Sermon (April 19) “The Emmaus U-Turn” by Rev. Robert McDowell

April 19, 2026

Beulah & Oak Grove UMC

    I think that people can be divided into two groups. There are those who ignore “No U-turn” signs, and there are those who don’t. Which group are you in?

     Imagine a life without U-turns. Imagine a life where you’re heading the wrong way in life and it doesn’t feel like there’s any hope to make a change in your life.

     That’s what these two travelers were experiencing during their seven-mile journey on that first Easter Sunday. They were trying to get away from the place where it had all gone wrong and where their hopes and dreams were sealed in the same tomb where Jesus’ body had been placed just a few days earlier.

     And as they were walking down the road, they were recounting all the events that had taken place those last few days…the parade where the crowd had waved palm branches and shouted hosanna to Jesus as he entered the city…the arrest in the garden…the trial…the crucifixion…and now, the wild and crazy rumor that those who visited the tomb earlier that day were told that he was alive.

     To them, they figured that rumor was fake news or wishful thinking. With all of these thoughts swirling through their heads, they were now traveling down the road toward the little village of Emmaus. They were struggling to make sense of all they were experiencing and feeling in that moment.

     And so, they traveled and commiserated with each other about all these things. It’s times like this when you’re all tied up in knots, you’re confused, you’re angry, you’re in grief, and you just need to take a walk, or maybe go workout at the gym. Little did they know as they walked down that dusty Emmaus road, that they would experience a U-turn like no other. 

     Jesus appears to them as a stranger which is an interesting thought in and of itself. We don’t always recognize Jesus right away, do we? It’s only in hindsight where we look back and realize that he was with us the whole time.

     These two travelers, after realizing that the stranger was Jesus said to themselves, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road?”

     I love this story because it reminds me of the importance of being alert to those closest to Christ moments, those God moments that happen to us from time to time.

     These two travelers experienced the ultimate closest to Christ moment when they recognized this stranger as the Risen Christ.  Luke tells us that after Jesus left them, they got up right then and returned to Jerusalem to find the disciples and share the good news of Easter with them. What they thought was fake news was actually real news.

     The good news of Easter was how they were able to make a U-turn and head in a new direction of life filled with hope and great joy.

     Emmaus U-turns still happen today, thank God!

     Nationally known Christian author and speaker, Tony Campolo often tells the story of someone who made a U-turn in his life literally and spiritually. It’s a great story.

     Tony tells about the time he was asked to speak at a Pentecostal college. Before the service, eight men had him kneel so they could place their hands on his head and pray. Tony was glad to have the prayer, but each of them prayed a really long time, and the longer they prayed the more they pushed on Tony’s head. And then they even seemed to wander in their prayers.

     One of the men didn’t even pray for Tony. He prayed for some guy he was concerned about. He began to pray and said, “Dear Lord, you know Charlie Stoltzfus. He lives in that silver trailer down the road a mile. You know the trailer, Lord, just down the road on the right-hand side.”

     Tony wanted to interrupt and tell him that God already knew where the guy lived and didn’t need directions, but he just knelt there trying to keep his head upright.

     The prayer went on: “Lord, Charlie told me this morning that he was going to leave his wife and three kids. Step in and do something, God. Bring that family back together.”

     With that, the prayer time ended and Tony went on to preach at the college chapel. Things went well and he got in his car and began to drive home. As he drove on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, he saw a hitchhiker and felt compelled to pick him up.

     Tony said, “We drove a few minutes and I said: ‘Hi, my name is Tony Campolo. What’s yours?’ He said, ‘My name is Charlie Stoltzfus.’ I couldn’t believe it! I got off the turnpike at the next exit and headed back.

     He got a bit uneasy with that and after a few minutes he said, “Hey mister, where are you taking me?’ I said, ‘I’m taking you home.’ He narrowed his eyes and asked, ‘Why?’ I said, ‘Because you just left your wife and three kids, right?’ That blew him away. ‘Yeah, yeah, that’s right.’

     With shock written all over his face, he plastered himself against the car door and never took his eyes off me. Then I really did him in as I drove right to his silver trailer.

     When I pulled up, his eyes seemed to bulge as he asked, ‘How did you know that I lived here?’ I said, ‘God told me,’ which I guess he kind of did, right?

