On this 9th Sunday after Pentecost, July 21st, 2024, Mr. Ryan O’Mahoney, Miss Mattie Dalton, and Dr. Steve Cothran team up to help us remember that there is always room at the table, and that everyone is welcome.
Ryan O'Mahoney shares his reflections on the camp's theme of remembering and the significance of communion. He emphasizes the symbolic elements of the table, bread, and cup, urging everyone to ensure inclusivity at their tables and to act out their faith.
Mattie Dalton explores why Jesus' disciples didn't recognize Him after His resurrection. She concludes that distractions and grief prevented them from seeing Jesus. Mattie underscores the importance of remembering the meaning behind communion and how actions can better express God's love than words.
Dr. Steve Cothran then dives deep into the text and why the disciples might not have recognized Jesus.
The service concludes with a heartfelt message from Rev. Matt Sapp expressing gratitude for the youth's leadership and the importance of remembering and welcoming others. He also announces that next week is a special service to honor Steve and Nancy Cothran for their years of ministry.
Chapters
(00:00:00) Isaiah's Vision of the Future
(00:01:13) Welcome to Worship
(00:02:32) Remember by Ryan O’Mahoney
(00:08:00) Remember by Mattie Dalton
(00:11:45) Remember by Steve Cothran
(00:26:14) Celebrating Steve & Nancy Cothran
(00:27:12) Benediction
Luke 24:13-35
That same day two of them were walking to the village Emmaus, about seven miles out of Jerusalem. They were deep in conversation, going over all these things that had happened. In the middle of their talk and questions, Jesus came up and walked along with them. But they were not able to recognize who he was.
He asked, "What's this you're discussing so intently as you walk along?" They just stood there, long-faced, like they had lost their best friend. Then one of them, his name was Cleopas, said, "Are you the only one in Jerusalem who hasn't heard what's happened during the last few days?" He said, "What has happened?"
They said, "The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene. He was a man of God, a prophet, dynamic in work and word, blessed by both God and all the people. Then our high priests and leaders betrayed him, got him sentenced to death, and crucified him. And we had our hopes up that he was the One, the One about to deliver Israel. And it is now the third day since it happened. But now some of our women have completely confused us. Early this morning they were at the tomb and couldn't find his body. They came back with the story that they had seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. Some of our friends went off to the tomb to check and found it empty just as the women said, but they didn't see Jesus."
Then he said to them, "So thick-headed! So slow-hearted! Why can't you simply believe all that the prophets said? Don't you see that these things had to happen, that the Messiah had to suffer and only then enter into his glory?" Then he started at the beginning, with the Books of Moses, and went on through all the Prophets, pointing out everything in the Scriptures that referred to him. They came to the edge of the village where they were headed. He acted as if he were going on but they pressed him: "Stay and have supper with us. It's nearly evening; the day is done." So he went in with them. And here is what happened: He sat down at the table with them. Taking the bread, he blessed and broke and gave it to them. At that moment, open-eyed, wide-eyed, they recognized him. And then he disappeared.
Back and forth they talked. "Didn't we feel on fire as he conversed with us on the road, as he opened up the Scriptures for us?" They didn't waste a minute. They were up and on their way back to Jerusalem. They found the Eleven and their friends gathered together, talking away: "It's really happened! The Master has been raised up—Simon saw him!" Then the two went over everything that happened on the road and how they recognized him when he broke the bread.
- where all generations worship, grow, and serve together.
- where women and men have equal opportunities for leadership.
- where traditional worship is engaged with excellence.
- and where diverse approaches to Christian faith and theology all find themselves at home under the lordship of Christ.
Want to learn more about Central? Visit our website at centralbaptistnewnan.org or give us a call at 770-683-0610.
[00:00:00]
Matt Sapp:
Nearly 3000 years ago, the prophet Isaiah had a vision of what our future with God will look like when God welcomes all of us, all people from all nations to the table of the Lord on God's holy mountain. This is how Eugene Peterson translates those ancient words of the prophet from Isaiah 25. But here on this mountain, the lord almighty will throw a feast for all the people of the world, a feast of the finest foods. I told Steve, like pizza and Cheetos. A feast with vintage wines. A feast of 7 courses. A feast lavish with gourmet desserts.
And here on this mountain, God will banish the pall of doom hanging over all peoples, the shadow of doom darkening all nations. Yes. He'll banish death forever. And God will wipe the tears from every face. He'll remove every sign of disgrace from his people wherever they are. Yes. God says so. And at that time, people will say, look at what's happened. This is our God. Good morning and welcome to worship as our teenagers lead us this morning in a service focused on the camp theme, stories around the table. It's become our tradition toward the end of summer at central to give one worship service over to our children's ministry, to share with us their summer experiences exceptionally last week in worship.
