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Let's Take A Walk

Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, who abides in which of us. Amen

When our kids were young, they always wanted a dog, and although Jill and I both grew up with dogs, for many years we refused to get a dog, but as far as having pets, we did always seem to have either a fish tank, or a fish bowl with at least one beta fish. Although the kids always really wanted a dog, with the way I traveled and Jill’s busy life with the kids, every time they would ask, we would say, “You already have a pet, you have the fish.” I remember one time one of the kids classes had a day where you could bring you pet for show and tell. Taking the aquarium to school didn’t work out too well.

Finally, the summer before our oldest child’s senior year in high school we decided it was time to get a dog and so, one Saturday afternoon, while DJ, our oldest, was on a summer trip, Jill, myself, Chrissy and Dana drove to a farm in Carollton, Missouri, to get a lab puppy.

Now, part of the deal of getting a dog was that the kids were going to have to take the responsibility of taking care of the dog. Well, not DJ, because by this time in his life, he made it clear he did not want a dog. The girls were going to be responsible for feeding the dog, cleaning up after her, taking the dog on walks, etc. We discussed all the responsibilities in great detail before we agreed to go get a dog, and Chrissy and Dana both agreed that the dog would be theirs and they would be responsible for it.

Now Chrissy and Dana did live up to their commitment, for the first week. After that, the dog was mine and Jill’s! I think actually they followed through on their duties until the first time they had to clean up the puppy’s “duties” in the yard. Now, I’m not complaining, because I loved Matti. She was an awesome dog. When she was young she would go everywhere with me. She was well trained and we could take her anywhere without a leash and she always listened. Until she grew too old to go on walks, we would go on at least one walk a day and I loved those walks.

You know, until I had Matti, I thought one only went on a walk to get somewhere. When I was young, I would walk to school. As I grew older, I would walk to my friends’ house or to the store. Walking always had a destination. But, with Matti, walking didn’t have a destination, walking was just for the shear joy for walking. With Matti, we would leave the house and walk down to the wooded trails and once we arrived at the trails, the journey was on. Matti would slowly walk and sniff and weave from the path to the woods, to the grassy areas just enjoying the walk and nature. For me, those walks became times to clear my head, think through issues I was dealing with at the time, or if Jill was with me, many times the walks were our time to just talk and unwind together. Our walks were often very spiritual and powerful times for us. When things were not going well, or I needed to think, I would often look at Matti and say, Let’s take a walk.

I think that is what Cleopas said to the other disciple that first Easter Sunday. The world Jesus’ disciples had known had been turned upside down just three days earlier, when their Lord was crucified. They had believed Jesus was the one who would redeem Israel and would restore Israel to its former greatness. But, all that changed when their religious leaders turned him over to be crucified. How could he be the Messiah, if he was dead. Then to make things even more confusing, a couple of the women in their group claimed that when they went to the tomb that morning the tomb was empty and an angel had told them Jesus was alive. Talk about being confused! Talk about not understanding and wondering what all this meant! Their heads had to be spinning. How could this have happened and could it be true that somehow, Jesus had come back to life? Frankly, I’m not sure which is more confusing, Jesus’ crucifixion, or his Resurrection. If I’d have been there, I can guarantee you I would have said, “let’s go for a walk,” too. These guys needed to talk through what had happened and try to figure out what it all meant for them. What did it mean for them, and the rest of the world, that Jesus was alive and out in the world? Did he come back to take vengeance on those who killed him? Was he back to scold his disciples for turning their backs on him when he needed them most?

There was so much to figure out and so, as they walked and unbeknownst to them, Jesus joins them. Now you might be wondering, how on earth could they not have recognized Jesus? Well, let me ask you, how often do you recognize Jesus in your life? We live our lives so focused on our selves that we often, fail to see Jesus? Last week Deb Marshall told us her story of how she thought her work was not even important and then one day one of the women she was working with said to her, “in you we see Jesus.” Deb never saw Jesus, and, yet, he was right there with her.

Jesus will always meet us wherever we are, especially when we re on those walks that seem to be going nowhere. You know when I often see and feel Jesus? Like Cleopas and the other disciple, my eyes are often opened to Jesus’ presence in my life right here at the communion table, in the breaking of the bread and the blessing of the wine. And based on the smiles and tears I often see as I am offering you the body and blood of Jesus, I think many of you do, too.

Throughout his ministry, Jesus promised his followers that he would always be with them. In the Gospel of John, as we will hear in a few weeks, he tells his followers not to worry that even though he will physically depart from them that in his absence that he will ask his father to send this Holy Spirit to us, and he has done that, but often times we miss Jesus in the midst of our busy and hectic lives. We often get so wrapped up in our own grief, our own fears and our own needs that we just plain miss his presence. And it is usually not until after the fact, when something happens that reminds us of Jesus’ words or promises, that we, too, say, that was Jesus! I know the first time Jill said to me, you need to go to seminary, I thought she was speaking crazy talk, but then, several years later, as I looked back, I realized God spoke to me that night in the garden through her. I just didn’t recognize him. Recognizing Jesus takes intentionality and practice and so I would like to challenge all of you to spend the next several months being intentional about trying to recognize Jesus in your lives. As you go about your busy lives this summer taking trips, going to the pool, or the lake, or wherever it is you will go, I would like to challenge you to practice looking for him. I promise you, you will see him. As we learned last week, he has been seen in Tanzania, so I am sure he can and will be seen wherever you go. So as you go about your lives this summer, take a lot of walks and look for him.

Now, my hope is that when you see him, you will share your story with us and I encourage you to be here next Sunday, to not only celebrate Mother’s Day, but to also hear the rest of this challenge and not only will there be gifts here next week for all you moms, there will be a gift for everyone who is here to help you find Jesus in the world. That’s all I am allowed to tell today, so be here next week and let others know who aren’t here today that they need to be here next week, also.

So, what should you do between now and next Sunday? Take a lot of walks. Amen.

Tags: Sermons