     When he opened the trailer door Charlie’s wife exclaimed, ‘You’re back! You’re back!’ He whispered in her ear and the more he talked, the bigger her eyes got. I said with real authority, ‘The two of you sit down. I’m going to talk and you two are going to listen.’ Man, did they listen…that afternoon I led those two young people to Jesus Christ.”

     Charlie Stoltzfus experienced an Emmaus Road U-turn that day on the turnpike.

     God specializes in U-turns.

     Good Friday leads to Easter. Death leads to New Life. Grief leads to Hope. Sadness leads to Great Joy!

      When I was a freshman in college, I was really struggling with what I was supposed to do with my life. I wasn’t happy with my major, and so I decided to put all of my focus on playing baseball in college. When baseball was no longer fulfilling my happiness, I started to feel really, really empty.

     I didn’t know what to do with my life. I was headed down a road without any clear direction or purpose in life.

     That changed one day, when I stumbled upon an old cassette tape that included a sermon in which the preacher challenged the people to make Jesus the #1 priority in their life. It was a powerful message that hit me like a ton of bricks

      I had nothing to lose so I dropped down to my knees and told Jesus that from that point on, he was going to be #1 in my life. After I prayed that prayer, it was like this huge weight was lifted from my shoulders. That dark cloud that had been hanging over my head disappeared and I just new that my life was never going to be the same.

     And the first thing that Jesus wanted me to do was to not worry about what my future career path was going to be, but to focus instead on getting good grades and from there, God would lead me in the right direction. And that’s what happened! One thing led to another and then in my junior year, I felt called by God to become a pastor. My life did a 180 that day when I surrendered my life to Jesus.

     The other wonderful thing about Emmaus U-turns is that they appear all along our faith journey. Jesus is always present with us and invites us to follow him in new and life transforming ways.

     The gospel writer, Luke, is very clever in the details he gives us on how these two travelers were finally able to recognize that the stranger who had been walking with them was Jesus. Luke tells us that it wasn’t until they were about to eat together, that they figured it out.

     It was when this stranger broke bread that they finally had their “aha!” moment. Think about this for a moment. How did Jesus keep a straight face for that long?? There is no way that I would have been able to hide my expression. Jesus must have taken some pleasure in watching their facial expressions when they finally realized it was him.   

     The other thing I like about this story is that Jesus doesn’t force himself on these two travelers. He becomes their traveling companion and invites them to think about their faith in a new way.

     So, Luke tells us that it was when Jesus broke bread that they figured it out. “Breaking bread” is Luke’s code phrase for what we refer to as the Sacrament of Holy Communion.

     Luke is reminding us in this story that if we want to follow a new direction of faith that includes the hope and promise of resurrection and new life, the Sacrament of Holy Communion is a great place to encounter the Risen Christ in our lives. He also emphasizes the importance of the scriptures since that’s an important part of his story as well.

     The sacrament and the scriptures – both are important ways for us to encounter the Risen Christ and get us back on the path that leads to hope and new life.

     Thanks be to God!

Sunday (April 19) Pastoral Prayer

April 19, 2026

Beulah UMC & Oak Grove UMC

All along our pilgrim journey, Lord, we want Jesus to walk with us. Walk with us when our hearts are weighed down with grief. Walk with us when we are feeling lost and alone. Walk with us when it seems that all hope is lost. O, Lord, we want Jesus to walk with us.

Walk with us in this time of prayer as we lift up to you our joys and concerns. We pray for your healing, comforting and guiding presence to surround all who are in need of you this day. We pray that they would know that you are walking right beside them and that they are not alone. Thank you for your presence with us in times of celebration as well as in times of brokenness and pain.

 

Remind us that we are your Easter people where death does not have the last word, where sins and mistakes do not define us, and where nothing in this world can ever separate us from your great love in Christ Jesus, our Lord. And whenever we forget that we are your Easter people, reveal yourself to us anew and lead us to say in response to your goodness and love, “were not our hearts burning within us?”

 

Walk with us today and throughout this week in the new direction that you would have us go. Walk with us as we go through seasons of transition and change. Walk with us when we’re not quite sure what the future holds. Walk with us when we don’t feel like we have what it takes to carry on. Walk with us when we’re unsure which road you would have us take.

 

Walk with us during those times when we are in need of a prayer that can help us move in a more hope-filled and positive direction like this prayer that you taught us to say together…

 

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Sermon (April 12) “A Sensory Faith” by Rev. Robert McDowell

April 12, 2026

Beulah UMC & Oak Grove UMC

    Some of you might know that Penny and I have two dogs. I might have mentioned that a few times. We have two westies and they’re something else!

