Transformative Encounters: Embracing Resurrection and Hope

Summary

In today's gathering, we explored the profound themes of resurrection and transformation, drawing from the Revised Common Lectionary's readings. We began by reflecting on the story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, who, despite their initial sadness and confusion, found their hearts ignited with hope and recognition when Jesus broke bread with them. This narrative serves as a powerful reminder of how Jesus often meets us in our moments of despair, transforming our sorrow into joy and understanding.

We also delved into the significance of the lectionary, a structured guide that ensures a diverse and comprehensive engagement with Scripture. This approach prevents selective reading and encourages us to confront the full breadth of biblical teachings, even those that challenge us. The lectionary readings for today, including Genesis 45, Psalm 37, 1 Corinthians 15, and Luke 6, collectively invite us to consider themes of reconciliation, trust in God, and the radical call to love our enemies.

Paul's discourse on resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15 was a focal point, where he addresses the Corinthian church's questions about the nature of resurrected bodies. Using the metaphor of seeds and plants, Paul illustrates the transformation from physical to spiritual bodies, emphasizing that while we may not fully comprehend the "how" of resurrection, the promise of new life in Christ is assured. This transformation is akin to the growth from a seed to a plant, a process that is both mysterious and miraculous.

As we ponder these mysteries, we are encouraged to live as people transformed by the resurrection, embodying the love and grace of Christ in our daily lives. This week, I invite you to reflect on how you would articulate the hope of resurrection and what it means for your life. Consider journaling or discussing these thoughts with others, as we continue to grow in our understanding and experience of God's transformative power.

Key Takeaways:

1. Encountering Jesus in Unexpected Ways: The story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus reminds us that Jesus often meets us in our moments of despair, transforming our sorrow into joy and understanding. This encounter challenges us to remain open to recognizing Christ in the ordinary and unexpected moments of our lives. [20:04]

2. The Lectionary's Role in Spiritual Growth: The Revised Common Lectionary provides a structured approach to engaging with Scripture, ensuring that we encounter a diverse range of biblical teachings. This prevents selective reading and encourages us to confront challenging themes, fostering a more holistic spiritual growth. [25:59]

3. The Mystery of Resurrection: Paul's explanation of resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15 uses the metaphor of seeds and plants to illustrate the transformation from physical to spiritual bodies. While the "how" of resurrection remains a mystery, the promise of new life in Christ is assured, inviting us to trust in God's transformative power. [34:26]

4. Living as People of Resurrection: The resurrection calls us to live transformed lives, embodying the love and grace of Christ. This involves embracing our spiritual nature and seeking to reflect Christ's character in our interactions with others, even when we don't fully understand the mysteries of faith. [38:45]

5. Reflecting on Resurrection in Our Lives: We are encouraged to reflect on how we would articulate the hope of resurrection and what it means for our lives. This reflection can deepen our understanding and experience of God's transformative power, inspiring us to live as people of hope and renewal. [47:51]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [11:02] - Reflections from Retreat
- [20:04] - The Road to Emmaus
- [25:59] - Understanding the Lectionary
- [28:29] - Joseph's Reconciliation
- [31:15] - Benefits and Drawbacks of the Lectionary
- [34:26] - Paul's Q&A on Resurrection
- [36:36] - Seeds and Spiritual Bodies
- [38:45] - Inheriting the Kingdom of God
- [47:51] - Prayers and Intercessions
- [54:48] - Thanksgiving and Offering
- [58:11] - Celebrating Anniversaries
- [58:11] - Announcements and Closing Blessing

Study Guide

### Bible Study Discussion Guide

#### Bible Reading
1. Luke 24:13-35 - The Road to Emmaus
2. 1 Corinthians 15:35-49 - The Resurrection Body
3. Genesis 45:1-15 - Joseph Reveals Himself to His Brothers

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#### Observation Questions
1. In the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus, what was the initial reaction of the disciples when they encountered the stranger? How did their perception change? [20:04]
2. According to the sermon, what role does the Revised Common Lectionary play in the spiritual growth of a congregation? [25:59]
3. How does Paul use the metaphor of seeds and plants to explain the concept of resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15? [34:26]
4. What was Joseph's response when he revealed himself to his brothers, and how does this relate to the theme of reconciliation? [28:29]

