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ProudDog
Posts:509
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| 03/31/2008 11:53 AM |
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| Our Easter conversations continue! This week we're talking about Luke 24:13-35. Kate's talking about the themes of interpretation of scripture, table sharing and someone risen from the dead. I've had some fun talking about Spongebob and Patrick! Take a look at Risen Indeed and Where have you been? and join the conversation! |
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-Kirk Moore |
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greenrebel55
Posts:70
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| 03/31/2008 1:32 PM |
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| That's an interesting point about Patrick, ProudDog. The kaflaffle was about Spongebob's alleged homosexuality, so where was Patrick? Did we miss a moment of extravagant welcome because there is no traveling starfish suit? I think we are on the verge of missing another moment of extravagant welcome in the Jeremiah Wright tempest. Jeremiah is family. He is a prophetic preacher of the gospel. What he said may have hurt, but it was/is true. As a church listening to the Christ on the road, we cannot afford to rationalize and sanitize what He tells us about radical hospitality. Whoever the majority power defines as lesser ~ women, people of color, disabled, LGBT, poor, illegal aliens, etc. ~ are, in fact, His brothers and sisters. I think that's what our current Emmaus experience is about as the UCC. What do you think? |
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ProudDog
Posts:509
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| 03/31/2008 5:24 PM |
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I love the direction of your thinking, rebel -- It's like living under The Rock instead of living under a rock. . .
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-Kirk Moore |
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katehuey
Posts:174
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| 04/01/2008 1:47 PM |
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| I'm intrigued by Buechner's image of Emmaus as the place we run to when we can't face what life has thrown at us. Is it a place of hope, or rest, or defeat? How do you feel about Buechner's suggestion that, for some folks, coming to church is going to Emmaus? |
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Kate Huey |
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Berni
Posts:13
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| 04/01/2008 11:17 PM |
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| I could understand that comment about church is going to Emmaus for some. Maybe all of us at some time have gone to church because it is the thing to do rather than really desiring to go, but on the way we have been reassured in our faith. Sometimes going to church is just a discipline and it may take a while before that moment of revelation of Jesus comes to us again. |
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Berni Wright |
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ProudDog
Posts:509
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| 04/03/2008 12:25 PM |
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| Beuchner's idea is worth a lot of thought. Was the journey away from something unpleasant toward a safe place? Was it more of a need simply to have a walk to evaluate what had been happening? Was the destination really that important? Is the idea that Jesus went ahead of them as if he were going on significant as a clue that the journey continues -- even if we stop for a bit to experience something awesome several times along the way? |
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-Kirk Moore |
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katehuey
Posts:174
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| 04/04/2008 9:36 AM |
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Another theme that draws reflection in these post-Resurrection stories is that of hospitality: all the Bible study didn't help these two disciples recognize Jesus, but the simple act of taking bread, blessing it and sharing it opened their eyes. I often wonder why we say we're a church of Word and Sacrament when the emphasis is so much more on Word (in the Bible, that is) than the Sacrament of Communion. Can you imagine a worship service with Communion, but without a word of Scripture? Interesting but impossible to imagine, I think.
Yet this story illustrates the power of the sacrament, the power of taking, blessing, breaking and sharing, to open our eyes to Jesus in our midst. Isn't that why we gather? |
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Kate Huey |
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katehuey
Posts:174
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| 04/04/2008 9:37 AM |
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| AND - there's the sacramental quality of hospitality itself: when everyone is graciously and attentively and warmly welcomed, isn't that God's grace at work in us and among us? |
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Kate Huey |
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greenrebel55
Posts:70
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| 04/04/2008 1:18 PM |
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| I wonder if going to Emmaus was like "going fishing" was in another Gospel. Just getting back to "reality". There is a period of numbness after losing a loved one in which a person needs the simple comforts of sameness, routine. A lot can be said for sameness, routine and it's healing properties. And isn't the sacrament based on the very simple comforts of hospitality: taking bread, blessing it, breaking it, and giving it to them? |
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subear
Posts:770
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| 04/04/2008 8:11 PM |
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Kate wrote: "Can you imagine a worship service with Communion, but without a word of Scripture? Interesting but impossible to imagine, I think."
I can imagine that.
We are One.
Peace, Love and Transformation,
Susannah |
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"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." Pierre Teilhard de Chardin |
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katehuey
Posts:174
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| 04/05/2008 11:00 AM |
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Yes, perhaps we can imagine such a service....but I don't think it would happen in any of the churches I know!
I just think it's an interesting way to reflect on our emphasis on written/spoken words (in the Bible) - even though Jesus Christ is the Word of God, and is the One we encounter in Communion just as much as we do in Scripture. Isn't that what happened to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus? But the words didn't open their eyes; the Word broken and shared did. |
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Kate Huey |
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katehuey
Posts:174
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| 04/05/2008 11:02 AM |
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| Another little note: I've read that it's possible that one of the disciples on the road to Emmaus was a woman. That's another interesting thing to think about. (Don't we assume it was two men?) |
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Kate Huey |
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subear
Posts:770
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| 04/06/2008 6:36 PM |
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re: Daily Devotional, April 6, 2008
This show how perception is everything, we see it when we believe it, and not before.
The same thing happened with Mary Magdalene, who didn't recognize whom she was talking to until he said "do not be afraid." Fear blocks clear perception.
Peace, Love and Transformation,
Susannah |
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"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." Pierre Teilhard de Chardin |
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