This week, our our teenagers will do the same. Over the years, these 2 Sundays have become highlights of our summer at Central. And we really did experience exceptional leadership from our children last week, and I'm excited about the opportunity we all have this morning to worship under the leadership of our teenagers. We gather for worship every week at central, because we believe that the shared experience of God has the power to transform us. God could change our lives this morning. That's what that means every time we say it, and I pray God will. Welcome again to worship.
[00:02:21] Ryan O’Mahoney:
I'm glad each of you is here. My name is Ryan O'Mahoney. I'm a rising freshman at Newnan. My parents are Matt and Sherry, and my sister is Sarah. The theme for Unidiversity this year was to remember. But what does it mean to truly remember? Is something remembered daily or at random points in life? During this week, I think that we remembered God in everything we learned and everything we did. There were 2 overarching concepts that we referenced every single day. They were the idea of communion and the fact that there should always be room at the table. In this communion, there is life.
As I have said, we celebrated communion daily. There are 3 elements to communion, a table, bread, and a cup. Jesus invites us to a table. He also calls us to invite others to a table. Mark 11 says that Jesus flipped tables in the temple because the temple itself was marginalizing the smaller groups of visitors. The place of worship split the worshipers into groups by race, gender, social status, and ethnicity. They were also taking advantage of people visiting the temple by selling them offerings and telling them lies about what was needed there. Remember next time when you have communion to think of the symbolic tables in your life.
Is everyone welcome there or would Jesus flip them? Secondly, there's bread. Jesus broke bread with his disciples at the last supper. And later in the gospel, as Aaron read, Jesus revealed himself when he broke bread. But why? At camp, we discuss the symbolism of breaking bread. Instead of just saying you're a Christian, act like one. Be kind to all people and show love to everyone you meet and include them. Break that bread. Do the work to better yourself and the world around you. Finally, pour out the cup. Pour out yourself to help the world.
Pour out your supplies and share them with everyone. Everyone is welcome at the table. Corollis, our Proclaimer at Unidiversity, taught us to act out to make sure that all are welcome. Two things we need to ask ourselves are, one: am I ignoring a table that Jesus would flip? And two: how do I act out to include everyone? Our Baptist brother, the late representative John Lewis, said it best. Never ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble. On Thursday, we discussed John 21. This story includes remembering and welcoming to the table, and it stood out to me. Few of the disciples truly remember Jesus in this passage.
Yet again, they had had a bad day fishing. In fact, they had fished all night long and their boats and nets were still empty. Similarly to when Jesus called them to be fishers of men, he appeared on the shore. He hollered over, try casting it on the other side. Does anybody here enjoy fishing? Now think about if fishing was your job and you had worked hard all night and you still hadn't caught anything. Then some random man walks up and tells you to try the other side. And they've probably already tried the other side and were frustrated by his instructions. But after some questioning, Peter and the other disciples present tried and they caught a whole bunch of fish.
So much so that it definitely should have broken the neck, but it didn't. They remembered right away the last time that Jesus had met them on the shore. They remembered God's love for them and the memories of the times they had spent together. They truly remembered. Later on in Acts 10, the Holy Spirit addresses Peter. Nothing God has made is impure. When we read that passage, I immediately thought of the kids in Romania. The Roma people have been nomads for their entire existence, and historians place the origin of the Roma civilization to Northern India.
Many settled in Eastern Europe, especially in Romania, where the largest concentration in Europe of Roma is in Romania. These people are seen as outsiders in their own country. They are thought of as impure by their fellow Romanians. Their darker complexion makes it easy for them to be recognized. They've been discriminated against that way since they settled in Europe. But when I saw them, I saw great human beings. They were kind to each other and the other volunteers. And believe me, the hugs I got, I and the other people on the trip would truly remember the children there. So to truly remember something means you'll remember it for a lifetime.
You probably know someone who has an extendable dining room table, like the ones that you can add a plank to to make it bigger. My grandparents do, and whenever they extend it, I know I'm about to have an amazing home cooked meal. In this simple but really helpful machine, there's a lesson for life. Let the table you break bread on be extendable. And if your table is extendable, then I invite everyone because why not? So we need to truly remember to welcome all to the table.
[00:07:59] Mattie Dalton:
Good morning. My name is Mattie Dalton. I'm a rising senior at Northgate High School, and I'm the daughter of Derek and Annette Dalton. When looking at Luke 24, my biggest question was, why didn't Jesus' disciples recognize him? Was it because they didn't know Jesus? I mean, come on. The disciples spent all their time with Jesus, so my guess was they knew the guy pretty well. I finally came to the conclusion that the reason that the disciples didn't recognize Jesus was because they weren't looking for him. It was just like the other morning. I was running late for my senior portraits, and I was so distracted by the fact that my hair wasn't curled perfectly, and I couldn't find my keys.
