(Meditation for Gayton Road Christian Church's Worship on August 25, 2019, Proper 16)
What Is a Christian?
A pastor friend of mine, David,
shared with me recently a story about an event early in his ministry. He was the director of a L’Arche
community in India. A L’Arche
community is where folks with and without intellectual disabilities live and
grow together in friendship as peers.
One year while he was director,
David had a handful of persons at the community who wanted to become followers
of Christ. He dutifully led them
through a year of training. They
read Bible stories together. They
prayed together. They worshiped
together.
After a year, the bishop visited
to meet with the candidates for baptism.
He was there to determine whether they were ready to become Christian.
Now the persons whom David had
been training all had intellectual disabilities. Their social mode of interaction was not verbal but more
fundamental. It had to do with
things like eye contact and touch and bodily gestures.
So when the bishop met with them
and asked the question, “What is a Christian?” they did not respond with
answers that the bishop was used to hearing. They did not respond, “A Christian believes that Jesus is
the son of God.” Nor did they say,
“A Christian is one who is saved by the grace of God in Jesus Christ.” They did not respond with words at all.
My friend, David, confesses that
he was nervous when the bishop asked this question. Would his candidates fail this test because they could not verbalize
their faith in the traditional way?
But what happened next left David
and the bishop speechless. One of
the candidates left the room. In
tense silence, everyone waited.
Then a moment later he returned
carrying a basin of water and a towel.
He knelt down before the bishop. Untied his shoes. Washed his feet. And dried them with the towel.
Then he looked up into the
bishop’s eyes and smiled—as if to say, that
is what a Christian is.
Start at the Table
What surprises me most from
today’s scripture is how the two
disciples recognize Jesus. It’s not
by his appearance. They walk
beside him for nearly a full day but do not recognize him. It’s not by his words or his theology. He talks to them and interprets
scripture to them in a way that is surely unique and authoritative. Yet still they do not recognize him.
What opens the eyes of the
disciples to see Jesus is something simple and wordless. It’s when Jesus takes bread, blesses
it, and breaks it. Suddenly they
know.
It’s worth noting that these two
disciples are not of the original twelve.
They did not sit in on that last supper when Jesus broke bread. But in the world of Luke’s gospel,
Jesus is so closely identified with the table that that is how everyone
recognizes him. This is the man
who broke bread and split the fish among five thousand. This is the man who ate with sinners
and tax collectors. This is the
man who ate with Zacchaeus. This
is the man who ate with the prostitute and forgave her.
That these two disciples
recognize Jesus not on the road nor in his theological discourse but in the
breaking of bread, is almost as if Luke is saying, Jesus is found not in a
familiar and comfortable face nor in the correct doctrine and theology. Jesus is found in bread broken and
given for all, a body broken and given for all. If you want to know who Jesus is, if you want to follow him,
then start at the table. Because
that is where we see him clearest.
That is where we recognize him.
Eating in the Kingdom
As I meditate on this moment in
Jesus’ life and on the story I shared previously from my pastor friend David, I
can’t help but wonder if church is much simpler than we sometimes make it out
to be. In today’s world, there is
a lot of conversation about how to revitalize church. Some people advocate for more programs that appeal to the surrounding
neighborhoods, or for a more attractive worship style. Other folks say the church needs to be
more rigorous in maintaining the correct doctrine.
Today’s scripture suggests it’s
simpler than all that. To be
followers of Christ is to break bread and share it. It is to break bread with
fellow sinners—no matter their creed or color, orientation or otherwise—and to
celebrate the good news that God loves us and has reconciled us and is stronger
than all the forces of death.
I’m fascinated by the gospel of
Luke’s insistence that the resurrected Jesus shared meals with his followers,
as in today’s scripture. This
fascinates me because at the last supper Jesus makes a promise. He says that he will not eat at the
table again nor drink of the fruit of the vine until he does so in the kingdom
of God (cf. Luke 22:14-23). Which
is to suggest, these meals he shares afterward are in fact a fulfillment of his
words. The kingdom of God has
arrived. And that’s precisely what
Jesus preached earlier when he told his disciples that the kingdom of God would
not come with “things that can be observed”—with great spectacle and
pageantry—but rather that it’s already here among us (cf. Luke 17:20-21).
The kingdom of God is already
here, wherever bread is broken among sinners and love is shared and life
prevails over the forces of death.
I wonder if it’s more than coincidence that the sense of call we shared
a couple of years ago—to share the life of faith around tables, in small
groups, and with the needful—is on full display in today’s scripture, where the
risen Christ appears with a small group of needful travelers at the table. For it’s in these three places
(and they often overlap) that we encounter the risen Christ. In these places, we experience the kingdom
of God.
How Can We Share?
In the end, I believe that the
conversation should not be about what the church needs, but about what the
world needs. And I believe that
what the world needs is what we see in the Jesus whom we follow. It’s not programs and things to
do. It’s not proper theology and
doctrine. What the world needs is
simpler: a table where fellow sinners are welcome, bread is broken, God’s love
is shared, and life prevails over the forces of death.
I wonder how many people really
know about this Jesus. I wonder how many people know about his
table. I wonder how we can share
the good news.
Prayer
Companion Christ,
Who shows us
What love looks like:
Inspire us
To walk
In your simple way,
That we and
others
Might break bread together
And share with you
The everlasting life of God’s kingdom
Here and now.
Amen.
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