Sunday Sermon - The Rev Joshua Daniel, PH D (April 19, 2026)

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Sam. [00:00:50] Speaker B: The holy Gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ, according to Luke. Glory to you, Lord Christ. Now, on that same day, two of the disciples were going to a village, Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, what are you discussing with each other while you walk along? They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him. Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days? He asked them, what things? They replied, the things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet, mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning. And when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it, just as the women had said, but they did not see him. Then he said to them, oh, how foolish you are. And how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared. Was it it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory? Then, beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about Himself in all the Scriptures. As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over. So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table them he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the Scriptures to us? That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the 11 and their companions gathered together. They were saying, the Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon. Then they told what had happened on the road and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread. The gospel of the Lord. [00:04:27] Speaker C: I invite children now ages 3 to 10, to go to the music room with Katie for a story and prayers and songs, and come back and join us at the peace. [00:04:37] Speaker A: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and redeemer. Amen. We have a preaching rota here at St. Columbus, schedule of rotation that is set months in advance. Ever since this last Monday, the President of the United States posted a picture depicting himself as Jesus Christ, light emanating from him, people around him taking a reverential pose of worship. I haven't been able to decide whether I'm the luckiest person in the world or the one to be most pitied. Oh, what is happening, people? I mean, come on. I love watching the news, you know, and watching this week my favorite news shows turn into nuanced theological commentary on the nature of blasphemy and idolatry to see not just the Pope speak out directly about this, but all sorts of religious and intellectual leaders for there to be wide consensus from across political affiliations that this moment is not to be merely laughed off or ignored, but worthy of serious moral and religious reflection. Again, I couldn't help feeling both blessed and cursed to draw the assignment today. All right, here's one way out of it, or one way in, but invite all of you up here to stand with me. Moments like these, when we're all watching theological discourse happen in the public square, we're all given the chance or the call to become public theologians, to use our speech to help define and clarify who we are. So what say you? I'm going to give you my thoughts and use today to kind of do a little meta talk about what sermons are, the boundaries of them, the shape of them, the values, and sincerely ask and wonder how you might find yourself navigating these moments, personally, your place of work or school at the family dinner table. For me, preaching is always a tricky crush of overlapping values. I mean, it's an absolute joy and excitement for me almost always. I can't wait to get up here and meditate on the Word with you all. And also preaching is to mediate, to mediate on so many different kinds of responsibilities. Here's what I mean. Nowhere in the Bible, nowhere in the prayer book, nowhere in our Episcopal canons or rules for church is there anything like clear guidelines for what good preaching must mean. There's nothing like use three illustrations when you're preaching, or don't be offensive or make it short, or make sure you Reference each text. We don't even say don't preach politics. Shorthand rules like that always find an immediate contradiction in the kinds of sermons and actions that Jesus himself performed. For instance, just this morning we heard the post resurrection story of Jesus walking to Emmaus with the disciples. We're told that the greatest sermon ever preached happened on this road. That the very end, Jesus pulls his disciples together and beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the Scriptures. Greatest sermon ever. And yet we are left, we're called to help fill in the blanks for what exactly Jesus might have said on that road. But notice also in this narrative that Jesus walks some distance with the disciples and listens carefully to them before he speaks. We might say when preaching, be sure you have walked some distance and carefully listened before sharing your faith and convictions. But that is not to say that Jesus sermons were always well received. For instance, in one of the earliest teachings of Jesus in a house of worship, Jesus clearly means to deeply offend the people who are gathered there. He heals on the Sabbath in a way that he knew they would conclude that he had willfully broken a fundamental commandment. Sometimes Jesus picked moments to offend and challenged people in houses of worship picked moments to offend and sometimes audacious and scandalous ways. And also Jesus himself clearly preached politics. He intentionally confronted Herod and Pilate and the ruling class in Judea. He talks broadly about our commitment to justice and to look out for the poor and marginalized. He talked about our ongoing commitment to prisoners and immigrants. All of that is true, it's just plainly in the Bible. But none of that means that good preaching necessarily means being offensive or preaching politics, especially partisan politics, a kind of political talk that strongly favors and emulates the language and values of a particular party. Personally, I find myself almost always wanting to resist directly stepping into the realm of political news or direct social commentary when inhabiting this space. Often preferred to be get into the weeds in small groups where the conversation is not one directional, but where everybody gets a chance to add their $0.02 and deepen and expand and redirect the conversation. But this is just the trickiest part. Everywhere, everywhere our faith, it is fundamentally connected to our shared lives together in this world. When we baptize, the service draws our attention to this fact again and again. Do you believe in Jesus? Great. Go and show it. Seek and serve Christ in all persons. Loving yourself, Loving your neighbor as yourself. Do you believe in the Holy Spirit? Great. Go and show it. Strive for justice and peace among all people. Do you believe in God the Father? Great. Go and show it. Resist evil and when you fall into sin, repentance, turn to the Lord. That brings us back to this week's news. Here's my view of it. Standing next to you, side by side. The war in Iran is not just. Historically, the church has mostly held that war is always evil. But in particular moments, the best worst option is sometimes to use the weapon of war to prevent a greater evil. To go to war when it is absolutely necessary to prevent a greater evil. And when we fall into evil, we should repent and return to the Lord. But when President Trump took us to war, when it was not absolutely necessary, and then when he followed those actions by literally picturing himself as God incarnate, my soul, my heart was burning with sadness and fury and righteous indignation. This response, our hearts burning within us, is at the center of today's gospel story. And it is a great testament to the kind of faith we are called to live and proclaim. That we are reminded that we should always pay attention to our hearts when they are burning. From the gospel today, we learn that it was not until Jesus broke bread with the disciples on the road to Emmaus that their eyes were opened to his true identity. It was just in that moment that he disappeared again from their presence. Then they said to each other, were not our hearts burning within us when he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us? Religion should not be seen to douse your burning heart. It should heighten your awareness of it. When Jesus opened their minds to the things about himself in the Torah and in the prophets, surely one of the points was the great teaching of Moses, that we should love God with all our hearts and souls and mind, that we should love our neighbors as ourselves. A point which Jesus makes again and again and again. What is your story this week, your public witness? How will you preach it? With your feet? With your hands? With your soul? May we all walk on this road to Emmaus. When our hearts burn within us, may we speak and live the eternal words of Jesus. Love, mercy, forgiveness. Not just in this place. May it transform the entirety of who we are. Amen.