So like any child does, I asked my mom. She told me exactly where they were, and I went to look there and they magically moved places. I couldn't find them. And she said, well, they were right there, like moms always do. So I went back, still weren't there, still couldn't find them, and somehow she magically found them. It was like they moved back when she went to go looking for them or something. The reason I couldn't find my keys was because I was distracted. It was just like Jesus's disciples were distracted. I mean, they lost a friend. They were distracted by grief, by loss, and the everything that they just witnessed with their friend.
His disciples only came to recognize him after they took communion together. Jesus revealed himself through this act. Taking action in the Lord's supper, it's really easy to let our minds wander. Like, how long is this gonna take, or we're gonna be so late for lunch? I think we forgot why we take communion. In Luke 22 verse 19, it says, do this in remembrance of me. We take communion to remind ourselves how serious the Lord took this act of communion and breaking bread with others. We need to remind ourselves of the love God has for us and the selfless act he did. We need to remember that our actions can better explain the love of God better than our words ever could explain.
We need to remember the meaning and the reflection behind communion. Normally in church, we use some sort of stale cracker and wash it down with juice that we pray wasn't sitting for too long. At camp, we decided to use grapes and Goldfish and pizza and Coke. Steve got really creative on that one. It definitely was a new experience that really put the Lord's supper in perspective. It showed that even grapes and goldfish can represent the body of Christ and the sacrifice of love he made for us. Not using the traditional cracker and juice showed that it didn't matter who you are with or where you are. Everyone has a place at the table, and you don't need to be sitting in a church with vaulted ceilings or a pew to take acts in communion. To quote Saint Francis, preach the gospel at all times, but when it's necessary, use words.
In Luke 24, Jesus's followers didn't know who he was till his actions revealed himself to them. Sometimes it feels like as followers, we can get wrapped up and trying to perfectly word something to explain the love of God, kinda like I did the sermon. Or we talk or we get wrapped up in our church lives. And don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with that. But if we truly want to show the grace and love of God, maybe our actions need to start saying what our mouths are trying to say. Our actions can show the love of God better than we ever could explain. As followers, it is our actions that reveal our Jesus's love to the lost, so we need to act out in our faith. We don't need to wait till a burning bush moment, or Jesus is walking right next to you to look for God in moments.
Sometimes we get caught up in the so called insignificant places where we will miss God the most.
[00:11:45] Steve Cothran:
I'm so grateful to Ryan and Mattie and all of our youth who have led us to this point. And thank you for that song. It's one of my favorites. I also the theme is remember. And in the early service, I forgot to thank our chaperones without whom none of these remembrances would be possible. Nancy Cothran and Caroline Moore and Jess Wilbanks and Drew Williams, who drove over from Macon so that one eyed Willie didn't have to drive your kids to Tennessee. They enabled our youth to hear Jesus' voice calling to them sometimes when they were singing, sometimes when they were shouting, sometimes when they were laughing and playing, sometimes whispering, remember.
Remember. It is a multipurpose word. It can be a question or it can be a command. It it can be a question when you wake up on July 21st and your wife says, you remember what today is? She didn't really say that. And it can be a command when your phone says, remember, buy flowers for your anniversary. Tada. Check that box. I feel like Jesus used it both ways on that road to Emmaus with those confused, bewildered, broken hearted disciples. He snuck up on them. Did you get that picture? He snuck up on them and just slid into their conversation. Hey. What are you guys talking about?
He knew what they were talking about. Maybe these grown men didn't want to let a stranger see them cry. And so they looked down at the ground. Or maybe their vision was clouded by tears over the collapse of their dreams and hopes from the past 3 years. We only know that Luke says, and they were prevented from recognizing Jesus. But if you've ever suddenly pulled out from underneath you, then you know exactly what they felt like. Those poor disciples, what is Jesus doing to them? Not only does he come up and say, what are y'all talking about? And this, buddy, are you the only one who doesn't know what's going on? And Jesus' response is, what?
What things are going on? That's just cruel. Don't you hate it when somebody does that to you and you know they know exactly what you're talking about? And they play dumb. Oh, I don't know. Why don't you tell me? Jesus starts though after they explained to him with a very ministerial tone. How dumb can y'all be? Don't you remember what the prophet said? Don't you remember all these things had to happen? Remember? Remember? Then Jesus Luke says Jesus started went all the way back to Moses in the beginning and went all the way through the prophets. But it was probably kind of a cliff's notes version because the road to Emmaus isn't that long to go through all of Moses and the prophets. But he retaught them the story that he'd been telling them for the past 3 years, and they still didn't get it.
