AtomLuke 24:13 - 31 “Broken Bread - Loving Acts”
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Acts 2:42
As we join the story in the gospel today, it is afternoon of the first Easter day. We know by now that Jesus has been raised from the dead. Some of his followers had seen him. Some had not. Two of those followers were walking toward the little town of Emmaus, just west of Jerusalem. As they walked, they talked – talked with deep sadness and discouragement about the terrible events of the past few days. And then…there was someone walking with them. They weren’t sure when he got there…he was just there. Luke tells us that it was Jesus, but somehow the disciples didn’t recognize him. Maybe it was their grief. Maybe they didn’t expect him. Maybe it was that he was supposed to be dead!
This stranger began talking to them, asking them questions, even doing a little “Bible Study” with them…going through the whole of the scriptures showing them how this suffering was the way it was to be with God’s Messiah. But still they did not recognize him…until they had arrived at the place where they were going and had invited him to come in and eat. As they sat at table, this “stranger” took the bread in his hands, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them. And then, Luke says, “their eyes were opened and they recognized him.”
Strange, isn’t it? They had walked most of those seven miles from Jerusalem with him, and yet it was not until Jesus did this simple act that they recognized him. Perhaps it was the way he blessed the bread. Perhaps it was the way he broke it that took them back to the hillside and five loaves and two fishes broken and distributed. Perhaps it was the nail scars on his hands as he passed them the bread. Whatever it was, they knew Jesus in this simple act.
But, then again, maybe that’s not so strange. How else do we know the Lord most except through His action on our behalf? To be sure, the words of Jesus are important. The Sermon on the Mount, the parables of God’s kingdom, the teachings on service and commitment, are among the great teachings of history. Yet it is what he does…his death, his great suffering, his serving action on the cross that truly reveals to us the heart of God.
We know Jesus—we know God—by what Jesus does. The disciples knew him in the breaking of bread.
And then…this Jesus who shows us God sends us out to “show and tell” others. Not just “tell,” mind you, even though the telling is important. I don’t want to let Lutherans off the hook here. We’re not famous for our telling. There’s that old joke about what do you get when you cross a Lutheran with a Jehovah’s witness? “You get someone who knocks on doors, but doesn’t know what to say when someone answers.” Note that the disciples at Emmaus, upon seeing Jesus, ran all the way back to Jerusalem – seven miles in the dark, mind you – to tell the others that they had seen the risen Lord. They had exciting news to tell. But the gospel also reminds us that the telling happens with more than words…it happens with actions…even with the breaking of bread!
If you have your Bibles, or if you have a pew Bible, turn to the Book of Acts, chapter two. Luke, who also wrote Acts, tells us here that one of the characteristics of the early Church was that they broke bread together
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Acts 2:42
Now, this may refer to a daily sharing in the Lord’s Supper, but it is more likely that it refers to the practice of eating together. “Breaking bread” refers to a way of living together as a close-knit, caring community. Notice the other evidences of the closeness and caring:
All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. Acts 2:44-47
They worshipped together; they learned together; they shared possessions with each other; and they just plain enjoyed each others’ company. “They ate with glad and generous hearts praising God and having the goodwill of all the people.” In short, they were a community whose actions showed that they loved and cared for each other.
There is little doubt that the early Church was known for its words about Jesus – for its bold proclamation. But it was also known by the love it demonstrated as a community. Even as the disciples recognized Jesus in his act of breaking the bread, so now the world began to recognize Jesus in the way his followers broke bread together – and shared their bread with others.
This is important to get a hold on, folks. Being a Christian is not only about Jesus forgiving my sins, thank you. It is also about Jesus making us into a loving, caring community. One of my professors in seminary used to say it this way: “Being a Christian is about a personal relationship with Jesus, but it is never about a private relationship.” It is not just about Jesus and me, together forever. It is about Jesus and me and you and you and you…it is about community; it is about a family of people loved by Jesus and loving others because of Jesus. “Love one another,” says Jesus, “as I have loved you. And the world will know that I live.”
(Mother’s Day Comment – cards remind us that we know Mother’s love by what she does, not solely by what she says.)
Listen again to the words that follow Luke’s description of the Church in Acts…verse 47…I find it extremely interesting that after he tells us about how the early Christians lived together – about the worship and sharing and joy that was their life together – that he then says quite simply:
And every day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved. Acts 2:47
Now I believe that the Holy Spirit was working mightily to draw others to the risen Jesus, but I also believe that it was not only through the preaching and teaching of the apostles. It was also through the actions of the believers gathered together. The love of the community drew others to them, caused them to inquire, “Who is this Jesus that moves you so? And can I know him, too?”
