EXTRA: St. Andrew Sunday Evening Worship (SEW) Sermon (04/26/09)

Text: Luke 24:36b-48
Theme: “Two Items for Open Minds to Consider”
3rd Sunday of Easter
April 26, 2009
St. Andrew Presbyterian Church
Denton, Texas
Paul R. Dunklau

+In the Name of Jesus+

It’s Easter III and the last Sunday in April. In beautiful, downtown Denton, Texas, it’s the Arts and Jazz Festival weekend.

Jazz, it has been said, is music that comes from the soul and from the heart. Contrast that with, say, “Toccata and Fugue in D minor” by J.S. Bach. Bach is almost mathematical in his precision. It’s music that comes from the mind – although Bach might take issue with that.

But let us not pooh-pooh the mind – whether in terms of music or something else. We all have a thinker – and so do the jazz musicians. The brain, with its synapses firing, sends messages to hands, mouth, and lungs. And the action produces music which, we are told, comes from the heart and soul. But don’t discount the mind.

An open mind, we are given to believe, is better than a closed one. Someone has said that “An open mind is prerequisite to an open heart.” In contrast, another has said that “An open mind is filled with holes.” Which is it? Whatever the case, closed-mindedness strikes us as rigid, doctrinaire, incapable of change, and just plain mean. Closed-minded people already have it all figured out, so no use trying to persuade them. Their aim is to win you over to their point of view. If that doesn’t work, it’s on to the next sucker.

At the first Easter, the followers of Jesus did not have it all figured out in their brains. They were far more involved with their emotions, and clear thinking is hard to do when you’re overwrought with feelings.

Jesus, now risen from the dead, shows up and enters into the mix. He says: “Peace be with you.” The reaction is pure emotion. They are “startled and terrified,” says Luke – adding that “They thought they were seeing a ghost.” Thought! That’s a mental process and not an emotion. Were their minds and emotions playing tricks on them? Could it really be true that He rose from the dead?

Jesus doesn’t appeal to their brains. That would come later. First, he zeroes in on their hearts: “Why are you frightened?” he asks. “Why do doubts arise in your hearts?” he continues. Next comes an appeal to their senses: “Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” Jesus does a sort of ghost-busting job on the disciples! Then he eats a piece of fish.

And finally, he comes to their minds. Luke says that He “opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” In order to understand the Bible, what do you need? An open mind.

There are oodles and scads of closed-minded opinions about the Scriptures these days. Some conclude that the Bible is a famous piece of literature – it ranks right up there with War and Peace, Crime and Punishment, Shakespeare, and Gone With the Wind -- and that’s about it. A number of years ago, William J. Bennett, a former Secretary of the Dept. of Education, edited a couple books. One was called The Book of Virtues, and the other was called The Moral Compass. There are those who see the Bible, no more and no less, than a book of virtues. Similarly, they see it as a moral compass. It’s a book of do’s and don’t’s, rights and wrongs, a compilation of morals and ethics. Still others see the Bible as a book of stories whereby God shows His people of all ages how to live. Thus, the Bible is a “how to” book. There are those who view the Scriptures as endlessly mythical and finally boring, so why bother? Others don’t grab hold of the Bible for fear that it might grab hold of them. And some think of the Bible as a set of instructions or directions. Your life is sort of like a new gas grill. In order to put it together and enjoy it, you best follow the manufacturer’s directions.

But what does Jesus say? “We need an open mind to understand the Scriptures,” or words to that effect.

“Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day… .” That’s the first item for open minds to consider: the suffering, death, and resurrection of the Lord is the beating heart of the Bible.

He goes on: “…And that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” That’s the second item for open minds to consider: repentance – which is to say, a changed mind -- and the exhilaration that comes from sins forgiven!

A fellow named R.W. Knox once said: “Orthodox theology is not easily intelligible, for on the face of it passes man’s understanding. But however difficult it may be to fathom, it can be stated on a half-sheet of note paper.”

Last week I watched the tail end of the movie Bucket List. Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman star as two men who have only six months to live. They put a list together of things they want to do before they “kick the bucket” – hence, the bucket list. They travel all over the world in Jack Nicholson’s Gulfstream jet.

While they were relaxing one night at thirty three thousand feet, Morgan Freeman was looking the window. He talked about the wonder and beauty of God’s creation. Nicholson was having nothing of it. He rolled his eyes and shook his head. He said to Morgan: “I just have a hard time getting the arms of my mind around this whole idea of a higher power.” Morgan replied: “Why don’t you get your mind out of the way?”

It’s not that the mind is bad, it’s just that it needs to be opened. When Jesus opens it, then you understand! And you walk out of here tonight -- to the jazz fest or wherever you’re going – with a changed mind and, best of all, with sins forgiven.

Amen.