Peek a Boo!

3 Easter A         April 30, 2017   
Acts 2:14a,36-47   Ps. 116:10-17
1 Peter 1:17-23    Luke 24:13-35              
Lectionary Link

Catherine:  Can anyone guess about the most popular toy of all time?

Alex:  A Star Wars’ light saber.

Catherine: Wrong!

Caroline: Barbie Dolls.

Catherine:  Wrong!

Alex: Okay, what is the most popular toy of all time?

Catherine:  It’s the stick.  Kids from the beginning of time have been playing with sticks.  With the imagination, a stick can become anything that a child wants.

Alex:  Well, I thought you sticking to the modern era.  I did not know you were going to go to pre-historic times.

Catherine:  Here’s another trivia quiz:  What is the most popular game of all times?

Caroline:  Tag…playing tag.

Catherine: No.

Alex: Ring around the rosy.

Catherine: No.

Caroline: I would say Super Mario Brothers, but that is too modern for your quiz.

Catherine: Yes, much too modern.  People have not had Play Stations and X-Boxes for very long in human history.  So………drum roll…….the most popular game of all time is the game, “Peek-a-boo.”

Alex: Okay, Peek a boo it is.  But what does this have to do we our sermon today?

Catherine: I’m glad you asked.  Peek a boo is a universal game.  All parents teach their children this game.

Caroline:  Why do you think it is such a common game to play?

Catherine:  I think it is parental psychological conditioning of their children?

Alex:  What do you mean by that Doctor Freud? 

Catherine:  Parents need to teach their baby that baby will be safe and loved even when they don’t see mommy and daddy.  Parents need to teach babies how to adjust and not be upset when they cannot see or touch mom and dad.  So, when they cover their face or baby’s face and then suddenly uncover their face and cry Peek a boo, they are training their baby.

Caroline: So, a baby is getting used to not seeing mom or dad but they can always anticipate that mom and dad will be seen again soon.

Alex:  And mom and dad can get some sleep at night while their baby sleeps in another room.

Catherine:  So there is great wisdom in this popular game of  Peek a boo.

Caroline:  Okay but when are going to get to the sermon?

Alex: Yeah….what does Peek a boo have to do with the Gospel?

Catherine:  Hold on…..we’re building up to a grand finish.  The meaning is hidden now but soon will jump out at you and say, Peek a boo.

Caroline:  I think I could guess at one of the meanings.  If God is our heavenly parent and if Jesus disappeared from the lives of his friends when he died on the Cross; perhaps his friends were frightened about losing the presence of Jesus in their lives forever.

Alex:  So the two men who were walking on the Emmaus Road were sad about the death and disappearance of Jesus when he died.  They were worried about not ever seeing Jesus again.

Catherine:  And Jesus came and walked with the disciples but they did not recognize him.

Caroline:  Why didn’t they recognize him.

Catherine:  He was incognito.  It is like the Risen Christ had super abilities…. stealth abilities.  He could switch his appearance off or on because of his super Resurrection body.

Alex:  The disciples who walked with Jesus and did not know it was him, said that their hearts burned with excitement.

Caroline: Why?

Alex: The hidden but Risen Christ explained to the disciples about the suffering Messiah who was written about in the Prophets.

Catherine:  Yes, the disciples who were so sad about the death of Jesus on the cross were comforted to find out about why the Messiah had to die.  But I don’t think they were ready for the big surprise.

Caroline:  And what was the big surprise?

Catherine: There was a Peek a boo surprise.

Alex:  Yes, there was.  When they sat down at the roadside Inn to eat a meal together.  While they were eating bread together, the Risen Christ suddenly became recognized. Poof!

Catherine:  “Peek a Boo!  I Am the Risen Christ!  And I am with you.”

Caroline: What a shocking surprise.  And then the Risen Christ with his super Resurrection Stealth Body, just disappeared.

Alex:  Wow!  What is the meaning of this story?

Caroline:  Well, I think that even though we can’t see God and we can’t see and touch Jesus, it does not mean that God and Jesus aren’t with us.

Alex:  So how do we know that Christ is with us?

Catherine: By Word and Sacrament.  We know that Christ is present by reading God’s Word.  And we know that Jesus left his presence with us in the bread and the wine of Holy Eucharist.

Caroline:  Yes, the church has stayed alive and well for over two thousand years because we have read the words of the Bible and have continue to have the knowledge of God and Christ through reading the Bible.

Alex:  Yes, and the church has gathered for two thousand years to celebrate again and again the Last Super, the Holy Eucharist.  Why?

Caroline: Because Jesus commanded his disciples to do this.  And for two thousand years, we have obeyed Jesus and even though we don’t see Jesus, we believe that he is present to us in the bread and wine when we gather together.

Catherine: So, I need to issue an alert to everyone today.

Alex:  What kind of alert?

Catherine:  A Peek a boo, alert.

Caroline:  What do you mean?

Catherine:  Well, when people come to communion today and receive the bread and the wine, they need to be on the alert.  From the cover of the bread and wine, the Risen Christ may be jumping out and saying,

All three: Peek a boo.  I see you.  I love you.  I am with you always.

Catherine:  Amen.