Sermon for April 26, 20
God
of the Living Word, you come to us in sacred story, in bread broken and wine
poured out, in friendship and in conversation. Send us your Holy Spirit as your
Word is read. May our hearts burn within us as we encounter your truth, through
Christ, our Risen Lord. Amen.
Gospel Lesson Luke 24:13-33 The
Walk to Emmaus
We turn to the gospel of
Luke today, and we hear of the women going to the tomb of Jesus this morning
and found it empty? They were questioned
by two men in dazzling clothes, who asked them “why look for the living
among the dead?” The men in white reminded them of what Jesus had told
them, that after 3 days He would rise again.
So Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James & the other
women went directly and told the apostles. The men not sure of the news causes
Peter to jump up run to the tomb & he saw the linens cloths that once were
wrapped around Jesus body now empty just lying there. Their response to this
news brings further confusion, disbelief, grief.
Now later the same day, two people, who were not
part of the eleven within the original circle of the Twelve, yet are part of a
"group" of disciples (24:9) are walking to Emmaus. Perhaps they are
returning home, what more could they do?
One of the individuals walking was Cleopas and
some theologians suggest his companion may well have been his wife Mary. If you
go to John’s account chapter 19: 25 it reads “Meanwhile,
standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary
the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.“ Now the spelling of Clopas is slightly different, but that was not
unusual either, so we might consider that this could be a husband and wife
walking home who were witness to Jesus crucifixion and then received the news
that morning that Jesus tomb was empty.
Now going home, back to their ordinary life,
their greatest hopes gone. In spite of all they knew, all the stories
they could rehearse, in spite of the witness of others, they simply had not
seen Jesus--nor had anyone else they knew. The prophecies of Jesus and
hope of salvation grew cold. Doubts began to rise up for them, Good
Friday had not been Good. Time had passed and there was no change, no
resurrection, no Jesus. As they walk the 7 miles to Emmaus, they begin
to share their hearts. The grief, the pain, the awful death of Jesus and now,
His body missing, gone! So much to
discuss to try and understand to talk about; just so many unanswered questions,
so burdened with grief, so overwhelmed, so much to think about.
Even though those two
people walked the road a long time before us, we can identify with some of what
they were feeling, today.
Walk with me through our experiences and feelings of this past week and
walk with me through these pages of hope and inspiration in God’s Holy Word.
So much has taken place
in our lives and in our country since we last were together. Walking is a great
way to get exercise and enjoy a visit with a good companion. Thank goodness we
can still get outside and take walks, and enjoy the company of another, even at
2 meters apart. We need the walks just to allow us some time to let our mind
wander, figure things out, see things differently. Sometimes it is a nice way to
talk as you walk because as you are moving it is easier to let the conversation
flow, then if sitting still talking face to face. This often makes it easier to
talk from the heart. Aristotle’s definition of friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies.
How are you feeling about things going on
around you right now? Are you just about done with self isolation? Your desire
to get out and do things again is getting stronger? If what we were already
dealing with, was not enough, while we worshipped last Sunday a tragedy of
unprecedented proportions was occurring in Nova Scotia. There are no words that
can begin to put things in perspective. The difficult & tedious work is
underway to piece together the reasons of how and why such a tragedy occurred.
Miles of walking and talking will not begin to help us understand but possibly
lessen a little of the grief, the shock
the loss, the pain that so many, all over our country and beyond are feeling
right now. But, for the ones impacted directly by this heinous tragedy their
lives are forever deeply scarred, and tragically changed.
The words grieving and isolation should not share the same sentence, and
yet right now it has too. When we grieve it helps to have people near us for
comfort for company, support for help. Large groups of people are not permitted
to gather which sadly delays the opportunity and the need to honour our loved
ones who have died and share our memories and grief together. Not only does the
Covad 19 virus continue to afflict us, to isolate us, concern us but it now frustrates us more as the time
lengthens and the curve is lessening and the need to be with our loved ones and
friends who are hurting grows deeper still. There is no end to self isolation
yet, we must endure, be patient, understand that we do this for the health and
safety of each other and ourselves. When the fear of the virus has decreased,
what will it be like to go out again? What adjustments will we have to make, to
our new reality? Life will be different, life has changed, we have
changed. What has the virus taught you
about yourself, and about what is important?