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#### Interpretation Questions
1. How does the encounter on the road to Emmaus challenge believers to recognize Jesus in their everyday lives, especially during times of despair? [20:04]
2. In what ways does the lectionary encourage believers to engage with challenging biblical themes, and why is this important for holistic spiritual growth? [25:59]
3. What does the metaphor of seeds and plants suggest about the nature of spiritual transformation and resurrection? How might this metaphor provide comfort or challenge to believers? [34:26]
4. How does Joseph's act of reconciliation with his brothers illustrate the biblical call to love one's enemies, and what implications does this have for modern believers? [28:29]

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#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on a time when you encountered Jesus in an unexpected way. How did this experience transform your understanding or feelings of despair into hope? [20:04]
2. The lectionary encourages confronting challenging themes. Is there a particular biblical theme or passage you find challenging? How might engaging with it deepen your spiritual growth? [25:59]
3. Consider the metaphor of seeds and plants. What areas of your life do you feel are in the "seed" stage, and how can you nurture them to grow into their full potential? [34:26]
4. Joseph forgave his brothers despite their betrayal. Is there someone in your life you need to reconcile with? What steps can you take towards forgiveness and reconciliation? [28:29]
5. How can you live as a person transformed by the resurrection in your daily interactions? Identify one specific way you can embody the love and grace of Christ this week. [38:45]
6. Reflect on the hope of resurrection. How would you articulate this hope to someone who is unfamiliar with the concept? Consider journaling your thoughts or discussing them with a friend. [47:51]
7. Identify a moment in your life where you experienced a "resurrection" or renewal. How did this experience impact your faith, and how can you share this story to inspire others? [47:51]

Devotional

Day 1: Recognizing Christ in the Ordinary
In the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we see how Jesus meets us in our moments of despair, transforming sorrow into joy and understanding. The disciples, initially filled with sadness and confusion, found their hearts ignited with hope when Jesus broke bread with them. This encounter challenges us to remain open to recognizing Christ in the ordinary and unexpected moments of our lives. It is a reminder that Jesus often meets us in our daily routines, offering us hope and transformation when we least expect it. [20:04]

Luke 24:30-31 (ESV): "When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight."

Reflection: Think of a recent moment in your daily routine where you felt despair or confusion. How might Jesus have been present with you in that moment, offering hope and transformation?

Day 2: Embracing the Fullness of Scripture
The Revised Common Lectionary provides a structured approach to engaging with Scripture, ensuring that we encounter a diverse range of biblical teachings. This prevents selective reading and encourages us to confront challenging themes, fostering a more holistic spiritual growth. By following the lectionary, we are invited to engage with the full breadth of biblical teachings, even those that challenge us, and to grow in our understanding of God's word. This approach helps us to develop a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of Scripture, allowing us to grow spiritually and to be transformed by God's word. [25:59]

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV): "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."

Reflection: Consider a passage from the Bible that you find challenging or difficult to understand. How can you approach this passage with an open heart and mind, seeking to grow in your understanding of God's word?

Day 3: Trusting in the Mystery of Resurrection
Paul's explanation of resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15 uses the metaphor of seeds and plants to illustrate the transformation from physical to spiritual bodies. While the "how" of resurrection remains a mystery, the promise of new life in Christ is assured, inviting us to trust in God's transformative power. This transformation is akin to the growth from a seed to a plant, a process that is both mysterious and miraculous. As we ponder these mysteries, we are encouraged to live as people transformed by the resurrection, embodying the love and grace of Christ in our daily lives. [34:26]

1 Corinthians 15:42-44 (ESV): "So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body."

Reflection: Reflect on a situation in your life where you struggle to understand God's plan. How can you trust in the mystery of God's transformative power, even when you don't fully understand it?

Day 4: Living Transformed Lives
The resurrection calls us to live transformed lives, embodying the love and grace of Christ. This involves embracing our spiritual nature and seeking to reflect Christ's character in our interactions with others, even when we don't fully understand the mysteries of faith. As people of resurrection, we are called to live in a way that reflects the hope and renewal that comes from knowing Christ. This means living with love, grace, and compassion, and seeking to be a light in the world, even in the face of challenges and uncertainties. [38:45]

Colossians 3:12-14 (ESV): "Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony."

