Jesus is Here!

Communion

“JESUS is Here!”

Luke 24:13-35

Pastor Jerry

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As a pastor, when I talk with people, often the conversation gets around to the life they are living and how can God change them. It all goes back to Easter. Easter is all about change. God is still changing individual lives like me, like you, even today. And I am so happy that you are here to celebrate what God is going to do today. Today at the end of the service, we are going to take communion to remember why we celebrated Easter; to remember why Jesus died for us. Do you need God to change something today in your life so you can walk each day in a relationship with God? When we celebrate communion today, what will Jesus need to do for you? I believe our scripture lesson explains that purpose. On the Road to Emmaus with the two believers of Jesus, they had heard the reports of the resurrection. However, because they hadn’t personally seen the evidence, they decided to pack it in and head home and go back to their old way of living, and they stopped seeking Jesus. They gave up on Jesus … but thank God, He didn’t give up on them. The text says, “Jesus himself came up and walked along with them.” Jesus knew their need and so He DREW NEAR. Why do we give up and live as if Jesus isn’t around?  Well …It’s easy to lose focus. It’s easy to doubt. It’s easy to give up and give in. Thank God that in spite of giving up hope, or getting lost frequently along the way, or walking in doubt in our faith… there is a God who not only comes looking for us, but also DRAWS NEAR AND TRAVELS WITH US UNTIL WE SEE AGAIN! That is the good news! That is grace! That is Jesus! Jesus drew near the two who had lost hope and He walked along and spoke with them for hours. He spent the day with them explaining the truth of the Scriptures. They saw him. They talked with Him. And yet, they didn’t recognize who he was! They were so caught up in their own questions and confusion they didn’t know He was with them. But there have been times, when we’ve been blind and distant and didn’t know Jesus is with us. How many times have we sat down to read the scriptures and not know that Jesus is Here – in the Word we are reading? How many times have we not seen Jesus when He is near-- when we’ve given up and lost hope: It’s happens when we say, “I’ve been praying for years and God still hasn’t helped me! We live in such a confusing time. We have become so impatient, so intolerant, so “me” focused. And as a result we give up way too easily. Thank God we are not left alone. I’m not saying that you’ll never feel alone. Truth is you will, but that’s not because God has abandoned us, it’s because we’ve walked away from Him! People ask, “So where was Jesus when my loved one died?...or, where was He when the doctor said it was terminal?” The answer is, “Right here with you.” But we keep walking away … pushing Jesus away … and not seeing Him even when He is here?  But thank God when we genuinely struggle in our faith, when we honestly call out to Jesus …He is here.  You may even be blind to His presence right now in this service but, He’s right there sitting next to you. Even though we go through times of blindness, the good news is that He is here. You see it wasn’t until He broke the bread that finally “Their eyes were opened and they recognized him…” Remember Jesus’ words at the last supper, He said, “…When you break the bread…and drink the cup…Do this in remembrance of me…”  Why? What Does Jesus want us to do when we take communion? It allows us to focus on Jesus instead of ourselves. It points us to the One who has been near all along. In this act of remembrance, HE REMINDS US of His constant love and as we break bread we see that He HAS not left us. That JESUS is here! God wants our eyes to be opened - the eyes of our mind and the eyes of our heart too. And that’s why we gather today to share at this table… not our table …but His table. When these two followers of Jesus who had left town and were feeling so dejected, after they realized that Jesus was here with them …notice the change in their attitude: they went from despair to hope, from being lost …to being changed! Why the change? “Jesus drew near…broke bread”! “It was true! The Lord has risen…” (v34). And He was here …with them!  Today Jesus continues to draw near. As we gather to celebrate at this table Jesus wants to show us, to change us. Jesus IS here!