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April 18, l999 I have enjoyed archaeology all my life. Archaeology really belongs to Christians because modern archaeology came about in the l9th Century because of Christian sponsored expeditions to Mesopotamia to try to locate and unearth biblical sites. There quickly followed expeditions to Egypt, Palestine, and Turkey, almost all funded by Christian universities, and motivated to locate and unearth hundreds of biblical sites. Nancy and I lived in Peru one year and visited several Inca sites including the greatest of all, Machu Picchu. My attention was thus drawn to the report in the media this last week of the announcements that archaeologists looking for new sites high in the Andes had discovered two burial caves within which were the corpses of three children. It's presumed they were sacrificed about 500 years ago to the Incan sun god. Because of the high elevation, above l4,000 feet, and the extreme dryness of the burial holes, the bodies of the children are better preserved than any Incan mummies ever found. The face of one young girl was shown in the newspaper and she could have passed for a recently deceased Kosovan refugee child. I share the fascination that archaeology holds for many. Especially the opening of the tombs of kings and nobles are glamorous events. The discovery of the tombs of Chinese emperors renewed Chinese cultural pride, that of King Tut and other Pharoahs early in this century launched Egyptian revival in jewels and furniture, and the finding of the sarcophagus and beautifully preserved body of the lovely Priscilla, a teenager of ancient antiquity, which served like an infusion of Disney investment to restore glamour and money to papal Rome…all fascinating stories, but not a single tomb has ever alterned humanity. Psalm l46 tells us why: DO NOT PUT YOUR TRUST IN PRINCES, IN MORTALS, IN WHOM THERE IS NO HELP. WHEN THEIR BREATH DEPARTS, THEY RETURN TO THE EARTH; ON THAT VERY DAY THEIR PLANS PERISH. If princes cannot be trusted ultimately even when alive, how less can the recovery of their cadavers and grave adornments alter anything fundamentally. Only the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth. And inside it there was nothing but his death clothes. And that is because only the tomb of Jesus directed people to their present and their future with a promise of life changing experience. In our epistle of today the Apostle Peter tells us to acknowledge that a a promise, an inheritance awaits us, and our children because of what God has done for us in Christ. But the promise is not to be claimed by looking back; it is a very present inheritance to be claimed now.
While hundreds of biblical sites have been authenticated, the village to Emmaus and thus the road which led there, are not among them. Although Luke tells us Emmaus was only seven miles outside Jerusalem, no one has the faintest idea where Emmaus might be unearthed, although many have tried to locate it. But would it really make any difference to our understanding of the Gospel story if we could pinpoint Emmaus on a modern map? I doubt it because Emmaus is a symbol and not, as is popularly found, of faith. Just the opposite: Emmaus was for the friends of Jesus their escape route. They had given up on Jesus as a present reality and were engaged only in wistful looking back. Thstory says "they had hoped" but on the walk their hope was dead and they were engaging in regretful speculations about what might have been. Emmaus was for them an escapist walk away from heartbreak and disappointment they could hardly bear. The noted Protestant writer, Fred Buechner, has interpreted Emmaus in this rather challenging way: EMMAUS CAN BE A TRIP TO THE MOVIES JUST FOR THE SAKE OF SEEING A MOVIE OR TO A COCKTAIL PARTY JUST FOR THE SAKE OF THE COCKTAILS. EMMAUS MAY BE BUYING A NEW SUIT OR A NEW CAR OR SMOKING MORE CIGARETTES THAN YOU REALLY WANT, OR READING A SECOND RATE NOVEL OR EVEN WRITING ONE. EMMAUS MAY BE GOING TO CHURCH ON SUNDAY. EMMAUS IS WHATEVER WE DO OR WHEREVER WE GO O MAKE OURSELVES FORGET THAT THE WORLD HOLDS NOTHING SACRED. A new way of thinking about the walk to Emmaus! Emmaus should speak to us, not of our faith, but of our lost faith as we see opportunities pass from us. When a hope has failed, an effort backfired, a job gone dull or lost, a relationship broken, or faith not measured up to our expectations, we are fleeing toward Emmaus our escape place. Emmaus represents spiritual passivity as underscored in the verse: AND THEN THEIR EYES WERE OPENED. They did not see Jesus. Jesus had to make them open their eyes. So how is it that Peter, who engaged in his own escapism without even leaving Jerusalem, so confidently insists THE PROMISE (INHERITANCE) IS FOR YOU, FOR YOUR CHILDREN, AND FOR ALL WHO ARE FAR AWAY, EVERYONE WHOM THE LORD OUR GOD CALLS TO HIM. Know this: we are all Emmaus-oriented. But never mind because God will open our eyes to Jesus. Just like the sleep walkers to Emmaus he may also give us a prior case of spiritual heartburn. Only after they recognized Jesus, did the men recall the special sensations like inner fire which they had felt when the stranger was interpreting the scriptures to them (a form of biblical archaeology). Have you not felt that burning sensation inside? I think you have or you wouldn't be here. God keeps provoking us with those questions which call us toward the sacred. Why are we on earth? And why are we both indifferent and yet disturbed about our spiritual life? Why do the innocent suffer? Why go to church anyway? What does one's faith have to do with one's job? Is there life after death? We have many ways to evade these questions, but they keep coming back and by so doing they keep us uneasy even while our eyes remain shut to the sacred and the divine until God moves and opens our eyes. Then the promise can be claimed and the inheritance is ours. When that happens we see, first, that God is gracious. God has created us not because God has need of us, but because God simply takes delight in us and the whole of creation. God's desire for relationship with us is finally stronger than the evils we perpetuate or suffer. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are the decisive and ultimate expression of God's love for us. Next, our participation in God's cosmic drama of salvation gives our lives their deepest meaning. Through worship, we rehearse our place in the drama. As we encounter Christ through Word and sacrament, we become aware of our unique, personal identity before God. Our eyes are opened. Further, we respond to God's grace. We teach our children to embody the virtues of joy, faithfulness, patience and wisdom. We see our vocation as an opportunity for glory and respond to God in gratitude. We commit ourselves to the unity of the church, knowing that our experiences as members of the body of Christ mediate the Living Christ to us, and our life together in and with Christ produces lives rich in praise and thanksgiving. Like Jesus' friends, when our eyes are opened, our journey has a purpose, goal and meaning. Our walk takes on a spring of present joy and future glory. We finally begin to understand that the only journey which finally matters is God's story, the sacred story, and we assume our roles within God's story. God isn't interested in helping us locate old tombs for our edification; our eyes and our hearts are to be filled with passion for knowing God now. Peter is as clear about what do we need to do to claim our inheritance as he is about the inheritance promised by God to us: REPENT, AND BE BAPTIZED EVERYONE OF YOU IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, SO THAT YOUR SINS MAY BE FORGIVEN AND YOU WILL RECEIVE THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. FOR THE PROMISE (INHERITANCE) IS FOR YOU, FOR YOUR CHILDREN, AND FOR ALL WHO ARE FAR AWAY, EVERYONE WHOM THE LORD OUR GOD CALLS TO HIM. Someone has described our inheritance in Christ this way: "In Christ we have a love that can never be fathomed, a life that can never die, a peace that can never be fully understood, a rest that can never be disturbed, a joy that can never be diminished, a hope that can never be disappointed, a glory that can never be clouded, a light that can never be darkened, and a spiritual resource that can never be exhausted." Aren't you as glad you have that inheritance? So, claim it!
Pastor Gene Preston
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The Rev. Gene R.Preston14th Floor, Blk 36, Lower Baguio Villa Tel : 25516161 Fax: 25512114E-mail : gpreston@netvigator.com |
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