Defeat Transformed Into Victory
Sermon
Sermons on the Gospel Readings
Series I, Cycle A
Two men, both seriously ill, shared the same room in a hospital. One of the men was allowed each day to sit up for an hour to clear the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the only window in the room. The other man was forced to lie on his back at all times. The two men would talk for hours each day, discussing their families, the jobs they hoped to return to, their common service in the military, and even vacations they had taken. Each afternoon, the man by the window would describe to his roommate what he saw. The other man lived for those special times each afternoon. He would lay back, close his eyes, and imagine all that was being described.
The man by the window told his roommate that he could see a beautiful park with a lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children floated their plastic boats. Young lovers walked arm--in--arm through beautiful flowers that adorned the periphery of the lake. He could even see the beautiful skyline of the city in the distance. One exceptionally warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade that was passing by on the street below. The other man could not hear the bands, but he could certainly imagine the scene. This situation went on for days and then weeks.
One day, the day nurse came in to give the two men their medicines. At that time she noticed the lifeless body of the man by the window who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was sad, but called the hospital orderlies who removed his body. When he thought it was appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse arranged the transfer and when the man was settled she left the room. After an hour or so the man struggled but managed to raise himself on one elbow so he could look out the window, but to his great surprise he saw only a blank wall. The man called in the nurse and asked, "Why would my now deceased roommate describe such beautiful scenes when he saw a blank wall?" The nurse replied, "Didn't you know; your roommate was blind. I guess he wanted to cheer you up. Maybe he wanted to bring light to the darkness of your life, some victory to what seemed to be defeat."
The story of the two men in the hospital presents us with a challenge - how can we transform what seems to be so bleak into what is good and life giving? The blind man gave himself and his roommate much joy and hope. In a similar way, today's familiar gospel passage of Jesus' encounter with the disciples along the road to Emmaus presents us with the challenge to transform events in our lives which appear to be problematic, painful, and defeatist, into opportunities for growth and even victory. The road we take is largely determined by the attitude we possess and the process we use.
Luke's account of the walk along the road to Emmaus, in essence, is a story of how Jesus was able to bring victory and joy to the pain and defeat that his disciples felt. He opened not only their eyes but their hearts to what was possible for those who believe in and witness to the power of the risen Christ in their lives. Cleopas, and the other unnamed disciple of the Lord, are walking along the road. They encounter Jesus although they do not recognize him. In their lively conversation, the disciples tell their unknown companion about Jesus. They were hoping that he would be the Messiah, the one who would overturn the rule of the Romans and once again make Israel respected amongst all nations. The Messiah would restore the kingship of David. With such expectations, the Jews were highly disappointed when Jesus died on the cross. Their dreams for the restoration of Israel died along with him; their spirits were crushed and their hopes for the future were now dashed. Jesus listens to the disciples as they walk and realizes that now, as in his public ministry, his plan and mission have been misunderstood. Thus, the Lord explains to his companions all of what scripture said about him. It was necessary for Jesus to die. The Jews saw the passages in scripture which spoke of the greatness of the Messiah, but they missed or chose to forget the "Suffering Servant" passages in Isaiah, the one who offered himself to others, who gave no resistance to injury.
Why, one might ask, were the disciples' going to Emmaus? There are many possibilities - business, to visit others, or possibly to just "get away." This latter idea has been suggested as the best possibility. These disciples' journey to Emmaus was symbolic of their need to hide from their perceived reality that all hope was lost; without Jesus there was nothing else to do but run away from the situation. Thus, they went to Emmaus to escape from the sadness of their lives and their great disappointment. Yet, in the end, the disciples learned that if they possessed the correct attitude and were willing to persevere under a "cloud of unknowing," confident that the Lord would present the light at the end of the tunnel, defeat would be transformed into victory.
We are very much like Cleopas and the other disciple in that we often walk or even run to our own Emmaus; we do whatever is necessary to escape from the disappointments and hurts of life. We cannot see, but we must believe, that despite the pain we share and even carry for others, the triumph of resurrection will be ours if we persevere. The methods of escape that we design are generally very subtle but sometimes more overt. For many, the place and method of escape is to crawl inside ourselves and keep the rest of the world that threatens us at bay. We fend off others who reach out, ignore possibilities and opportunities that come our way, and reject the affections of others, perceiving that these will only deepen our pain and alienation. We live in our own little world and convince ourselves that everything is fine. The reality, however, is that we are deeply wounded and feel defeated. We must break out, and recognize, as did Cleopas and his partner on the road, that Christ is present and will relieve the pain, heal the wound, and transform our sadness to joy, defeat into victory.
