Christ is risen. He is risen indeed! Thanks be to you, O God, for the gift of new life in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Paul Harvey, the news commentator, for years has done special programs from time to time, called “the rest of the story.” These presentations often include some new dimension of character of a well-known person, or some new twist on an historical event. Let me share with you two “rest of the stories.” These are not from Paul Harvey, but they follow the same model.

There was a college student who wrote home asking for money. The student’s father responded in this way. “Enclosed is a check for $100. Incidentally, son, “hundred” is written with two zeroes, not three.” Now you know the rest of the story.

A second story: There was a group of neighborhood children. It was a rainy day (this obviously was not in San Diego). They were playing in one of the garages on their street, and they were trying to decide what to do. Someone said, “Let’s play church. All we’ll need is a preacher, a song leader and an usher, and everybody else can be the congregation.” One of the little kids said, “If we’re playing church, don’t we need to have Jesus too?” “Oh yeah, that’s right. Well, you can be Jesus.” “What do I do?” One of the older kids said, “You see that post over there? We’ll pretend that’s the cross. We’ll tie you to it, we’ll shout at you, we’ll throw things at you, and then you die.” The little kid said, “Maybe we can play church without Jesus.”

If we do, that’s the end of the story, not the rest of the story. We who are the Church cannot exist without the risen Christ. There is no story without him, and especially without him in our midst.

On these Sundays after Easter, we are looking at scriptures that point to the rest of the story, the part of the story that comes after the resurrection of Jesus. Last week Molly preached from the passage in the Gospel of John, where Jesus appears to his disciples, breathes on them, and says, “Peace be with you.” It is John’s version of the Pentecost story. We are more familiar with the Pentecost account in Acts, chapter 2, but this is John’s rendition of that event. Today we look a passage from Luke, and also one from Acts. The passage in Luke comes before the Pentecost event. The passage from Acts comes after Pentecost. Both of these stories give us a glimpse of the rest of the story in very similar ways.

In the passage from Acts we have the story of two of Jesus’ disciples on their way to Emmaus. These are not two out the original twelve. They weren ’t a part of that close group that Jesus originally drew together, but part of a larger group of followers. They are on their way to Emmaus. Emmaus was about seven or eight miles northwest of Jerusalem. It would be a good day’s journey by foot. Why were they going there? Perhaps it was to get a little physical or emotional distance from all that had taken place. As they journeyed to Emmaus, they were talking with each other about all they had experienced—the arrest, the trial and the crucifixion. They were even talking about that latest word that they had heard just before leaving Jerusalem, the word that perhaps Jesus was alive. The word being passed around was “resurrection.” It was only a rumor, but they were talking about it.

Then a stranger comes and walks with them. I don’t know about you, but if I were walking along with a friend and a stranger came alongside, I think I would guard my conversation a little bit. In that day, those two disciples would have every reason to be cautious of outsiders. This was not friendly territory in which they were walking. It would be like walking that same pathway today for you and me—it would be a dangerous thing to do. I think we would want to be very cautious, with all the unrest, uncertainty, and mutual terror that takes place in that land right now. It was no different in that day. Yet when this stranger comes to them and says, “What are you talking about?” they openly share. They share their fears, their hopes, their uncertainly, their concern.

We know that this stranger is Jesus, but they are not aware of that. As they walk along, Jesus instructs them in Moses and the prophets, which would have been the scriptures for those people in that time. He tries to help them understand, within a broader context, all they have experienced. He shares a meal with them, and then he breaks bread with them.

There are four signature verbs in Luke’s account. Those same four verbs also occur in the feeding of the five thousand, and in the Last Supper. Jesus took the bread, Jesus blessed the bread, Jesus broke the bread, and Jesus gave the bread. Luke tells us it is at this point the disciples realize who this stranger is; and in the moment of their realization, he disappears.

There is a mysterious element about all of this. They decide immediately to return to Jerusalem. They’ve just spent most of the day getting away from there, but now they go back. They want to be with the eleven, they want to tell them what has happened to them. When they get back to Jerusalem and meet the eleven, it’s the eleven that talk first. The eleven say to them. “The Lord is risen indeed! He has appeared to Simon.” Can’t you imagine these two, just waiting for them to get done with their story, to say, “But he’s appeared to us also, all the way out in Emmaus!” They too had a story to share.

The rest of the story is that Jesus is recognized and experienced in the common actions of the faith community—in worship, in study, and in fellowship. Jesus was made known to them not in some grand and glorious, phenomenal appearance, but in those things the worshipping community does together.

