Keion Henderson - Perfect Strangers

I want to speak on this subject for the next few moments. I want to discuss this thought: perfect strangers talk about perfect strangers. Holy Spirit of the living God, fall afresh upon us today. Give us the power to speak Your word. Hide from us the flesh and reveal to us the spirit, that they may see none of me but, oh Lord, all of You-All of You! I am Yours, Your mind; use me as an instrument, have me play the tune of Your choice. In Jesus' name we pray, hallelujah and amen. On your way down, just say «perfect strangers.» You may be seated in the presence of the Lord.

See, here, the Gospel of Luke, in my opinion, records one of the most impactful post-resurrection experiences in all of Scripture. All of the synoptic gospels -Matthew, Mark, and Luke- do a great job of chronicling this moment; so does John, each from different perspectives. It all depends on who you are. John was an apostle; Luke was a physician. They were all disciples, but how you tell a story depends on how you experienced that story.

We could leave here today and test it; someone will say to some of you, «How was the service?» You 'll respond, «The service was amazing,» or, «It was okay,» or «I’ve had better.» Whatever your response, they will ask, «What did the pastor preach about?» Some of you will say, «I don’t remember what he preached about, but he definitely did preach. It was something about Jesus and Bartholomew and the Gospel of 'Train Smoke.' It was something, but I know he spoke .» Most of you will forget what I talked about before you get to the car, and it’s not your fault because the human brain typically remembers only about 10 percent of what it hears. The other 90 is in your subconscious. «Thy word have I hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee.» It will come out when it needs to.

You won’t remember this whole sermon right now, but I guarantee the devil will come after you, and you’ll remember what I talked about. God will reveal to you, at the right moment, the right word to get you straight out of that situation. When I read this account, all the other canons of Scripture- which are, by definition, the authoritative ones-are typically consistent. When it comes to the resurrection, they usually reveal to us the usual suspects surrounding the crucifixion. Everybody knows about Peter, James, John, Mary, Mary Magdalene, and Pontius Pilate. Everyone recognizes the usual suspects: «Should we let Jesus go, or should we let Barabbas go?» Everybody knows the usual suspects. Most of us have been in church most of our lives, yet today I want to talk to a different group for a different reason.

Typically, Easter is that Sunday when people who haven’t been to church all year long come in. Church folk make fun of people who attend on Easter but don’t come on other days. In fact, there’s a running joke in the church: for those who come on Christmas, Mother 's Day, and Easter, they call you members of the CME Church-Christmas, Mother 's Day, and Easter. Somehow, the church believes that because your name is Peter, that makes you important; or that if your name is John the Baptist, you must be better; or if your name is Paul the Apostle, you must also be better; or perhaps if your name is Nathaniel, or if your name is Silas, or if you’re one of those usual suspects that everybody knows about-there’s a tendency to believe these characters are the ones Christ used in the canon of Scripture.

But what if I told you that He loved strangers? What if I told you that you don’t need front-row seat reservations? What if I told you that you don’t have to be a deacon, and what if I told you you didn’t have to be a preacher to get God 's attention? What if I told you that if you didn’t have a title in front of your name-what if I told you that if you were not Sister So-and-So and Sister Such -and- Such? What if I told you He didn’t care if you spoke in tongues or had tattoos? What if I told you He didn’t care if you wore a church hat or a do-rag? What if I told you that He literally came to seek and save that which is lost? I bring this up as a point of conjecture because we have a moment in the text where two people are walking, and other than this scripture and one other, you have never heard of them.

These people are not in the great cloud of witnesses listed in Hebrews 11. They were not present at the Last Supper; it is not recorded that they were there, so they did not eat of the bread and drink of the wine. These people were not in the Garden of Gethsemane. They were not at the foot of the cross as He was being crucified, nor were they at the tomb when He was resurrected. These are just perfect strangers-ordinary people who are walking from Jerusalem, seven miles by foot, perhaps to a place called Emmaus. They are going to Emmaus simply because it is their hometown. There is nothing special about Emmaus; there is no miracle waiting for them there. They are just simply returning home because remember, Palm Sunday has just passed, and the people…