Besides the simple inward escape, there are some we know, ourselves and too often people we know and love, who escape in more overt and highly dangerous ways. This reality is manifest most horribly in forms of abberative and/or addictive behavior that, if people are not careful, can transform the pain and defeat we feel into permanent damage or even death. Alcohol has claimed the hopes, fortunes, and lives of countless people. It is so easy and socially acceptable to drown all our fears and problems in the false calm of another reality. Similarly, the period since the 1960s has seen an explosion in the use of drugs as a method of escape. Most people think of the illegal drug traffic, which is certainly a frightful scourge on society, but it is far easier and more prevalent for people to elude their pain, problems, and defeats in medications that are prescribed for one purpose but are readily used simply as a means to escape.
The various Emmauses of our lives, the places to which we escape, are many and varied, and, thus, we must consciously be aware and on guard that we do not fall, as is so easily the case, into the "quick fix" mode for solutions to the problems of our lives. One of the great challenges of Christianity is finding ways to transform pain, difficulty, and even defeat into positive, and hopefully, faith--building experiences that will assist us in our own walk toward the Lord and the responsibility we have as Christians to lead others along this same path toward eternal life. This task will seldom be easy. On the contrary, for those who follow in the footsteps of the Master, we can expect nothing more than he experienced. The words of G. K. Chesterton, the famous early twentieth--century British essayist, are always appropriate: "Christianity has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried." The road will often be unclear and unfortunately is too often strewn with various obstacles, hurdles, and potholes, but with faith we must look to the future, down the road, and remember the promise of Christ as Saint Paul articulated it so beautifully: "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Corinthians 2:9).
The man who could physically see and the disciples who conversed with Jesus along the road to Emmaus were devastated by the events that transpired, the revelation of his roommate's blindness and Jesus' crucifixion, but through the power of Christ, their defeat was transformed into victory. They wanted to escape, but God brought them back. In a similar way, contemporary life often throws us many curves that lead us to seek a method of escape ourselves. This road is a dead--end, however, and will only exacerbate the problematic situation which we face. We need to truly believe that Christ's resurrection, the greatest event in all human history, has set us free and placed us, if we have faith and perseverance, on the proper road to victory and life. Escape is not the answer to life's challenges and problems. Rather, we need to honestly evaluate our lives, seek positive solutions to the questions that we hold and the problems that plague us, and never forget our need to follow in the footsteps of Christ. He is the one who died to set us free; he is the one whose resurrection will bring us to eternal life.
The man by the window told his roommate that he could see a beautiful park with a lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children floated their plastic boats. Young lovers walked arm--in--arm through beautiful flowers that adorned the periphery of the lake. He could even see the beautiful skyline of the city in the distance. One exceptionally warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade that was passing by on the street below. The other man could not hear the bands, but he could certainly imagine the scene. This situation went on for days and then weeks.
One day, the day nurse came in to give the two men their medicines. At that time she noticed the lifeless body of the man by the window who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was sad, but called the hospital orderlies who removed his body. When he thought it was appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse arranged the transfer and when the man was settled she left the room. After an hour or so the man struggled but managed to raise himself on one elbow so he could look out the window, but to his great surprise he saw only a blank wall. The man called in the nurse and asked, "Why would my now deceased roommate describe such beautiful scenes when he saw a blank wall?" The nurse replied, "Didn't you know; your roommate was blind. I guess he wanted to cheer you up. Maybe he wanted to bring light to the darkness of your life, some victory to what seemed to be defeat."
The story of the two men in the hospital presents us with a challenge - how can we transform what seems to be so bleak into what is good and life giving? The blind man gave himself and his roommate much joy and hope. In a similar way, today's familiar gospel passage of Jesus' encounter with the disciples along the road to Emmaus presents us with the challenge to transform events in our lives which appear to be problematic, painful, and defeatist, into opportunities for growth and even victory. The road we take is largely determined by the attitude we possess and the process we use.