One thing that caught my attention was hearing about some stores closing
on Sunday’s to give their employees a rest. This was not something I thought I
would ever hear again. A day of rest, was that not what the Sabbath was
intended for?
Maybe we will still need to walk two meters
apart for a long time yet? But it does allow us to be together in some way and
to share about ourselves. That is good
news.
As the couple walked
the dirt road to Emmaus, they talked and they grieved. Then a stranger joined
them and they shared with Him all about
Jesus of Nazareth & how the leaders had Him crucified. But we had
hoped that He was the one to redeem Israel. (How many times in our lives have we uddered those words… We had hoped
the news would be different, that the headaches would go away, that the
business would be more profitable, we had hoped…) Their
answer revealed a lot about their expectations of Jesus, and about their faith
in God. They had hoped he was the promised Messiah, the ruler who would redeem
Israel. They may have been looking for a Messiah who would drive out the Roman
oppressors, and rescue God’s chosen people from a life of poverty and struggle.
When he healed the sick, cast out evil forces, they believed in the God who
saves. When he stood up the Pharisees, and taught the people with such wisdom,
understanding and grace, they saw a true prophet. When he spoke about the
kingdom of God, they thought he must be planning to re-establish the throne of
David.
But now His tomb is empty,
they told Him.
Then the
stranger reminded His follower travelers of all the prophesies &
interpreted all the scriptures about Him.
Josh D. McDowell has
been in ministry for more than 50 years.
He said one reason the Bible’s Old Testament is
so important to Christians is that it contains over 300 prophecies. It is like
the threads of a tapestry, that establish the Messianic testimonials of Jesus.
The Old Testament
is like an intricate jigsaw puzzle. The numerous pieces, on their own, are
puzzling — until they are assembled enough to fill out the intended
picture. Thus, the New Testament is the decryption key for unlocking
Old Testament meaning.
(1 Corinthians 5:7).“For indeed Christ, our Passover, (our
deliverance) was sacrificed for us” The festival of Passover celebrates God’s deliverance of the Israelite people from
slavery in Egypt
(Zechariah 9:9).: “ Behold,
your king is coming mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a
donkey”
(Luke 19:35-37). “And they brought the colt to Jesus, …and as
He rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. _ worshipped as their king – came a humble king
(Isaiah 49:-6). “ I
will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end
of the earth'
(Acts 13:47-48): “For so the
Lord has commanded us, saying, ‘I have made you a light for the
Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’
Jesus is:
Deliverance, King, The Light of the
World, Messiah, Promised Holy One, The
Cornerstone, Redeemer, Healer, The Word,
The Christ .
As the travelers reached Emmaus they invited
their guest to join them, and it was in the breaking of the bread that the
disciples’ eyes were opened Jesus opens eyes to see him as the risen Lord.. Were not our hearts burning within us they asked of themselves.
We don’t have the
privilege of sharing the meal with Jesus as the two apostles did at the end of
their walk that day. But we do have this. We have the witness of the disciples
who had lost all hope. Their story rings true, because it is honest about their struggle to see
and believe.
Once the Scriptures were explained to them, the complete change
in them went from defeat to people who
would die for Christ.
Did Jesus rise from
the dead, or didn’t he? No question is more important!
If he did not, there
is no real hope for the world, or for us.
Paul writes in 1
Corinthians 15:14, “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and
so is your faith.”
But if Jesus is alive,
our hope is alive. 1 Peter 1:3 says, “He has given us new birth into
a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
No
matter how you may be feeling, or called upon to do, know that our risen Lord
shares your journey with you. He is risen indeed. Halleluiah!
Resources Used:
Luke 24:13-35 Scripts of the Exile (Butler) Scripts of the Exile By Rev. Amy Butler
Josh McDowell Ministry
A CRU Ministry Posted March 28, 2018
by Sheri Bell and filed under
the categories Apologetics, Resurrection. Title: Did
Jesus Fulfill Old Testament Prophecy?
Easter:
"we Had Hoped..."Contributed by Vic Folkert on Mar 27, 2020
Our
church bells rang out Friday for the people of Nova Scotia, both the CV & N
bells will ring during our service today, remembering each of the 22 lives lost. We pray for and walk with the people
deeply wounded by this tragedy & now we offer a Lament played by Olivia
Hughes entitled Ash Okan Farewell.
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