A study conducted by the Institute for American Church growth indicates that it is the same witness that draws others to Jesus today. After surveying 8600 people from 39 different denominations, and measuring what they called the “loving-care quotient” of each church, the Institute came to the conclusion that “growing churches are more loving – to each other and to strangers – than are declining churches.” Across the board, growing churches rate 35 percent higher in the degree of loving-care they show than do declining congregations. Does this surprise you? It did the researchers. Traditionally when looking for reasons for church growth, they focused on such things as pastoral leadership, attractiveness of the facility, location, and evangelistic zeal. Make no mistake… these continue to be important. But…this study concluded that
“No single factor influences a churches growth, or decline, as significantly as how much love and acceptance people experience in that community.”
I hope you are not surprised. People still recognize the living Jesus in the “breaking of bread”—in the actions of Jesus lived out through His people.
So how does that speak to us here at First Lutheran Church? In what ways do we live after the model of Jesus and of the believers in Acts 2? I would propose several ways…I hope we live it in the way we welcome folks into our church community. Thank you for what you do in welcoming others to our worship…for paying attention to those seated around you and with you. It does take some effort…especially if we enjoy each other a lot. We quite naturally seek out our friends in worship and after worship to visit and share a cup of coffee. It takes some effort to look around and invite those you don’t know yet to join you. So I thank you for taking an interest in their lives…and even for inviting new friends of First Lutheran into your homes to break bread…or maybe lasagna. If you haven’t thought of that kind of invitation for awhile I would remind you of it today. When people begin worshipping with us for the first time, they may deeply appreciate our worship and our words, but if they don’t sense a genuine welcome from God’s people, they won’t hear as clearly our words about a welcoming God.
Luke also points out that the early church shared their money and their possessions. When I was a young Christian, I thought of giving like dues to belong…kind of like paying the registration to play soccer this summer. Only later did I begin to understand my giving as mission – as a part of me given to help God change lives. I hope you have a sense of that in your giving…that what we give here has impact upon lives. Some of it in the programs here to teach and equip and to serve and care for hurting people who walk through these doors. But some of it in what we give away to others whom we will never see… When you look at our Mission Budget in a few weeks before the annual meeting, I hope you will keep in mind the mission in that budget, and then also notice the “Benevolence” line. Benevolence is a big word for “giving that takes care of others needs and not my own.” In that line we share in the broader ministries of the Church: teaching ministries at our colleges and seminaries, outreach ministries through missionaries like our own Pastor David and Mary Kuck in the Caribbean, and Bible Camp, Disaster Response, and World Hunger.
Again, giving our money is only one way that we make the good news of Jesus visible. The First Lutheran quilters gather here every Tuesday throughout the winter months and make, I don’t know how many hundreds of quilts to give away – some staying close to home for people who lose their homes to fire or other disaster, and some sent to faraway places where they are not only blankets, but also shelters and tents.
Last weekend, busy as everyone is, 45 members and friends of First Lutheran joined thousands of others in Perham to prepare 605,000 packaged meals to be sent across the country and around the world through “Feed My Starving Children” – enough to feed 1500 starving children 2 meals a day for a year.” Bread not yet broken, but prepared…
Of course we also operate closer to home. Being a Church that loves means more than sharing our possessions and money with people “out there.” It also means caring for each other right here. In my illustration of the Jehovah’s witness and the Lutheran a few moments ago, I might have said, “Someone who knocks on doors and offers a pan of brownies…and then an invitation to come and hear, come and see…this Jesus who cares for you.”
It is the care we share in times of loss and grief. At Kermit Skogen’s funeral last week we broke bread together…and scalloped potatoes and bars. You brought them. You prepared them. You served them. You shared Jesus. It means more than you can know.
Now, please don’t hear me saying that telling others with words is not important. It is. The first followers of Jesus also talked about their faith. What is important is that the words and the actions fit together, and sometimes – many times – it is the actions that pave the way for the words to be heard.
Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home…praising God…and day by day the Lord added to their number those being saved. Acts 2:46
In the breaking of bread – in His loving action—the disciples recognized the risen Jesus. It is still true today. In the breaking of bread – in the loving acts of worshipping and sharing together – the world recognized the risen Jesus in his followers! Let’s pray…
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