Fred Craddock says, he he chastised them. He exhorted them. He taught them nothing. Matt, take heart brother. When you stand up here and you admonish and you we encourage and we teach. Nothing. That's the way Jesus did it. That's the way we do it on Wednesday night at youth group. They finally had to sit down at the table with Jesus, the place where he said, now whenever you do this, remember before they actually remember. Lyudmila, she's an 84 year old widow in Prague. She survived 2 totalitarian regimes and lives in the heart of the most atheistic country in Europe. But she has a small plaque outside of her brownstone apartment that says, embassy of the kingdom of heaven.
Her story is in the turquoise table, a book Katie Brady shared with Nancy and me. And every day, Lyudmila opens her home to friends and strangers who need to talk. She offers them something simple, something small, nothing overdone or extravagant, a cup of tea, a cookie from a tin, a warm simple gesture of welcome to the table. And in her quiet, genuine way, Lyudmila listens and prays. She communicates that her guests matter. At her table, they belong. Kristen Schell, who authored the book, says that welcoming strangers and neighbors alike who might be walking by. The photographer just happened to be there snapping pictures with her friends gathered around the table and the bench on the table broke.
1 of her friends said, oh, don't put that picture in the book. And she said, yes. Put that picture in the book. Make sure you use the picture of the broken table because it's not a table for the perfect. This is a table for people with trials and flaws. Lyudmila and Kristen both embody the words of Paul in Romans 1213, take every opportunity to open your life and your home to others. Maya Angelou understood the existential truth behind Paul's instruction when she wrote, lying, thinking last night how to find my soul a home where water is not thirsty and bread loaf is not stone.
I came up with one thing, and I don't think I'm wrong that nobody, but nobody can make it out here alone. This table features, as the youth said, lots of different elements of communion, but it also has a picture. You may or may not recognize that picture, but 5 years ago 5 days ago marked the 3 year anniversary that Nancy and I came home with a brand new 4 year old. We were shell shocked, deer in the headlights struggling to breathe, and we never would have imagined that we would come home to our back porch patio table transformed into a masterpiece even more overwhelming than Da Vinci's Last Supper.
Matt and a handful of you filled that table and every inch around it with balloons and clothes and toys and Cheerios and Cheez Its, and you transformed that piece of Costco furniture into the holiest communion table I have ever seen. It was holy because we were broken, but the table was set for us precisely because we were broken. And that symbol of grace let us know that you were with us in this and everything was gonna be okay. Jesus came for broken people. And when they criticized him for it, he said, the well have no need for a position. It's hard to read this with tears in your eyes. Jesus said, the well need no the the people who are well don't need a doctor.
Every single person with whom Jesus shared a table was broken. Well, of course, they were, Steve. Jesus was the only perfect one. They were all broken. The first time I addressed you as a minister here, try not to cut Bob off, but I see you back there. I I did it I snuck back here during a prayer from the back of the room, because you back row Baptist think you can escape, but you can't. No. I came back here because Mark's vision of Jesus starts with him saying, I'm not who you think I am. I did not come as the Messiah that you expect to start a political revolution.
I came to serve the least and the last and the lost. And so we started in the back to say, turn your head around because if we're looking for Jesus up there and out there, we're looking in the wrong place because he's right here at this table washing feet. That's a different kind of Jesus. That's the Jesus we need. Some scholars even say that one of the main reasons Jesus was killed was because he was eating with the wrong people. What? That's ridiculous. Nobody killed Jesus because he was eating with the wrong people. When you come into a place and up in the social order like Jesus did, elevating those who are downtrodden and saying, let come on come on up here and eat with the regular people.
Just imagine that we're members of a country club and some preacher starts bringing in homeless and lawn care workers and whomever else for lunch 3 and 4 times a week. There's gonna be a meeting called. And we're gonna point out, we have bylaws. We have rules. You you can't what do you think you're doing? That would be a huge problem. And what who does this Jesus think he is trying to put everyone on a level playing field? I mean, that's that's just crazy, isn't it? Some people just don't belong at the fancy table. We all know that on Thanksgiving because somebody gets stuck at the kids' table.
That's a room problem though. That's not a belonging problem. Sometimes it's just too much work to fit everybody in, But Jesus does it anyway. You know, like Simon at Jesus' table. Not Simon Peter. We all know how what a screw up that guy was. What about Simon the zealot? Do you know what a zealot was? He had taken an oath to kill, if he got the opportunity, to kill Romans and oppressors and government people. I imagine Jesus sat between him and Matthew. You remember what Matthew's job was, tax collector. If you think it's difficult to chaperone youth on a retreat, I cannot imagine Jesus well, I can't imagine Jesus sleeping with one eye open out in the fields with those guys trying to prevent something bad from happening.
