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P I R I T U A L F O R M A T I O N |
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CHILDREN'S EDUCATION |
SERMONS The
Third Sunday of Easter By David Christian "The Purloined Letter" is a short story by Edgar Allen Poe. It is significant, not just because it is a good story, but also because it is one of the first detective stories. In "The Purloined Letter," an important document has been stolen from a government agency. The authorities know who stole it, and they know that it must have been hidden in the thief's apartment. Yet no amount of searching produces the letter. So they call in the hero of the story, who, of course, is able to find what they have been unable to. The trick to the story, and the reason I mention it today, is that the letter was not hidden at all. Or rather it was hidden in the least likely place imaginable- it was hidden in the open, in a pile with other letters. The searchers had looked in drawers and under drawers. They had taken up rugs and searched for hidden chambers in walls or beneath the floor. They had looked everywhere imaginable. But they had been unable to imagine that something so important would be sitting right in front of them. Mystery stories are, of course, puzzles. They are games. In "The Purloined Letter" the game is hide and seek. Hide and seek is also the game that Jesus plays in today's gospel. The story of Jesus and the disciples on the road to Emmaus is a familiar one. It takes place in the afternoon of the day of the Resurrection. Two of Jesus' followers are walking to the village of Emmaus, a town about six miles from Jerusalem. As they walk along Jesus joins them. When he asks what they are talking about, they tell him of the events of the last several days- of Jesus' arrest, his trial and execution, and now of the strange reports of his return from the dead. They tell all this with the utmost seriousness and gravity; Luke tells us they look sad. Jesus responds, "How foolish you are." And he spends the rest of the walk explaining to them what really happened and why. And they never catch on. They never figure out the game. They never recognize that the person talking to them is Jesus. Jesus, hiding in the one place they cannot even imagine. Jesus, hiding right in front of them, walking with them, talking with them. They don't catch on until they sit down to eat. Jesus takes bread, blesses it, breaks it, and their eyes are open. Suddenly they see. And Jesus laughs and says, "I gotcha," and he is gone. Actually that last part isn't in Luke. But it is basically what happens. Jesus is playing hide and seek. And he hides where the seekers least expect him to hide- right out in the open, in full view of himself and everyone. When I talk about the Christian life as a game and Jesus as a game player, people sometimes get upset. "Oh, no!" they say, "This is all very serious and very important. This is life and death. It's not a game at all." It is important. It is the most important thing in the world. And it is about life. It also is, very much, a game. Look at Jesus playing hide and seek on the road to Emmaus. He has to be having the time of his life. Talking with people he knows and loves dearly. People who don't recognize him. Talking to them about himself, and they don't have a clue. I picture him having difficulty keeping a straight face. Anticipating that precise moment when they will catch on. That delicious moment when he will cry out, "Gotcha," and run off to hide again. The Christian life is a game. It is a wonderful, glorious game. Jesus is eternally it. He is hiding, waiting to be found. Indeed, the only reason he hides is so that we can find him. But to find him it helps to be looking for him. It is important to be aware, to be awake. To look for him constantly. In all the most unlikely places. Because he's tricky. You never know where he might be hiding. But he's out there: in the faces of people in need or in pain; in the sick, the suffering, and the dying; in the sounds of children at play; in the eyes of an infant; in the fresh green of spring leaves; in a thunderstorm; in a summer sunset; in a good meal shared with friends. He's in here: in the beauty of this building; in the community gathered in his name; in the words and music offered up in worship; in the gifts we bring to his table; in our lives dedicated to him; and most especially in the bread and wine of communion-his very body and blood given to us to feed us and to refresh us and to empower us to be his people. He is out there; he is in here; hiding in plain sight; just waiting to be found. The Christian life is a game. It is an Easter game. It's goal is life. And the prize is joy. David
Christian Acts
2.14a,36-47
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Chapel
of the Cross · 674 Mannsdale Road · Madison, Mississippi
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