Emmaus Road -- A Message for April 27, 2025

  Last week, we celebrated Easter, the day we remember the greatest event in the history of humanity – in the history of the world. After being dead for three days, Jesus resurrected. The Savior of the world was killed on the cross by the cruel Roman government, and God decided that nothing could stop Jesus and his message, not even death. So, on Easter Sunday, when a group of Jesus’ woman followers went to the tomb to anoint and wrap his body for burial, instead of his body they found angels in the tomb….angels who told them Jesus was resurrected.

This morning, we pick up the story of the resurrection where we left off last Sunday. It is still Easter day, and the disciples who didn’t meet the angels in the tomb were confused about what the women told them.  They weren’t sure if they should believe that Jesus was resurrected. 

Let us read the story where we left off, at Luke chapter 24 verse 13:

Scripture Lesson Luke 24:13-35

Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 

They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 

As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 

but they were kept from recognizing him.

He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”

They stood still, their faces downcast. 

One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

“What things?” he asked.

“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people.  

The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 

but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 

In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 

but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 

Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”

He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 

Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 

And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. 

But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 

Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 

They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 

and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” 

.Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread

Here ends this reading of the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Sermon Emmaus Road

The first Easter events were confusing for Jesus’ friends. They watched Jesus die before their eyes in a shocking and horrible way – first he was tried, then he was tortured, and then he died a brutal death on the cross. They saw him die. They saw the soldier pierce his heart with a sword to make sure he was really dead. They knew that after he was taken off the cross, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea gathered his body and hastily prepared it for burial before the sun set.

When you witness something tragic, it sometimes feels like the sight you saw is seared on your eyes….Seared on our memories. The disciples stood by and waited for Jesus to die. They were powerless to stop it…to protect him. The horrible images of that event were probably all they could think about. They were probably feeling the early stages of post-traumatic stress and possibly believed they would never be able to adjust to regular life once again.

Then, a few days later, their female friends told the other disciples the tomb was empty. Angels told the women at the tomb Jesus was resurrected. But, the other disciples were grieving, sad, and both physically and mentally exhausted, so they dismissed the women for talking nonsense. 

Two of the disciples decided to leave the rest and walk to Emmaus. Emmaus was about 7 and a half miles away from Jerusalem. While they were walking, a man they didn’t know joined the men – Cleopas and another disciple. The stranger asked them what they were up to, and they explained to him the story of Jesus and his horrible death. They told him the “silly” women believed he was resurrected. When they arrived at Emmaus, the disciples invited the man for dinner and to spend the night at their accommodations. While they sat at the dinner table, the man broke the bread and their eyes were opened to who he was….Jesus had been with them all along – and he was indeed risen.

Cleopas and the other disciple rushed back to Jerusalem and told the others the women were correct – Jesus was risen. And, the disciples in Jerusalem told them they also now believed the women, since Simon had also had an encounter with the risen Jesus. 

I don’t know why, but the male disciples not instantly believing the women who went to the tomb bothers me more this year than normal. They dismissed the women and chalked it up to them talking “nonsense.” Maybe I have my own baggage from past experiences of being dismissed or accused of talking nonsense – we have all probably had experiences in our lives like this – perhaps we were not believed because we were female or young or old or not an obvious authority on a subject like a doctor or a nurse – we may have tried to tell someone something and that person dismissed us or ignored us or didn’t believe us, and they later discovered we were correct. Sometimes, people who do this to us don’t acknowledge we were right in the first place….they may act like they always knew the information we told them or they themselves figured it out on their own….it is frustrating.

After a few events of disciples having experiences with the risen Christ, they were more ready to believe Jesus was truly alive once again…he was resurrected. And, then they started telling the story…they told the other disciples…Thomas notoriously didn’t believe it until he saw Jesus for himself. They told Jesus’ friends. They told the people who previously came to see and hear Jesus. They told the story.

In this morning’s reading, the people who told the story were Cleopas and the disciple he walked to Emmaus alongside. They told the story of their Emmaus Road encounter with Jesus, and that they now believed in the Resurrection. Everything Jesus had told them, everything Jesus had done previously, now was even more valid, more true, more real.

This summer, we are going to practice telling people what we believe – we are going to practice telling people the story of our faith….our testimony. We will each have the opportunity to give a two to three minute explanation of why we believe in Jesus, why we believe in God, or why we became part of Trinity church. Did we have an Emmaus Road experience, where we were journeying in one direction and then Jesus interrupted us? Did we have something happen in our lives and then our eyes were opened to the Christian faith? Is our faith in God something that we always had and never doubted? Or, did we start out as Christians and then have a series of events that took us away from our faith and somehow we found it once again?

