“Open our eyes, Lord, we want to see Jesus,
to reach out and touch him and say that we love him.”
“Open Our Eyes, Lord” song by Bob Cull
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Last Sunday we focused on Luke 24:13–35, which was the Road to Emmaus. In Luke 24 we experienced the OPEN tomb, where Jesus invites us into HOPE! Then we
experience Jesus OPENING the Scripture, where again Jesus invited those with him into the HOPE promised the Bible. As the followers of Jesus stop for the night, they OPEN their home to Jesus INVITING him into their lives.
Jesus then takes the bread, breaks it and the followers eyes are OPENED to see our Lord as he, again, INVITED them into an experience with him, the risen Christ!
Jesus still invites us in through the OPEN tomb of HOPE… the Scriptures through which our Lord OPENS to us the HOPE he has for us daily… in the breaking of the bread, communion, Jesus OPENS up to us his grace and presence AND now, Jesus wants us to OPEN our eyes and hearts daily to receive him as both individuals and in the community of believers.
We all get caught up in our lives, where we see only the present moment… the job… family… weekend trips… and the day to day things that keep us busy. We all find that there are days when our hearts and eyes are downcast like the disciples’ on the road to Emmaus, where we can’t look up long enough to really see Jesus as he is walking beside us, inviting us to join him. We all, at some time or another, choose to close our eyes to Jesus’ invitation to read and meditate on his Word… join with his community of
believers… see him in our neighbors and then to reach out through the ministry teams of our church to change the lives of children, as well as adults.
Some questions for us to think about this month!
- Are we responding to Christ with OPEN eyes, hearts and lives?
- Are our eyes renewed as we look for Jesus in the world around us?
- Are our hearts renewed as we take in the Scriptures?
- Are our perspectives different as we are reshaped by the Holy Spirit?
- Are we being renewed through the community of faith?
- Are we looking to connect with our brothers and sisters in Christ?
- Are we reaching out to someone who needs us?
After you think about some of these questions I pray we all will be OPEN to finding new ways to connect or reconnect at Bethel. I pray we all will be OPEN to Christ’s new ways in touching each one of us and our hearts!
I do want each of you to know how overwhelmed I was at your outpouring of love to those in need. Your gifts of food for Interfaith and monies to help through Lutheran World Relief were an OPEN EYED response in the name of Jesus to the community here and around the world! Thank you for reaching to others in the name of our risen Lord!
In Christ,
Pastor Barb
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