is opened is not the scriptures but their minds. This is not a call to read the Bible more. It is a call to read the Bible better: listening this time for God's direction and purpose and forgetting our own agenda. The Bible is not there to prove our point. The Bible is there to challenge us with God's point of view and to get us going again.

Key Number 4: Do what is right even though we are not yet sure (I John 3)
In the John letter this morning, the Christians decide to go ahead and do things even if they do not have perfect knowledge. We need to recapture that sense of doing without knowing completely.
We often don't know what is right. Davy Crockett once said, "make sure you are right, then go ahead." The problem is that we no longer live in Crockett's time. Things are not always clear. Still, we need to make the best assessment we can, admit that we may be wrong, but then still go ahead, go on. A lack of clarity is not an excuse to sit there and do nothing. Doing the right will help us know the right.

Key Number 5: Faith is our most important product (Acts 3:16)
Things get done by faith in the book of Acts, especially in chapter three, and especially in verse sixteen. We need to remember that faith, confidence in God, hope and trust are the foundations of life in Christ. Have faith in God again. Go ahead and believe. Touch the wounds, eat the bread, read the Bible with an open mind, go ahead and do something right. Have faith, hope, trust.

Key Number 6: Work in friendship with others (Acts 3:17)
Finally, work in friendship with others. In Acts 3:17, the disciples work together in friendship. Companionship renews their vigor and joy. So it is with us. The final key to finding resurrection joy is to find someone to work with today on something right. In friendship, we find ourselves not only close to another, but also closer to God and closer to ourselves too. Find a friend today. Or make one doing something together.

The Lord is risen. That resurrection may be found in our hearts, too. When our hearts are still sometimes filled with fear and terror, or our hearts are filled with doubt or cynicism, when we reject the good, and when we do not know any better, it is hard for us to feel the joy of the resurrection. Then it is time to —
Become aware of the wounds.
Eat a little bit with Jesus.
Open the mind to the scriptures.
Do what is right even though we are not yet sure.
Faith is our most important product.
Work in friendship with others.

Pastor Ken