Cleopas and his Disciple friend were excited to tell their other friends about their encounter with the Risen Jesus. Matthew says that as soon as Jesus vanished from their Emmaus room, they got up and returned at once to Jerusalem to tell the others. They were delighted to share the Good News. 

Sometimes, we are a bit more timid to share the Good News. There used to be an etiquette taboo that instructed us never to bring up religion or politics at dinner parties. Most of us don’t find ourselves at dinner parties with regularity, but we have extended the rule to the rest of our lives – to be polite, we don’t bring up religion or politics unless we are sure we are in a safe place to discuss them, like a church Sunday morning class or a meeting of our political party. We assume that to be polite, we shouldn’t discuss our faith unless we are talking to someone who is already in the same camp we are in, another Christian. 

So, this summer we are going to have the opportunity to practice sharing our stories of faith….we will have the opportunity to share our story with each other and hear the stories of our brothers and sisters in Christ. And, my hope, is that by us practicing telling our stories in the safe environment of our church home, of Trinity, we will also feel more comfortable sharing the story of our faith when we are out in the world. That we will become braver….that we will remember the lives of the first Christian followers of God, who boldly told the story of their faith to people who had trouble believing them…to people who couldn’t imagine how anyone could rise from the dead…to people who would punish them or exclude them or persecute them for believing something that contradicted their listener’s religious views and faith traditions.

Jesus rose from the dead. Then he appeared to his friends. And, they bravely told other people the Good News of Jesus’ resurrection and the Good News of the Christian faith. They bravely told people that God is real, God is love, and Jesus came to tell us our sins and mistakes are forgiven and we are invited to live better lives inspired by our faith. The first disciples were so excited about their relationship with Jesus and their shared faith that they risked everything to tell other people about it. Let us work to be brave like them, and share the story of our faith with each other and with the people we meet out in the world. 

Amen. 

Empty Tomb -- An Easter Message 2025

 This morning, we focus on the greatest story ever told. God is more powerful and more wonderful than we can understand. On the first Easter morning, God’s love stopped the powerful Roman Empire’s cruelty in its tracks….God’s love overcame it all.

Listen to the Easter story as it if found in the twenty-fourth chapter of the Gospel of Luke:

Scripture Reading: Luke 24: 1-12

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 

They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 

but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 

While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 

In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 

He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 

‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” 

Then they remembered his words.

When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 

It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 

But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 

Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

AMEN.

Here ends this reading of the Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Message Empty Tomb

Let us pray: Almighty God, you are the source of all light. You divinely separated light from darkness so that we may have the beauty of the light of day. Dear Lord, illuminate this day and enlighten us as we seek to know you through your word. May we be led by your light so our hearts may be opened to your word. Amen

Christ the Lord is Risen today: Alleluia Amen!!

On the first Easter, the impossible happened. Jesus, a human man brutally killed by his Roman executioners, rose from the dead. He had been dead three days…three days in a temperate climate….smells and decomposition would have set in. Today the high temperature in Jerusalem is predicted to climb to 77 degrees fahrenheit…three days at 77 degrees is long enough for unpleasant changes. Jesus was in the tomb for three days….and then the impossible happened.

The women came early in the morning to the tomb where Jesus had been laid to rest on Friday. They had a duty to perform – in their society, women prepared bodies for burial. They wanted to anoint his body with perfume and oils and rewrap it in linen burial cloths. They loved Jesus and wanted to send him off following their traditional burial practices. They were devastated by his death, and the preparation of the body was the last kindness they could extend to him.   

When they arrived at the tomb, the women probably thought their eyes were deceiving them. Instead of Jesus’s body, they found an empty tomb. They would have been horrified. A series of conflicting thoughts would have rushed through their minds: His body was stolen. His body was taken by the Romans for further assaults. His body was stolen so that the religious authorities could display it and mock them. They would never be able to bury him and lay him to rest following their traditions. The women’s despair and sadness would have deepened.

And, then two angels appeared. The women were astonished. They bowed before the angels. They probably cowered, because angels are described into scripture as being frightening looking. And the angels told the women  Jesus wasn’t there not because his body was stolen, but because he had risen from the dead! And, the angels reminded the women of the prophecies about the resurrection of the messiah…and Jesus’s own words predicting his resurrection. He was risen. 

