The WORD on the Road to Emmaus

Repent. Admit what you know to be true about yourself. You are a poor, miserable sinner. You don't have to deny it. You don't have to hide it. You don't have to explain it. Jesus just simply says or Jesus through Peter says, just just repent. Admit you are that poor, miserable sinner. Admit that you don't have altogether because because then god's got something for you. [00:09:15] (26 seconds)  #RepentAndReceive

And you go. Not because you got all the answers and you're ready to answer every question, but you go because of who goes with you. You go because of Christ. You go with his word. You go with the same message that Peter proclaimed at Pentecost day, that Jesus is lord. Jesus has risen, and Jesus forgives sins. And here's the thing, friends, that word when it goes out, it always accomplishes its purpose because that word of the lord, it endures, it stands forever, turning confusion into conviction and conviction into life, not just for ourselves, but for those he's perfectly positioned around us who desperately need the hope that there is in Christ Jesus alone. [00:13:56] (55 seconds)  #GoWithChrist

Now the dangerous answer is to say, well, we're just gonna try harder. We're gonna do better next time. We're gonna fix ourselves. But that's not what Peter said. Peter said acts two thirty eight, repent and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the holy spirit. Repent. [00:08:51] (27 seconds)  #RepentNotSelfHelp

And he doesn't come to you because he needs you to explain yourself. He needs you to give a good reason, and he wants you to try harder next time. No. He says to you what we heard him say last week in that locked up a room. Peace be with you. And that peace is not a feeling. That that peace is a declaration. It's anchored in the cross of Christ. It's proven in his resurrection. It's delivered to you through his word. [00:12:00] (27 seconds)  #PeaceNotPerformance

So friends, maybe this morning is a confusing morning for you. Maybe things aren't making sense. Life isn't what you expected. Faith feels shaky. Or or maybe you're in that other place where where the word has cut deep, you you see your sin clearly, and you and you feel the weight of it. The good news is the prescription for both is the same. Christ who comes to you through his word, through his promises, through his gifts of the gospel. [00:11:23] (37 seconds)  #ChristIsThePrescription

You can count on it. It's trustworthy. It's worthy to build our lives on. It's worthy to cling to in the midst of a world filled with questions. But he doesn't just answer your questions. He sends you into the places he's perfectly positioned you, just like those disciples, just like that crowd at Pentecost, into a world that is full of confused, searching, hurting people, People walking around with their on their own roads, asking the question, hey. What's going on? [00:13:00] (38 seconds)  #BuildOnTheWord

And it is right here, right in that that confusion that that Jesus shows up. Just like he did to the disciples last week as we looked at in the locked upper room and spelt those words of peace to them. This time, Jesus shows up and not after they figured it out, not after they've gotten their theology straight or their faith became strong and their lives were in order. No. Jesus just shows up in the midst of a confusion, in the midst of a walk, and he walks with them. [00:01:47] (31 seconds)  #JesusWalksWithYou

Here's where it gets personal because we like clarity. We like things to make sense. We wanna we wanna understand before we believe. We wanna resolve all the confusion before we trust. But many times, that's not how it works. Instead instead, we often sit in confusion, sit in confusion about God, about suffering, confusion about our own lives, and what do we do? [00:07:00] (35 seconds)  #FaithBeforeFullUnderstanding

And if we're honest, that's not very different from where we're at this morning Because there's moments in life where things just don't add up, where God doesn't seem to make sense, where we thought would happen, didn't happen, and what we looked for fell apart, and and we're left walking down the road asking, what's going on? Where's god in all of this? And it is right here, right in that that confusion that that Jesus shows up. [00:01:21] (31 seconds)  #JesusShowsUpInConfusion

What was going on there? It was more than just a story. It was our hearts burning within us. The scripture was coming alive. The turning point for these disciples was not just when they saw him or when they felt better, when their circumstances changed. Theirs their lives were changed when when Jesus spoke, and his word went forth and it accomplished its purpose, [00:05:08] (25 seconds)  #WordIgnitesTransformation

Because now they know where to find him. Now they know where to find him. Not in their understanding, not in their ability to hold on to him, but they can find him in his word. They can find him in the gift of that word connected to the bread and wine, his body and blood in communion. They can find him in the water and the word of their baptisms. They can find him because he is present with that word, [00:10:30] (37 seconds)  #FindHimInWordAndSacrament

Because the answer to your confusion and your confession is not figuring everything out. The answer is Christ coming to you. The answer is Christ speaking to you. Back on the road to Emmaus, the disciples don't recognize him. But when they sit down at that table, when he breaks bread and blesses it and gives it to them, suddenly by faith, their eyes are opened, [00:09:51] (28 seconds)  #ChristIsTheAnswer

Maybe there are ways that I let God down. I let my neighbor down. I let my family down. I let my myself down. And when we confess our sins, we are cut to the heart. We realize we may have a really good reason, but that doesn't cut it. And we ask the same question. What do we do? Now the dangerous answer is to say, well, [00:08:27] (26 seconds)  #ConfessNotJustExcuse

Friends, if there was ever any time in a bible story where I wish I could jump into the scene, it is this one. Jesus, the master teacher, the rabbi risen from the dead, the victorious lord over sin, death, and the devil is walking these two disciples through the entirety of what we would call the Old Testament and explaining to them that all of it all of it is is pointing to to to him, [00:03:00] (32 seconds)  #JesusIsTheFulfillment

Too often, the thing we try to do is, well, I guess I just gotta figure this out by myself. We replay conversations. We overthink decisions. We search inward for answers. But the more we look inward, the more stuck we feel. And it's not just in confusion. Often, we we sit in guilt too. Deep down, we know. [00:07:35] (27 seconds)  #StopSearchingInward

And I and I think that's important for us because it it tells us something about about how Jesus works sometimes. Sometimes he's present even though we don't recognize it. Sometimes he's near even though he feels hidden. And for these disciples, he begins to speak. And he doesn't give them a pep talk. He doesn't say believe harder. He doesn't shame their for confuse their confusion. [00:02:20] (24 seconds)  #JesusNearWhenHidden