     Listen to this official description of the west highland terrier breed and we have found this to be extremely accurate! It says, “Westies are typical terriers. They are smart, independent, and a little stubborn.”

     We have had westies for the past 25 years and every one of them has fit this description although instead of the word, “stubborn,” we like to refer to them as having a “westietude.”

     A couple of months ago, someone gave me this helpful tip when walking the dogs. I already knew this about dogs, but it was a good reminder for me anyway. And the tip was that when you take a dog for a walk, let them stop from time to time because they enjoy sniffing and picking up the many scents that are on the ground.

     This person said, it’s kind of like how we like to scroll through Facebook to catch up with people and what’s going on in our community. Our dogs love scrolling through the scents that critters and other dogs have left behind thanks to their incredible sense of smell.

     I did a little research on this and found out that dogs have 100 million sensory receptor sites in their nasal cavity compared to just 6 million in people. And the area of the canine brain devoted to analyzing odors is about 40 times larger than the comparable part of the human brain. It has been estimated that dogs can smell anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 times better than people.

     And when dogs sniff other dogs that helps them to know what the other dogs like to eat, what gender they are, if they’re happy or aggressive, and if they are healthy or not. And if they meet that same dog again even if they have been separated for a long period of time, they are able to remember who that other dog is.

     I’m glad this person reminded me of this dog walking tip, because a lot of times, I just want to take our dogs for a walk without stopping along the way. I really do need to remind myself to stop and let them use their powerful sense of smell.

     So, I say all of this because I think we as humans also need to remember to use our senses as well. We have a sensory faith where we can encounter God in very meaningful ways if we take the time to do so.

     One of the common ways that we encounter God is through listening to sermons. This is why I have dedicated my life to making sure that on any given Sunday, you’re going to hopefully hear a sermon that is engaging, thoughtful, challenging, biblically based, and spiritually enriching.

     During a typical worship service here at our church, the sermon time takes up about a third of the entire worship service. Even if it’s an above average sermon, I still want us to encounter God through the other 2/3 of the worship service.

     In some churches, the sermon takes up over half of the service time. Not everybody is going to connect with God by listening to a sermon. It might be through our special music, a hymn, a spoken prayer, a call to worship, the benediction, and yes, even through the sharing of announcements. I have also heard people tell me that just by sitting in sanctuary or a chapel, they often feel God’s peace and presence in a very real way.

     And these are just the spoken and visual parts of how we can connect with God through worship. We also can encounter God’s presence when we share in the Sacrament of Holy Communion, when we actually taste God’s goodness by partaking of the bread and the cup.  As one child who received communion for the first time said, “Jesus tastes so good!”

     Several years ago, a member of a church I was serving went on a mission trip to Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world.  When she got back from her ten-day trip in which she cared for the dying and saw people eating out of the garbage just to have something to eat, it gave her a totally new perspective on the scriptures, especially the prophetic books of the Old Testament that talk so much about not forgetting the poor and those who are in need.

     That multi-sensory mission trip experience was transformative for her.  I remember when she called me on the phone after returning from Haiti.  There were deep sobs on the other end of the phone as I listened to her tell me how her trip to Haiti gave her a totally new perspective in what it means to live out her faith.

     Encountering God by remembering that we have a sensory faith might provide a new perspective on this story of Thomas, one of Jesus’ disciples. Thomas was the disciple who had refused to believe what the disciples had told him that Jesus had risen from the dead. Thomas needed more proof than simply believing what the others had told him.

     This story is why Thomas has been given the name, “Doubting Thomas.” But I wonder if we have given way too much attention to Thomas in this story and we have forgotten to appreciate what Jesus does for him. Jesus allows Thomas to touch his wounds to help him come to an Easter faith.

     Jesus recognizes that even one of his own disciples needed something more than taking someone else’s word for it. Thomas needed to physically touch the Risen Christ before he came to faith. And at the end of this story, Jesus says, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

     You get the feeling that when Jesus says this to the disciples, he is actually turning toward the people who are listening to this story, people like us who do not have the advantage of seeing the Risen Christ face to face as Thomas was able to do. We get this special blessing from Jesus since we cannot do what Thomas was able to do which was to actually see and touch the Risen Lord.