The women rushed out of the tomb to tell the others the news. And, I love how Luke described the reaction of the men and the other disciples – Luke says; “But, they did not believe the women because their words seemed to them like nonsense.” This was not the first time that the excited words of multiple women talking all at once sounded like nonsense to a group of men. 

Peter rushed to the tomb to check it out for himself. He wondered what happened….did Jesus rise like the angels told the women? 

We know the rest of the story. Jesus began making appearances to his friends. First to Mary Magdalene. Then to disciples walking to Emmaus. Then to the disciples gathered in the upper room. Then to others. Jesus made regular appearances during the first season of Easter…he appeared for forty days ... .and then he left them and ascended to heaven.

Christianity would not exist without the Easter story. If the Messiah had died on the cross on Good Friday, but then didn’t resurrect, Jesus would be regarded as a wise teacher. A wise teacher to the Jewish people. He may have been remembered by a few faithful people. He may have become a footnote in Josephesus’ history of the Jewish people. But, for the Jewish followers of God, other things happened during their Roman occupation that would be remembered with more detail….the destruction of the Temple happened in the first century. The Jewish people were cast out of the Holy Land in the first century. The diaspora changed the history of the Jewish people forever. So, if the resurrection of Jesus had not occurred, Jesus and his teachings could have become an afterthought, or a footnote, or forgotten.

But, on that first Easter morning, something amazing happened. The man who was dead, who was crucified, died, and was buried, after a descent into the land of the dead, was raised from death to life. On the third day he rose from the dead. Jesus came to tell us that the Romans didn’t get the last word. The anxious priests and religious authorities didn’t get the last word. People who make mistakes and sin and mess up didn’t get the last word. God got the last word. God wanted us to know that God’s plan for the people of the world is the the plan that is taking place…nothing we do to each other, nothing we do to ourselves, nothing we do to Jesus is able to stop God and God’s plan. 

And, God’s plan is love. God so loved the world that God gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in God will have eternal life, will have a blessed life, with God. God loves us. God loves us no matter what mistakes we make. And, Jesus’s resurrections is the ultimate symbol of God’s love. No matter how awful we are, God loves us. God forgives us. And God wants the best for us. 

In response to God’s love, we are called to love each other. And, not just the people in this room….not just the people in our families…not just the people in our communities….not just the people in our country….but we are called to love the people of the world, no matter what our tribe or affiliations. And, we are called to lived out that love in our attitudes and actions. We are called to care for each other. Look out for each other….to be generous to each other and on behalf of each other. And, to make sure each of us take action to improve the lives of other people, especially the people who don’t have enough of what they need. 

Let work to respond to the love we receive from God with love. Today and always. Amen. 

He is Risen -- An Easter Sunrise Message 2025

 

Scripture Reading Luke 24:1-12 (from The Message)

24 1-3 At the crack of dawn on Sunday, the women came to the tomb carrying the burial spices they had prepared. They found the entrance stone rolled back from the tomb, so they walked in. But once inside, they couldn’t find the body of the Master Jesus.

4-8 They were puzzled, wondering what to make of this. Then, out of nowhere it seemed, two men, light cascading over them, stood there. The women were awestruck and bowed down in worship. The men said, “Why are you looking for the Living One in a cemetery? He is not here, but raised up. Remember how he told you when you were still back in Galilee that he had to be handed over to sinners, be killed on a cross, and in three days rise up?” Then they remembered Jesus’ words.

9-11 They left the tomb and broke the news of all this to the Eleven and the rest. Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them kept telling these things to the apostles, but the apostles didn’t believe a word of it, thought they were making it all up.

12 But Peter jumped to his feet and ran to the tomb. He stooped to look in and saw a few grave clothes, that’s all. He walked away puzzled, shaking his head.

Here ends this reading of the Word of God for the People of God. Thanks be to God. Amen. 

Prayer for Illumination

Pastor: Divine redeemer, bearer of life, open us to the wisdom of your Word today and enlighten us with your truth. Liberate us from all that distracts us and turns us from your path. Guide us and ground us in Christ’s everlasting hope. Amen.

Message He Is Risen!

When I was a little girl, my dad had to work in Texas for what seemed like a long time…14 months or so. He usually came home for the weekends, but we also visited him there whenever we had long breaks from school. Our spring break was always the same week as Easter, so we spent a few Easters in Texas, in Houston.

One of the years we were there, we went to a celebration in a big park. There were lots of other families and kids there, which was fun. My mother started to notice that all of the other kids had colorful confetti in their hair….some of the adults had it too…why? What was this strange Easter tradition that inspired people to don confetti on their heads?