And yet, Jesus knew that his table would not be complete without them or without us, no matter how flawed we are. Hemingway said, we're all broken. That's how the light gets in. Of course, we pretend we're not broken. Instagram, Facebook, church, whatever. But the only perfect person who has ever sat at this table is Jesus. So stop trying to pretend like we've got it all together. It's just exhausting, isn't it? And it's pointless. Because if we're honest, we're all hiding something that we're afraid is gonna get out. So just remember what Jesus said. Come come on. Come to me when you're weary, when you're weighed down, and I'll give you rest.
And just bring your dirty old feet to the table, because Jesus is here to wash them clean. And dear God, let it be so. Amen.
[00:26:15] Matt Sapp:
Amen. Next Sunday is Steve and Nancy Cothran's Sunday at Central. It's Steve's last Sunday of a formal official ministry with us here after 35 years of youth ministry in Florida, North Carolina, Kentucky, South Carolina, Georgia, and all kinds of places scattered even farther flung beyond that. And that includes 6 and a half years of wonderful ministry here with us. We will honor and celebrate Steve in worship with some special guests here in our worship service. Our choir is preparing extraordinary music for us next week. We'll also host a breakfast in Steve and Nancy's honor during the Sunday school hour. We need all of you to be here to help us celebrate Steve and Nancy in the way that we ought to. We're looking forward to that opportunity, next Sunday.
Thank you all for being present in worship this morning. I hope we all leave this hour of worship encouraged and emboldened to be faithful representatives both of our church and of our Lord Jesus Christ. Steve's gonna lead us in our benediction.
[00:27:13] Steve Cothran:
May the God who makes all things holy and whole through this table empower you through the grace that you have received to go out and welcome others too. Amen.
Nearly 3000 years ago, the prophet Isaiah had a vision of what our future with God will look like when God welcomes all of us, all people from all nations to the table of the Lord on God's holy mountain. This is how Eugene Peterson translates those ancient words of the prophet from Isaiah 25. But here on this mountain, the lord almighty will throw a feast for all the people of the world, a feast of the finest foods. I told Steve, like pizza and Cheetos. A feast with vintage wines. A feast of 7 courses. A feast lavish with gourmet desserts.
And here on this mountain, God will banish the pall of doom hanging over all peoples, the shadow of doom darkening all nations. Yes. He'll banish death forever. And God will wipe the tears from every face. He'll remove every sign of disgrace from his people wherever they are. Yes. God says so. And at that time, people will say, look at what's happened. This is our God. Good morning and welcome to worship as our teenagers lead us this morning in a service focused on the camp theme, stories around the table. It's become our tradition toward the end of summer at central to give one worship service over to our children's ministry, to share with us their summer experiences exceptionally last week in worship.
This week, our our teenagers will do the same. Over the years, these 2 Sundays have become highlights of our summer at Central. And we really did experience exceptional leadership from our children last week, and I'm excited about the opportunity we all have this morning to worship under the leadership of our teenagers. We gather for worship every week at central, because we believe that the shared experience of God has the power to transform us. God could change our lives this morning. That's what that means every time we say it, and I pray God will. Welcome again to worship.
[00:02:21] Ryan O’Mahoney:
I'm glad each of you is here. My name is Ryan O'Mahoney. I'm a rising freshman at Newnan. My parents are Matt and Sherry, and my sister is Sarah. The theme for Unidiversity this year was to remember. But what does it mean to truly remember? Is something remembered daily or at random points in life? During this week, I think that we remembered God in everything we learned and everything we did. There were 2 overarching concepts that we referenced every single day. They were the idea of communion and the fact that there should always be room at the table. In this communion, there is life.
As I have said, we celebrated communion daily. There are 3 elements to communion, a table, bread, and a cup. Jesus invites us to a table. He also calls us to invite others to a table. Mark 11 says that Jesus flipped tables in the temple because the temple itself was marginalizing the smaller groups of visitors. The place of worship split the worshipers into groups by race, gender, social status, and ethnicity. They were also taking advantage of people visiting the temple by selling them offerings and telling them lies about what was needed there. Remember next time when you have communion to think of the symbolic tables in your life.
Is everyone welcome there or would Jesus flip them? Secondly, there's bread. Jesus broke bread with his disciples at the last supper. And later in the gospel, as Aaron read, Jesus revealed himself when he broke bread. But why? At camp, we discuss the symbolism of breaking bread. Instead of just saying you're a Christian, act like one. Be kind to all people and show love to everyone you meet and include them. Break that bread. Do the work to better yourself and the world around you. Finally, pour out the cup. Pour out yourself to help the world.