     But there were others who needed something more than this physical encounter with the Risen Christ. For example, last Sunday, we heard how Mary had gone to the tomb early on that first Easter morning and she found that it was empty.

     Even when the Risen Christ appeared to her a little later that morning by the tomb, Mary didn’t recognize that it was Jesus. She thought it was the gardener, we were told.

     It wasn’t until Jesus said her name, “Mary,” that she realized that this stranger was actually the Risen Christ. For Mary, she needed to hear her name said out loud before she was able to come to an Easter faith.

     Next Sunday, our Gospel reading will be the Emmaus story when the Risen Christ appeared to two of Jesus’ disciples who were walking to the village of Emmaus. They didn’t recognize that it was Jesus until at the very end when Jesus broke bread with them.

     That’s when we are told that their hearts burned within them because they realized in that moment that it was Jesus who was now alive. It was when Jesus broke the bread that these two disciples remembered when Jesus broke the bread during the Last Supper.

     Our I Peter scripture reading this morning also recognizes those who do not have the advantage of actually being in the physical presence of the Risen Christ. In I Peter 1:8, we are told, “Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy…”

     This letter was was written to Christians who became believers after the Risen Christ had ascended to heaven. They came to faith not only by hearing these stories of faith that we find in the gospel accounts, but also by worshiping and fellowshipping together. We help each other to believe through all of these ways which include using all of our senses.

     The church is also referred to as, “The Body of Christ.” What a powerful name to help us remember that the Risen Christ is present with us just by being God’s community of faith. Jesus had told the disciples, “Whenever two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

     A young adult recently shared on a Facebook post that one of his fondest memories in attending his home church was during Sunday morning worship services. He didn’t mention the sermons or the incredible choral anthems in that church.

     For him, it was just by looking at a beautiful stained-glass window in which Jesus was holding a little lamb. It always made him feel safe and for him, it was a beautiful way of expressing just how much God loved him.  

     Deep down, I believe that we are all spiritual beings who want to encounter something that is beyond ourselves; something or someone who can show us the way to experiencing life in all of it’s fullness, to have hope in times of despair, to find comfort when our hearts are grieving, to be lifted up when we are feeling down, to receive and to offer forgiveness, to feel loved and to be loved, and to be able to offer all of our questions and thoughts about the mysteries of life.

      Throughout my own life, the Risen Christ has filled this spiritual longing for me.

     Sometimes it is a sermon in which God speaks to me in a very real way. Sometimes, it’s just by dipping some bread into a chalice and hearing someone say to me, “The body and blood of Christ given for you.”

     Sometimes, it’s a hymn lyric that I’ve sung a million times but for some reason, a verse or a phrase captures my attention in a way I had never before noticed. Sometimes, it’s the smell of Easter Lillies reminding me of new life in Christ. Sometimes, it’s a church member, simply saying to me, “hey, I just want you to know that you’ve been in my prayers.”

     I guess what I’m trying to say is that I need all of these ways to nourish and feed my soul and be reminded that the Risen Christ is with me. Seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling are all ways that we can fill our deepest spiritual longings.

     No wonder that Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

     When we use all of our senses, we can experience the presence of the Risen Christ in new and fresh ways, and these moments lead us to join the disciple, Thomas in saying, “My Lord and my God!”

Sunday (April 12) Pastoral Prayer

April 12, 2026

Beulah UMC & Oak Grove UMC

Our prayer continues as we silently now wait for thee, ready, our God thy will to see. Open our eyes illumining us, Spirit divine.

Thank you for giving us a multi-sensory faith in which we can experience your presence in a very real way whether through a sermon, an early morning sun shining through the trees, the taste of even just a tiny piece of bread and a little bit of juice, the crescendo of a beautiful piece of music, the small detail of a stained glass window that we never noticed before. In all these ways and so many more, you reveal your presence with us and we are thankful.

 

We also pray that the people who are on our prayer list and others who are on our hearts and minds this day would know of your presence wherever they may be and whatever particular situation they may be facing. We pray for your healing, guiding, comforting, and loving presence to surround each of these persons and needs.

 

And as our Gospel reading this morning reminds us, you can even be made known when we are doubting your presence the most. Thank you for offering each one of us a special blessing because you know how challenging it can be for us to open our eyes that I may see glimpses of truth thou hast for me.

 

We pray this in the name of the Risen Christ who not only offers us this special blessing, but who also invites us to pray this prayer that he taught us say together…

 

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.