The same idea is repeated in the passage from Acts. Here the setting is in Jerusalem. Peter is speaking to the townspeople. He calls them to repentance, to be baptized, to receive the Holy Spirit. We are told there were 3000 who joined the disciples that day, and they continued in the apostles’ teachings, in fellowship, in breaking bread and prayers. In other words, they went about their usual faith community activities. Jesus was present through those activities with them. When you and I gather as the church, we gather to worship, to study, and for fellowship. We gather to serve, to reach out to others. Christ is present in our midst when we do those things. That is the rest of the story.

We have talked in this congregation about five commitments. They are based on models provided by these two passages, and the experience of the Church through time. The five commitments are: 1) we will be together in worship unless we’re sick or out of town, 2) we will grow in addition to worship in our faith through devotion and study, 3) we will give ourselves in Christian service, 4) we will give financially in proportion to our income, with a tithe as a minimum goal, and 5) we will give ourselves joyfully to inviting others to be a part of the fellowship of faith. Through these five commitments we experience the risen Christ, and we invite others to experience the risen Christ. The mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ. As we live our five commitments, we deepen our own personal discipleship—but we also expand that discipleship and invite others to join us on the journey of faith in Christ.

Today we celebrate Mentoring Sunday. This congregation’s mentoring program is a wonderful outreach into the community. Jesus mentored the disciples on the Emmaus road. The early Church mentored each other through the practice of fellowship, study and worship. As we live our commitments, Jesus mentors us and we mentor each other. The rest of the story in both of these passages today is that the Spirit of Christ continues mentoring those who would follow him. The story of the resurrection and new life continues to unfold. It takes your life and mine to be a part of that story.

Dr. Patrick Doyle was a physician in Canada. He had to give up his medical practice because of a crippling illness. He retired and moved to a small lumber town in eastern Canada. He did not open up a new practice, but word got around that a doctor now lived in the community. He would go and visit people in their homes, and people were grateful for any service or medical advice he could provide. When he first came to town he met a fifteen-year-old boy by the name of Johnny Lake, who knew everyone in town and could (and did) talk to everyone. Johnny became Dr. Doyle’s unofficial nurse and helper.

One night Dr. Doyle received a phone call. It was from the Owens family. They lived only two blocks away. Their daughter had been ill for a number of days, and seemed to be getting much worse. Dr. Doyle went to their home and examined little Kathy. It was clear that her situation was very grave. He guessed that she had pneumonia. He had no means with which to treat her condition, and other professional help was just too far away to reach in time. He told the parents their daughter probably would not last through the night. He was feeling very tired himself; he had made two other visits that day. He said, “I’m going to go home and rest, but Johnny will stay with you.”

And Johnny did. It was after midnight when Dr. Doyle awoke, and he went back to the Owens’ home. When he walked in, he noticed Johnny was right beside little Kathy’s bedside. He was holding her hand and talking to her constantly. He was saying, “Breathe, Kathy, breathe. When springtime comes, we’ll make dandelion chains. Breathe, Kathy, breathe. When springtime comes, we’ll make buttercup wreathes. Oh God, please help Kathy breathe. When springtime comes, Kathy, you and I will go and stand on the bridge over the creek and we’ll try to count the minnows in the creek. Breathe, Kathy, breathe.” Dr. Doyle whispered to the parents, “How long has this been going on?” They said, “He’s been talking constantly to her for two hours. She got to the point where she was gasping for breath, and there were long periods when there was no sound at all. Several times we thought she had died. But Johnny has been talking to her through the whole thing. Her breathing seems to be much more regular now. Doctor, isn’t there something you can do to help?” Dr. Doyle said, “Me? No, I’m not about to interfere with a miracle. Your daughter is going to be okay.”

The rest of the story is Jesus didn’t give up on the two disciples who were running away to Emmaus. Peter didn’t give up on the Jerusalem populace. Johnny didn’t give up on Kathy. And the risen Christ does not give up on you and me. The rest of the story is that through our worship, our education, our service, our giving, and our inviting God, the rest of the story is told through you and me. The rest of the story is waiting to be written with our lives.

The call to Christian discipleship for today is that we would renew our commitment to the five commitments, and that we would prayerfully consider how we might be involved in the mentoring program here, or in a mentoring relationship with someone who needs our guidance. Let us take a moment in prayer.