Pour out your supplies and share them with everyone. Everyone is welcome at the table. Corollis, our Proclaimer at Unidiversity, taught us to act out to make sure that all are welcome. Two things we need to ask ourselves are, one: am I ignoring a table that Jesus would flip? And two: how do I act out to include everyone? Our Baptist brother, the late representative John Lewis, said it best. Never ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble. On Thursday, we discussed John 21. This story includes remembering and welcoming to the table, and it stood out to me. Few of the disciples truly remember Jesus in this passage.
Yet again, they had had a bad day fishing. In fact, they had fished all night long and their boats and nets were still empty. Similarly to when Jesus called them to be fishers of men, he appeared on the shore. He hollered over, try casting it on the other side. Does anybody here enjoy fishing? Now think about if fishing was your job and you had worked hard all night and you still hadn't caught anything. Then some random man walks up and tells you to try the other side. And they've probably already tried the other side and were frustrated by his instructions. But after some questioning, Peter and the other disciples present tried and they caught a whole bunch of fish.
So much so that it definitely should have broken the neck, but it didn't. They remembered right away the last time that Jesus had met them on the shore. They remembered God's love for them and the memories of the times they had spent together. They truly remembered. Later on in Acts 10, the Holy Spirit addresses Peter. Nothing God has made is impure. When we read that passage, I immediately thought of the kids in Romania. The Roma people have been nomads for their entire existence, and historians place the origin of the Roma civilization to Northern India.
Many settled in Eastern Europe, especially in Romania, where the largest concentration in Europe of Roma is in Romania. These people are seen as outsiders in their own country. They are thought of as impure by their fellow Romanians. Their darker complexion makes it easy for them to be recognized. They've been discriminated against that way since they settled in Europe. But when I saw them, I saw great human beings. They were kind to each other and the other volunteers. And believe me, the hugs I got, I and the other people on the trip would truly remember the children there. So to truly remember something means you'll remember it for a lifetime.
You probably know someone who has an extendable dining room table, like the ones that you can add a plank to to make it bigger. My grandparents do, and whenever they extend it, I know I'm about to have an amazing home cooked meal. In this simple but really helpful machine, there's a lesson for life. Let the table you break bread on be extendable. And if your table is extendable, then I invite everyone because why not? So we need to truly remember to welcome all to the table.
[00:07:59] Mattie Dalton:
Good morning. My name is Mattie Dalton. I'm a rising senior at Northgate High School, and I'm the daughter of Derek and Annette Dalton. When looking at Luke 24, my biggest question was, why didn't Jesus' disciples recognize him? Was it because they didn't know Jesus? I mean, come on. The disciples spent all their time with Jesus, so my guess was they knew the guy pretty well. I finally came to the conclusion that the reason that the disciples didn't recognize Jesus was because they weren't looking for him. It was just like the other morning. I was running late for my senior portraits, and I was so distracted by the fact that my hair wasn't curled perfectly, and I couldn't find my keys.
So like any child does, I asked my mom. She told me exactly where they were, and I went to look there and they magically moved places. I couldn't find them. And she said, well, they were right there, like moms always do. So I went back, still weren't there, still couldn't find them, and somehow she magically found them. It was like they moved back when she went to go looking for them or something. The reason I couldn't find my keys was because I was distracted. It was just like Jesus's disciples were distracted. I mean, they lost a friend. They were distracted by grief, by loss, and the everything that they just witnessed with their friend.
His disciples only came to recognize him after they took communion together. Jesus revealed himself through this act. Taking action in the Lord's supper, it's really easy to let our minds wander. Like, how long is this gonna take, or we're gonna be so late for lunch? I think we forgot why we take communion. In Luke 22 verse 19, it says, do this in remembrance of me. We take communion to remind ourselves how serious the Lord took this act of communion and breaking bread with others. We need to remind ourselves of the love God has for us and the selfless act he did. We need to remember that our actions can better explain the love of God better than our words ever could explain.
We need to remember the meaning and the reflection behind communion. Normally in church, we use some sort of stale cracker and wash it down with juice that we pray wasn't sitting for too long. At camp, we decided to use grapes and Goldfish and pizza and Coke. Steve got really creative on that one. It definitely was a new experience that really put the Lord's supper in perspective. It showed that even grapes and goldfish can represent the body of Christ and the sacrifice of love he made for us. Not using the traditional cracker and juice showed that it didn't matter who you are with or where you are. Everyone has a place at the table, and you don't need to be sitting in a church with vaulted ceilings or a pew to take acts in communion. To quote Saint Francis, preach the gospel at all times, but when it's necessary, use words.
