March 23

A Distracted Resurrection

March 23, 2008 Rev. William “Buck” Day

We turn to our scripture for today. Our scripture comes from the end of the book of Luke. It is the 24^th chapter. I am going to step down here so we can read it together. We are going to read chapter 24 starting in verse 13. (Luke 24:13-24)

God’s word for us this morning:

Now on that same day (that being the Resurrection) two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about all the things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them; but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. He said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” He asked them, “What things?”

They replied, “Things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet, mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. And how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women from our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see him.”

This is God’s word for us this day.

Would you pray with me please?

Mighty and holy God, we ask that you would be with us as we surround ourselves with this story once again. Lord we ask that you would quicken our hearts; that your Holy Spirit would be fully present to hear what we have for you. It is in your name that we ask that. Amen.

Well I have a question that I want to start with today and that is, how many of you this morning, so far, have either used your cell phone, sent a text message, or received a text message? Raise your hand. Alright. Good. It keeps increasing, that’s a good thing. How many of you want to send me a text message saying, “Hurry up. I’m hungry and I want to go to brunch.” Alright. How many of you have done one of those three things while driving? Confession is good for the soul, now; remember that. While you were doing that, did any of you almost get into an accident? If you didn’t get into an accident, did you maybe swerve into the other lane or maybe slow down a little bit? If you answered “yes” to any of those, you are considered a distracted driver. You are someone who has lost focus on their driving because they were doing something else. They tell us that about eighty percent of the accidents that occur and sixty-five percent of the accidents that almost occur come within three seconds of a distraction while we are driving…. And cell phones are not the only culprits. They only account for maybe seven or eight percent of the accidents that we have.

Now, maybe you have seen news stories, maybe you’ve done it yourself, maybe as you have been driving you have actually seen people doing this. We are going to do a little audience vote, you know, the reality show; we are going to do that here. While you have been driving, or perhaps you have seen on T.V. or maybe you have done it yourself, how many of you have put on make up while driving? Come on. Come on. (Laughter….he’s holding his hand up… “I’ve seen it. …Really.”) How many of you have seen or have read the paper while driving? How about brushing your teeth while driving? How about, I think I’ve seen this on T.V., someone changing clothes while driving? Anybody seen that? Yeah. O.K. Good. …One that I heard between services, shucking corn while driving. (Laughter… I don’t even know how you would do that.) The one that I am sure that all of us are guilty of is eating or drinking while driving. I think everyone’s hand should go up for that one. They say there are about 300,000 accidents a year in the U.S. and about, well the numbers differ based on the year, but probably over fifty percent of them are caused by distracted drivers. About thirty percent of those are distracted by things outside the car, things like looking at the accident on the other side of the street, trying to find a landmark, a street sign – those kinds of things. The rest are all caused by distractions inside the car. Things like, changing the radio - ten percent of accidents are caused by that; someone who is in the car with you, that’s why with young drivers we try to limit the number of passengers with them because of that very reason; eating is about five percent; and I am guessing those new cars with all the touch screens and map screens and all that stuff, I have to believe it will be increasing as we go forward.

A distracted driver gets so engrossed in what they are doing that they miss what’s right in front of them, don’t they? That can get a driver in trouble pretty quickly. I think that is what is going on in our story today. I think we have a couple distracted followers of Christ. They got so wrapped up in the events that have transpired in the past week that they missed the Resurrection that was right in front of them. Cleopas, when he was asked by Jesus, “What are they talking about?”, he stops, and he gives him one of those looks like, did you just land from the moon, or what rock did you come out of? Think about that one. As they are thinking about it, as he is talking to them, he recounts the life of Jesus, and, you notice the demeanor? It is anything but upbeat, isn’t it? There are overtones of sadness and disappointment when he says, “You know, we didn’t see him.” There is even some bewilderment as they try to put the pieces together of the women who had seen this vision of angels and the other guys rushed down there and they didn’t see anybody. They wanted the experience of the living God but their hearts were distracted by the events of the week. They were distracted by the past and as a result they missed the Resurrection that was right in front of them.

I think in many ways we are like Cleopas and his companion. We get so distracted that we miss the resurrection in our lives, as well. A distraction while we are driving can lead to serious injury and even death; but a distraction from the resurrection leads to a life that is devoid of joy, of satisfaction and wholeness, because we miss seeing the presence of God in our lives – all of that because we are distracted. I think part of that distraction happens when we over focus on the past and, as a result, we miss the present.

Every Easter we sing about how Christ has risen and we proclaim it. We say the words “Christ has risen!” As we do those things, what do you think about? Do you think about the empty tomb? Do you think about the women? Do you think about the angels? Maybe what the disciples were thinking or doing? Let me start by saying the Resurrection is the center point of our faith. Without the Resurrection, our faith begins to unravel very quickly. We are as Paul says “to be most pitied.” But on Easter is there another focus which we should also embrace? I think there are times that we get distracted by the historical Resurrection so that we miss the resurrection that God is doing in our lives right now.

I, like most people, or some people, have a scrapbook of some of my past achievements. Some of mine are mainly around basketball, but I am sure yours are probably around the activities that you grew up with. If I was going to be honest with myself, I would like to believe that my son would treasure the exploits of his dear old dad as he was growing up; but the truth is it is probably more for me than it is for him. They reveal past days of glory for sure and they definitely bring back memories that take me back to another day, and they are good memories. I know many of you would have the same kind of feelings about your past as well. But if I live in those days too long or too often I miss the memories that are being made today by my son, by my family. Those are the memories that become for my son in times to come. Do I want to be fully present to maximize those good things that are right before my eyes right now? I think so. I think so. My days in the past were good, but these days are just as good and I think even better, especially when we fully engage in the present. If the distraction of the Resurrection can occur when we focus on the past events of the Resurrection, I think a distraction can also occur when we over focus on the future. Jesus rose from the dead and in his dying and in his rising, death no longer holds control over him. And for us as followers of Christ, death no longer holds control over us either. We have eternal life because of the Resurrection. And that is a great gift. It is a great gift. But even as it is a great gift, it is by nature what causes us to look to the future with anticipation, doesn’t it? It is our hope. And it is the hope that we proclaim, and we should do that.