Reflection: Identify one area of your life where you can better embody the love and grace of Christ. What specific actions can you take this week to live as a person transformed by the resurrection?

Day 5: Articulating the Hope of Resurrection
We are encouraged to reflect on how we would articulate the hope of resurrection and what it means for our lives. This reflection can deepen our understanding and experience of God's transformative power, inspiring us to live as people of hope and renewal. By considering how the resurrection impacts our lives, we can better understand the significance of this event and how it shapes our faith and actions. This reflection invites us to consider how we can share the hope of resurrection with others, offering them the same hope and renewal that we have experienced in Christ. [47:51]

1 Peter 1:3-4 (ESV): "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you."

Reflection: How would you explain the hope of resurrection to someone who is unfamiliar with the concept? What does this hope mean for your life, and how can you share it with others in a meaningful way?

Quotes

"Here we go. All right. Tidied up. Okay. So you remember Jesus was crucified and then rose from the dead and he had friends and there were two friends afterwards. They were up at Jerusalem and then we need two friends right here. And they were walking on the road. Over here is Jerusalem and they were walking to Emmaus. So they're walking along. This story happened after, there you go, after Jesus rose from the dead and a friend joined him on the road." [00:15:45] (43 seconds)

"And the friend said to these two people, or it was a stranger. The stranger said, what's going on? And they said, oh, we're so sad. And the stranger said, what are you sad about? And they said, well, you know, Jesus was crucified. We thought he'd be king. some of our friends said he rose from the dead but that doesn't sound right so we're just sad and the stranger said well you know that the messiah had to be had to be crucified had to die and then rise again and they said no tell us about it and he started talking to him all about the hebrew scriptures from the old testament and all the things and you know what they got so inspired and excited they got to their house here's their house they got to their house and they said come to our house and have dinner can you go over there put them over there for they're gonna stay there for dinner you got can you set the table for him there you go here we need to set the table and here's some bread and then that stranger picked up that bread broke it blessed it and all of a sudden they realize the stranger was actually Jesus yeah that was a big surprise and they were so excited and then after G after they had dinner Jesus was gone and they were so excited they ran all the way back to Jerusalem to tell everybody they're so excited" [00:16:27] (114 seconds)

"when they were listening to Jesus they said it was like our hearts were on fire it was just like something in our hearts was just so on fire for God have you ever had like your heart on fire for God yeah you have it's an amazing feeling huh now you made a great surprised face when they realized it was Jesus what do you think it was like when they're thought we have been with this stranger all day long and then suddenly we realize it's Jesus why didn't they recognize him at first I don't you don't know do you think he looked different maybe he had a hat on maybe he was wearing different clothes there was something about him that was just different huh how come you think they suddenly recognized him" [00:18:22] (55 seconds)

"you don't know have you ever have you ever met somebody seen somebody that you knew and you didn't recognize him at first and then you did sometimes I recognize people when they act like themselves was Jesus acting like himself when he broke bread and blessed it and gave it to everybody he was acting like himself he was acting like himself before but do you know what sometimes sadness makes it really hard to notice things and they were feeling really sad how would you feel if you were talking to somebody and you suddenly realized it was Jesus what would you think would that be a big" [00:19:15] (45 seconds)

"So we are not in a worship series this week, so there's no video. Disappointing. Today, instead of being in a worship series, we are going to follow the Revised Common Lectionary. And for churchy geeks like myself, you know what that is. The lectionary is assigned biblical readings for each Sunday. It follows three -year cycle, year A, year B, year C. Today is the seventh Sunday in year, the seventh Sunday after Epiphany in year C. And the readings set for this Sunday are Genesis 45, Psalm 37, 1 Corinthians 15, which we heard, and Luke 6. Can we get those up on the screen? Is it? There we go. So those are the four readings assigned for today. So that's different. We normally do worship series based on themes." [00:24:15] (61 seconds)

"There are amazing, wonderful benefits to following the lectionary, and one of them is that it interrupts pastors who would choose only the text that they like. It keeps pastors from getting, getting into proof texting. Proof texting is when you form an opinion or come to a conclusion and then go find verses in the Bible to support your thinking. And when Jesus was tempted by the devil, we know that even Satan can do that. Instead, we should approach scripture that we get formed. And sometimes that can happen when the, when the preacher is choosing what passages we hear. So it interrupts that. It forces the preacher into this whole breadth of passages that always includes the Old Testament." [00:30:27] (48 seconds)

