"It's Just Another --manna mon-Day"

Luke 24:13–35

Ok my title sounds like I'm referencing The Bangle's Manic Monday with my play on words with the title and maybe that's where it has found you today! If that is the case, do something with me. Breathe.

In and out. The divine breath of God sustains each breath we take.

We actually opened the message on Sunday with Paul McCartney's Another Day — that beautiful, bittersweet song about the dull routine of ordinary life. And that's exactly where we found the disciples in our scripture. Easter had happened. The tomb was empty. The women had seen the risen Lord--something absolutely EXTRAORDINARY and yet two of Jesus' followers were trudging down a dusty road to Emmaus, sad and stuck, living like it was just another day.

Jesus himself walks up beside them — and they don't recognize him. Scholars debate why, but the point is this: they couldn't see the reality in front of them because they were still looking for the version of Jesus that matched their expectations. They wanted a revolutionary. They got a servant on a donkey. The crowd cheered as if he came in on a war horse. They really thought he was going to over throw the empire and institutions that were binding them. Jesus came to work much deeper than that! Unseen yet seen. He died for it and now, they assumed, the story was over. Even. After. The. Women. Proclaimed. The. Good. News.

They could not see beyond their own selves and too often we are like that too!

Jesus is gracious about it. He doesn't force himself on them or demand to be recognized. He simply asks, "What are you discussing?" — a question every good teacher asks. He wanted to sit with them in their grief before revealing anything. And that matters, because God doesn't rush us past our pain. Even before raising Lazarus, Jesus wept first.

As they walk, Jesus opens the scriptures and reframes everything — starting with Moses and the prophets, showing how it all pointed to him. A retelling of the story they already known from a new POV and while something stirs in their hearts, the explanation falls flat. It isn't until they invite him in and sit down at the table together — until he takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it — that their eyes are opened. And in that moment, he vanishes. A holy game of now you see me, now you don't. I love Jesus' sense of humor.

They recognized him not when he met their expectations and not even with explanation but isntead when they invited him in with open hearts and participated in life with Him at a shared table. Again, God making the ordinary everyday things extra.

That's the challenge for us. We have built churches around explanation — around someone at the front telling you what to believe and how to see. But the early church was built around participation: scripture opened together, a table shared, a life lived in community, and a sending out to tell others. The liturgy we practice, the Monday Manna, the dwelling in scripture — none of it is busywork. It's an invitation to participate so that you can see not my way as a spiritual leader but for yourself. My job is to care for those in my charge, not to charge those in my care. I learned this from the Good Shepherd.

The question I left us with: are we like these disciples — educated, experienced, and yet completely blind because we are too distracted, too stuck in our heads, too busy solving problems to just be we can't leave things up to God? Break down Be-lieve in the auditory sense for this message. Play along here. Learn to be with God, and leave the rest up to God's care. I jokingly tell my love, Rick, I believe in you which he knows means (I be leaving you and I believe in you) at times when I depart from him for work. Jesus belives in us and be leaving us too!

But in all seriousness, every day may be just another day but with Jesus is walking alongside us (whether we have the eyes to see or not), it is pretty extraordinary!

So get to the participating and the being....Dwell in this week's word. Prepare your heart for next Sunday and make it so you won't be quiet as blind as our disciples this week.

Dwelling in The Word

Instructions

Set aside a regular time and place during your week where you can sit quietly with God’s Word. It does not need to be long, but it should be intentional. Choose a space where you can slow down and give the text your attention.

Select one of the scriptures for the week and read the same passage each day. This practice is different from Bible study. In church or group study, we focus on history, theology, and proper interpretation. Those are important, but Dwelling in the Word is more personal and prayerful. Here, we are listening for how the Word is speaking to us.

Read the passage slowly. You may want to read it more than once. I suggest reading it once quietly, pausing, and then reading it again out loud. Pay attention to the word, phrase, or image that stands out to you. Sit with it. Let it stay with you. Write it down or underline it.

Ask yourself simple questions as you read:

• What word or phrase is drawing my attention?

• What is bubbling up in me as I sit with it?

• Why might this part of the passage be standing out today?

Return to the same passage each day and notice what changes. Another phrase may stand out, or the meaning may deepen as the week unfolds. The goal is not to master the text, but to let the Word dwell in you and shape the way you see your life.

Scriptures:

Acts 2:42–47 – The early church lives in shared devotion, breaking bread, praying, and embodying a life that draws others in

Psalm 23 – The Lord shepherds, provides, and walks with us through every valley into abundant life

1 Peter 2:19–25 – Christ suffers with purpose, leaving a path of faithful endurance and healing for us to follow

John 10:1–10 – Jesus the Good Shepherd calls, gathers, and leads us into true life beyond all false voices

Prayer

Good Shepherd, walk with us this week in the ordinary moments we often overlook. As we dwell in Your Word, quiet our minds and open our hearts to recognize Your presence already among us. Help us not just to understand, but to participate—to sit at the table, to listen for Your voice, and to trust where You lead. Where we feel stuck, move us. Where we cannot see, reveal Yourself. Make even this simple week holy in You. Amen.