As a follower of Christ I will live forever in God’s glory. That has been signed, sealed and delivered because of Christ and the empty tomb and him seated on the throne before God. That is the good news from Christ’s life, death and Resurrection. That is the central tenet of our faith. But we have got good news. I think there is also a tendency to be distracted by it. We begin to think about what our lives will be like in the future. As a result, we miss the ongoing resurrection that is happening in our lives right now.

When I first became a follower of Christ I went to three concerts at another church and I now believe that that church was distracted by the future. That church had at its roots the very beginning of what might be called the contemporary Christian music movement. That new genre was started from this church; and, as a result, I had an opportunity to hear some of those early Christian musicians, people like Larry Norman and Randy Stonehill, 2^nd Chapter of Acts and Michael Talbot, just to name a few. I enjoyed going to those concerts. I enjoyed the rock and roll music, but there was also a message that came with that music. The message was that Jesus was going to return at any moment so you better be ready. All the pieces of prophecy are in place and so, as you are going home, you might go home to see Jesus on the way home; so you better get ready. This church was calling on its members to live in ways that reflected that kind of thinking. Well that was over thirty years ago and Jesus hasn’t returned yet. I wonder, I just wonder, what some of those people are thinking today. I’m wondering if they ever think about maybe what they missed in their lives or maybe what they missed in the lives of the people around them because they were so focused on the future.

The Resurrection of Jesus can be a distraction for us when we focus on the Resurrection of history. The Resurrection can also be a distraction when we think of it as only a future hope. Easter is a day that we should celebrate because we have much to celebrate because of the Resurrection and because of what it means to us. We celebrate the Resurrection of the past as well as the future, but what about the present? What about the present? How about if we celebrated the resurrection at the present reality? What would happen if we were to celebrate it a week from now? Celebrate it a month from now? Six months from now? Or better yet, what about if we celebrated the resurrection every day? What if we treated every day as Resurrection Sunday, as Easter? How would that change our lives? How would it change the state of your mind, the state of your heart? The celebration of the resurrection on a daily basis is about looking for and naming God’s presence and activities in your life each day. It is having the eyes of your heart and the ears of your soul turn to God’s activity in your life. Did God answer a prayer for you today? Then name it. Name it. That’s celebrating the resurrection, not as a past event, not as future hope, but as a present reality. When the resurrection is brought into our lives each day, there is a newness of life and an attitude that begins to take hold and it sprouts new growth of joy, of humility and servant hood. So how might the resurrection bring new life to you in your present life? Think about what’s going on in your life. Think about all the areas that you are involved in. Take for example maybe your work life. Have you had a breakthrough at work in some way, maybe with your work or your co-worker? That’s God, working in your life. Maybe you have set a new record for sobriety or maybe being clean from drugs or maybe you are in a support group that’s helping you fight against pornography. That’s God’s resurrection at work in you. Maybe there is something going on in your life that has just has put a song of praise in your heart. You are saying “Yes!” Maybe it is an exercise program. Maybe you have had the opportunity to tell your story of God’s work in your life. All of these things can be the Resurrection of Christ being worked out in you. It is an awareness that God is at work in your life and acknowledging it. It doesn’t matter whether it is little things or big things, what matters is that you see it and that you name it.

Michael Moriarity tells a story of Larry King, the T.V. interviewer, and I use that term loosely, visiting Dodgers’ spring training in Vero Beach, Florida. This is an appropriate story because this spring is, in fact, the last spring that the Dodgers will be doing their training at Dodgertown in Vero Beach. They are moving to Arizona starting next year, so a long history at Dodgertown -- that’s just me, a Dodger fan, talking about that. But it is a great story. During one of the spring trainings, King is walking around with then manager Tommy Lasorda and Lasorda is walking around introducing him to all the players and they come up to Eddie Murray.

Lasorda says to Murray, “Hey Eddie, how are you doing?”

He says, “I’m O.K.”

And if you know Lasorda, Lasorda just kind of jumps on that, pounces on that, and he turns to Murray and he goes, “O.K.? O.K.? You’re making two million dollars a year. It is March and you are in Florida, there is not a cloud in the sky. You are wearing a major league baseball uniform. You are thirty-two years old and you are going to the Hall of Fame and all you can say is ‘O.K.’? You say, ‘I’m great. I’m great.’”

At which point, Murray is just taken back by this affront from Lasorda, but Lasorda just keeps going.

He says, “Eddie, you say, ‘I’m great. I’m great, coach. I’m great. Say it with me.”

He says “I’m great.”

“No, say it again Eddie, like you mean it.

“I’m great!”

The Resurrection is great. The Resurrection is great because it is an historical fact that is verifiable, that is the bedrock for our foundation. The resurrection is great because it secures our future hope. It has been signed, sealed and delivered and there is nothing we can do about it. But the resurrection is also great because it happens every day in our lives. So, look for it and acknowledge it; for, indeed, Christ is risen indeed!

Would you pray with me please?

Mighty and holy God we do thank you that the Resurrection is not just an historical event, is not just a future hope, but it is a present reality. Lord we ask that you would help us to see that, see that every day that we might be drawn closer to you as a result, that each day might be Easter morning for us. Lord we thank you for that and ask that you would be glorified through our lives. Thank you Lord. Amen.