Luke's account of the walk along the road to Emmaus, in essence, is a story of how Jesus was able to bring victory and joy to the pain and defeat that his disciples felt. He opened not only their eyes but their hearts to what was possible for those who believe in and witness to the power of the risen Christ in their lives. Cleopas, and the other unnamed disciple of the Lord, are walking along the road. They encounter Jesus although they do not recognize him. In their lively conversation, the disciples tell their unknown companion about Jesus. They were hoping that he would be the Messiah, the one who would overturn the rule of the Romans and once again make Israel respected amongst all nations. The Messiah would restore the kingship of David. With such expectations, the Jews were highly disappointed when Jesus died on the cross. Their dreams for the restoration of Israel died along with him; their spirits were crushed and their hopes for the future were now dashed. Jesus listens to the disciples as they walk and realizes that now, as in his public ministry, his plan and mission have been misunderstood. Thus, the Lord explains to his companions all of what scripture said about him. It was necessary for Jesus to die. The Jews saw the passages in scripture which spoke of the greatness of the Messiah, but they missed or chose to forget the "Suffering Servant" passages in Isaiah, the one who offered himself to others, who gave no resistance to injury.
Why, one might ask, were the disciples' going to Emmaus? There are many possibilities - business, to visit others, or possibly to just "get away." This latter idea has been suggested as the best possibility. These disciples' journey to Emmaus was symbolic of their need to hide from their perceived reality that all hope was lost; without Jesus there was nothing else to do but run away from the situation. Thus, they went to Emmaus to escape from the sadness of their lives and their great disappointment. Yet, in the end, the disciples learned that if they possessed the correct attitude and were willing to persevere under a "cloud of unknowing," confident that the Lord would present the light at the end of the tunnel, defeat would be transformed into victory.
We are very much like Cleopas and the other disciple in that we often walk or even run to our own Emmaus; we do whatever is necessary to escape from the disappointments and hurts of life. We cannot see, but we must believe, that despite the pain we share and even carry for others, the triumph of resurrection will be ours if we persevere. The methods of escape that we design are generally very subtle but sometimes more overt. For many, the place and method of escape is to crawl inside ourselves and keep the rest of the world that threatens us at bay. We fend off others who reach out, ignore possibilities and opportunities that come our way, and reject the affections of others, perceiving that these will only deepen our pain and alienation. We live in our own little world and convince ourselves that everything is fine. The reality, however, is that we are deeply wounded and feel defeated. We must break out, and recognize, as did Cleopas and his partner on the road, that Christ is present and will relieve the pain, heal the wound, and transform our sadness to joy, defeat into victory.
Besides the simple inward escape, there are some we know, ourselves and too often people we know and love, who escape in more overt and highly dangerous ways. This reality is manifest most horribly in forms of abberative and/or addictive behavior that, if people are not careful, can transform the pain and defeat we feel into permanent damage or even death. Alcohol has claimed the hopes, fortunes, and lives of countless people. It is so easy and socially acceptable to drown all our fears and problems in the false calm of another reality. Similarly, the period since the 1960s has seen an explosion in the use of drugs as a method of escape. Most people think of the illegal drug traffic, which is certainly a frightful scourge on society, but it is far easier and more prevalent for people to elude their pain, problems, and defeats in medications that are prescribed for one purpose but are readily used simply as a means to escape.
The various Emmauses of our lives, the places to which we escape, are many and varied, and, thus, we must consciously be aware and on guard that we do not fall, as is so easily the case, into the "quick fix" mode for solutions to the problems of our lives. One of the great challenges of Christianity is finding ways to transform pain, difficulty, and even defeat into positive, and hopefully, faith--building experiences that will assist us in our own walk toward the Lord and the responsibility we have as Christians to lead others along this same path toward eternal life. This task will seldom be easy. On the contrary, for those who follow in the footsteps of the Master, we can expect nothing more than he experienced. The words of G. K. Chesterton, the famous early twentieth--century British essayist, are always appropriate: "Christianity has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried." The road will often be unclear and unfortunately is too often strewn with various obstacles, hurdles, and potholes, but with faith we must look to the future, down the road, and remember the promise of Christ as Saint Paul articulated it so beautifully: "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Corinthians 2:9).
The man who could physically see and the disciples who conversed with Jesus along the road to Emmaus were devastated by the events that transpired, the revelation of his roommate's blindness and Jesus' crucifixion, but through the power of Christ, their defeat was transformed into victory. They wanted to escape, but God brought them back. In a similar way, contemporary life often throws us many curves that lead us to seek a method of escape ourselves. This road is a dead--end, however, and will only exacerbate the problematic situation which we face. We need to truly believe that Christ's resurrection, the greatest event in all human history, has set us free and placed us, if we have faith and perseverance, on the proper road to victory and life. Escape is not the answer to life's challenges and problems. Rather, we need to honestly evaluate our lives, seek positive solutions to the questions that we hold and the problems that plague us, and never forget our need to follow in the footsteps of Christ. He is the one who died to set us free; he is the one whose resurrection will bring us to eternal life.