In Luke 24, Jesus's followers didn't know who he was till his actions revealed himself to them. Sometimes it feels like as followers, we can get wrapped up and trying to perfectly word something to explain the love of God, kinda like I did the sermon. Or we talk or we get wrapped up in our church lives. And don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with that. But if we truly want to show the grace and love of God, maybe our actions need to start saying what our mouths are trying to say. Our actions can show the love of God better than we ever could explain. As followers, it is our actions that reveal our Jesus's love to the lost, so we need to act out in our faith. We don't need to wait till a burning bush moment, or Jesus is walking right next to you to look for God in moments.
Sometimes we get caught up in the so called insignificant places where we will miss God the most.
[00:11:45] Steve Cothran:
I'm so grateful to Ryan and Mattie and all of our youth who have led us to this point. And thank you for that song. It's one of my favorites. I also the theme is remember. And in the early service, I forgot to thank our chaperones without whom none of these remembrances would be possible. Nancy Cothran and Caroline Moore and Jess Wilbanks and Drew Williams, who drove over from Macon so that one eyed Willie didn't have to drive your kids to Tennessee. They enabled our youth to hear Jesus' voice calling to them sometimes when they were singing, sometimes when they were shouting, sometimes when they were laughing and playing, sometimes whispering, remember.
Remember. It is a multipurpose word. It can be a question or it can be a command. It it can be a question when you wake up on July 21st and your wife says, you remember what today is? She didn't really say that. And it can be a command when your phone says, remember, buy flowers for your anniversary. Tada. Check that box. I feel like Jesus used it both ways on that road to Emmaus with those confused, bewildered, broken hearted disciples. He snuck up on them. Did you get that picture? He snuck up on them and just slid into their conversation. Hey. What are you guys talking about?
He knew what they were talking about. Maybe these grown men didn't want to let a stranger see them cry. And so they looked down at the ground. Or maybe their vision was clouded by tears over the collapse of their dreams and hopes from the past 3 years. We only know that Luke says, and they were prevented from recognizing Jesus. But if you've ever suddenly pulled out from underneath you, then you know exactly what they felt like. Those poor disciples, what is Jesus doing to them? Not only does he come up and say, what are y'all talking about? And this, buddy, are you the only one who doesn't know what's going on? And Jesus' response is, what?
What things are going on? That's just cruel. Don't you hate it when somebody does that to you and you know they know exactly what you're talking about? And they play dumb. Oh, I don't know. Why don't you tell me? Jesus starts though after they explained to him with a very ministerial tone. How dumb can y'all be? Don't you remember what the prophet said? Don't you remember all these things had to happen? Remember? Remember? Then Jesus Luke says Jesus started went all the way back to Moses in the beginning and went all the way through the prophets. But it was probably kind of a cliff's notes version because the road to Emmaus isn't that long to go through all of Moses and the prophets. But he retaught them the story that he'd been telling them for the past 3 years, and they still didn't get it.
Fred Craddock says, he he chastised them. He exhorted them. He taught them nothing. Matt, take heart brother. When you stand up here and you admonish and you we encourage and we teach. Nothing. That's the way Jesus did it. That's the way we do it on Wednesday night at youth group. They finally had to sit down at the table with Jesus, the place where he said, now whenever you do this, remember before they actually remember. Lyudmila, she's an 84 year old widow in Prague. She survived 2 totalitarian regimes and lives in the heart of the most atheistic country in Europe. But she has a small plaque outside of her brownstone apartment that says, embassy of the kingdom of heaven.
Her story is in the turquoise table, a book Katie Brady shared with Nancy and me. And every day, Lyudmila opens her home to friends and strangers who need to talk. She offers them something simple, something small, nothing overdone or extravagant, a cup of tea, a cookie from a tin, a warm simple gesture of welcome to the table. And in her quiet, genuine way, Lyudmila listens and prays. She communicates that her guests matter. At her table, they belong. Kristen Schell, who authored the book, says that welcoming strangers and neighbors alike who might be walking by. The photographer just happened to be there snapping pictures with her friends gathered around the table and the bench on the table broke.
1 of her friends said, oh, don't put that picture in the book. And she said, yes. Put that picture in the book. Make sure you use the picture of the broken table because it's not a table for the perfect. This is a table for people with trials and flaws. Lyudmila and Kristen both embody the words of Paul in Romans 1213, take every opportunity to open your life and your home to others. Maya Angelou understood the existential truth behind Paul's instruction when she wrote, lying, thinking last night how to find my soul a home where water is not thirsty and bread loaf is not stone.