"The church, the people in the church had been asking Paul questions about resurrection. And every one of them knew about the resurrection. Some were eyewitnesses. Paul himself was a witness to the resurrected Christ. So the resurrection happened. 20 years later, he's writing this letter, answering some questions. Scholars say that Jesus died and resurrected 30, 34 in the common era. Scholars place this letter between 53 and 55 in the common era. So it's 20 years later. And they're asking about the resurrection. They all knew it happened. They all knew it changed everything. In the resurrection, people's understanding, their perception of Jesus went from great teacher, great leader, king, to something." [00:32:22] (56 seconds)

"How does the body resurrect? So Paul's talking about a physical body and a spiritual body. We understand physical bodies. That's what we've got. These are the bodies that change and grow and get sick and heal and get tired and get strong. And there are other changes. Recently, my daughter came over. She's starting cosmetology school next month. And she needs to practice doing makeup on mature skin. Now, mature skin is a euphemism for wrinkles and the skin moves when you touch it. You know, and stays there. It's just it doesn't behave very well. Turns out I've got that. Which is a shock to me. And a change from 20 years ago. Our bodies change constantly. They grow and sometimes they get bigger and sometimes they get smaller. We get strong. We get weak. We get sick. We heal. And we do eventually die. And when we die, our bodies decay. I'm told that within 24 to 48 hours, there is a strong smell." [00:34:06] (80 seconds)

"Paul uses the analogy of seeds and a plant. Which don't look very similar. These are wheat seeds. They are bare. They are dry. They are small. They are hard. And then this is, these are wheat plants. They are lush, green, soft, looks like grass. And it is often not obvious what plants go with what seeds. They really don't look much alike. Some plants look really different from their seeds. And Paul is saying our physical bodies are like seeds. And our spiritual bodies are like plants. They are different and connected. However, while those seeds look like just little plain rocks, there's stuff going on inside them. There is a little tiny plant embryo inside every seed. So I found, probably from a biology book, a bean seed here. And that little tiny plant embryo, that radical, is going to become the root. The hypocotyl will become the stem. The epicotyl will become the leaves. That's generally how it works. I say that because we have a seed scientist in the room. And I'm expecting some correction on nuance later on. Generally, is that okay? Did I do all right? Okay, we got a thumbs up. So there is this little embryo, this little plant embryo within the seed. So like we have a little spiritual body embryo inside of us. I find that very comforting. Because there are parts of me that just persist in brokenness, in immaturity, in sin. But I just cannot seem to get rid of. And I like now, I like thinking of myself as an embryo. That there is a lot of maturing left to do in the next life." [00:35:56] (126 seconds)

"So we don't have to understand for things to be real and important now perhaps you have those same questions that Paul got asked and perhaps after hearing Paul's explanation you have a better understanding or not because Paul's explanation leaves a lot where it's just there's just things that are maybe not understandable when we are still embryos but here is what's important you are a brother to Christ you are a sister to Christ and what makes you like Jesus that heavenly nature will come in the resurrection and that is how you inherit the kingdom of heaven that's how you inherit that kingdom of God that is now and not yet it is big it changes everything the resurrection from the dead is God breaking into our world and changing everything into the kingdom of God and our challenge in this life is to live changed live like Christ live like that living out that spiritual nature that we have inherited from Christ so this week I encourage you to spend some time thinking about how would you answer those questions that Paul was asked how are the dead raised what kind of body will you have in the resurrection because you've heard the stories you know about resurrection you've heard about how lives have been changed but how would you explain it how would you answer the same questions Paul had you can think about it or you could journal about it maybe you'll cop out like I do when people ask questions like that and say well what do you think" [00:40:12] (130 seconds)

"Go forth from this place ready to encounter God unexpectedly, even without understanding. Notice the moments of new life in this shadow of the old. Watch for opportunities to be resurrection to those you encounter. And may the blessing of God Almighty, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen. Amen. Amen." [01:03:52] (32 seconds)

Chatbot

Transcript

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