I came up with one thing, and I don't think I'm wrong that nobody, but nobody can make it out here alone. This table features, as the youth said, lots of different elements of communion, but it also has a picture. You may or may not recognize that picture, but 5 years ago 5 days ago marked the 3 year anniversary that Nancy and I came home with a brand new 4 year old. We were shell shocked, deer in the headlights struggling to breathe, and we never would have imagined that we would come home to our back porch patio table transformed into a masterpiece even more overwhelming than Da Vinci's Last Supper.
Matt and a handful of you filled that table and every inch around it with balloons and clothes and toys and Cheerios and Cheez Its, and you transformed that piece of Costco furniture into the holiest communion table I have ever seen. It was holy because we were broken, but the table was set for us precisely because we were broken. And that symbol of grace let us know that you were with us in this and everything was gonna be okay. Jesus came for broken people. And when they criticized him for it, he said, the well have no need for a position. It's hard to read this with tears in your eyes. Jesus said, the well need no the the people who are well don't need a doctor.
Every single person with whom Jesus shared a table was broken. Well, of course, they were, Steve. Jesus was the only perfect one. They were all broken. The first time I addressed you as a minister here, try not to cut Bob off, but I see you back there. I I did it I snuck back here during a prayer from the back of the room, because you back row Baptist think you can escape, but you can't. No. I came back here because Mark's vision of Jesus starts with him saying, I'm not who you think I am. I did not come as the Messiah that you expect to start a political revolution.
I came to serve the least and the last and the lost. And so we started in the back to say, turn your head around because if we're looking for Jesus up there and out there, we're looking in the wrong place because he's right here at this table washing feet. That's a different kind of Jesus. That's the Jesus we need. Some scholars even say that one of the main reasons Jesus was killed was because he was eating with the wrong people. What? That's ridiculous. Nobody killed Jesus because he was eating with the wrong people. When you come into a place and up in the social order like Jesus did, elevating those who are downtrodden and saying, let come on come on up here and eat with the regular people.
Just imagine that we're members of a country club and some preacher starts bringing in homeless and lawn care workers and whomever else for lunch 3 and 4 times a week. There's gonna be a meeting called. And we're gonna point out, we have bylaws. We have rules. You you can't what do you think you're doing? That would be a huge problem. And what who does this Jesus think he is trying to put everyone on a level playing field? I mean, that's that's just crazy, isn't it? Some people just don't belong at the fancy table. We all know that on Thanksgiving because somebody gets stuck at the kids' table.
That's a room problem though. That's not a belonging problem. Sometimes it's just too much work to fit everybody in, But Jesus does it anyway. You know, like Simon at Jesus' table. Not Simon Peter. We all know how what a screw up that guy was. What about Simon the zealot? Do you know what a zealot was? He had taken an oath to kill, if he got the opportunity, to kill Romans and oppressors and government people. I imagine Jesus sat between him and Matthew. You remember what Matthew's job was, tax collector. If you think it's difficult to chaperone youth on a retreat, I cannot imagine Jesus well, I can't imagine Jesus sleeping with one eye open out in the fields with those guys trying to prevent something bad from happening.
And yet, Jesus knew that his table would not be complete without them or without us, no matter how flawed we are. Hemingway said, we're all broken. That's how the light gets in. Of course, we pretend we're not broken. Instagram, Facebook, church, whatever. But the only perfect person who has ever sat at this table is Jesus. So stop trying to pretend like we've got it all together. It's just exhausting, isn't it? And it's pointless. Because if we're honest, we're all hiding something that we're afraid is gonna get out. So just remember what Jesus said. Come come on. Come to me when you're weary, when you're weighed down, and I'll give you rest.
And just bring your dirty old feet to the table, because Jesus is here to wash them clean. And dear God, let it be so. Amen.
[00:26:15] Matt Sapp:
Amen. Next Sunday is Steve and Nancy Cothran's Sunday at Central. It's Steve's last Sunday of a formal official ministry with us here after 35 years of youth ministry in Florida, North Carolina, Kentucky, South Carolina, Georgia, and all kinds of places scattered even farther flung beyond that. And that includes 6 and a half years of wonderful ministry here with us. We will honor and celebrate Steve in worship with some special guests here in our worship service. Our choir is preparing extraordinary music for us next week. We'll also host a breakfast in Steve and Nancy's honor during the Sunday school hour. We need all of you to be here to help us celebrate Steve and Nancy in the way that we ought to. We're looking forward to that opportunity, next Sunday.
Thank you all for being present in worship this morning. I hope we all leave this hour of worship encouraged and emboldened to be faithful representatives both of our church and of our Lord Jesus Christ. Steve's gonna lead us in our benediction.
[00:27:13] Steve Cothran:
May the God who makes all things holy and whole through this table empower you through the grace that you have received to go out and welcome others too. Amen.
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