We later found out that the families and kids we saw had cracked eggs over their heads – cascarones. The eggs were dried, dyed, filled with confetti and taped shut. On Easter morning, it is a Spanish tradition to surprise one another by cracking eggs over each other’s heads. Breaking cascarones is a popular activity in all the places Spain colonized, including the Southwestern US. 

Just as a baby chick breaking through an egg is a sign of new life, the Easter egg has been adopted as a sign of new life for Christians. The cascarones are hallow, just as Jesus’ tomb was hallow and empty. The surprise of having the egg cracked over your head is reminiscence of the Easter surprise….Jesus was resurrected. The joke is on the Romans, and the scheming priests, and the people who wanted Jesus to die. Nothing human beings can do can defeat God. Nothing humans can do can destroy the promise of new life we have in Christ. 

This morning, we gather in our cemetery to remember the visit a group of women made to another cemetery on the first Easter morning. They were tired…they were sad….they were just going through the motions of doing their duty as women. Jewish women in Israel in the first century were responsible for preparing bodies for burial. The women who trudged to the garden cemetery on the first Easter morning were fulfilling their obligation and were prepared to do their final act of service for Jesus….to show their love for him by caring for his broken and battered body.

But, imagine their surprise when his body was not there. It would have been more surprising than having a confetti egg randomly cracked over our head. Jesus was not there. He was not in the tomb. They were probably horror struck when they assumed his body had been stolen. 

But, that feeling would have shifted to a different kind of surprise and fear when the angels appeared. They were awestruck by the angels who told them the Good News. Christ was risen! His prophecies, and the prophecies of the prophets, were fulfilled. Jesus was resurrected. Jesus was alive once again!

This is not the first time we are hearing this good news. But, as we remember the women, let us work to feel the same surprise, the same joy, the same delight they felt. Nothing is able to defeat God, and God’s plan. Nothing men and women can do is able to separate us from the love of Christ. God loves the world so much that God shared Jesus with us, and not even death itself could keep Jesus away from the people of God. 

Christ the Lord is Risen today! Alleluia!!

Amen. 

The Triumphant Entry -- A Message for April 13, 2025

 

    The Palm Sunday events are so important they are included in each of our four gospels. Interestingly, in Luke, we read a retelling of the story that does not include Palms. Listen to how Luke described the events of the first Palm Sunday in Luke, chapter 19, verses twenty-nine through forty-four:

Scripture Luke 19:29-44

As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 

“Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 

If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”

Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 

As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”

They replied, “The Lord needs it.”

They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 

As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.

When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:

“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 

and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 

The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 

They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

Here ends this reading of the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Let us pray…

Message Triumphal Entry

When a king, or a president, or a prime minister arrives somewhere, it is a big deal.   The jet lands at the airport and a red carpet is rolled out to the plane. Soldiers flank the runway and stand at attention. Usually, an important potentate greets the king as they step off the plane and are then ushered into a waiting limousine. The limousine is typically part of a motorcade – motorcycles, black cars filled with security, a decoy limousine or two all make up the motorcade as the king is rushed to his destination. When he arrives, another red carpet is rolled out. Sometimes, pages sprinkle flower petals on the ground so the king doesn’t have to dirty his feet on the carpet. In the olden days, horns would blow triumphant music to announce the king. Often, cheering crowds line the roads and wave flags to greet and celebrate the arrival of the king.

Jesus’ arrival to Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday was a tad different…. there were signs that demonstrated his royalty, but there were also signs that demonstrated his more humble predicament.

Unlike other kings or royals arriving in Jerusalem, there were no dignitaries waiting to greet Jesus at the city gates. Instead of princes and officials, Jesus was greeted by humble people – mothers with babies, men making deliveries, street urchins, and Jesus’ disciples who were former fishermen and carpenters. King Herod and his embassies were not there. Pontius Pilate and his generals were not there. Just regular people, people like you and me, were part of the cheering crowds….regular joes and jills threw down their cloaks and shouted hosanna.

In Roman times, returning military heroes and leaders arrived at prominent cities on horseback. Horses represented power, status, and freedom. Donkeys, on the other hand, were work animals. They were used by farmers in their labors, to transport items, and as beasts of burden. They were not considered regal, refined, or powerful. So, the Roman soldiers who were patrolling in Jerusalem when Jesus arrived on the first Palm Sunday may have missed the significance of who he was.

But, in the Old Testament, it was prophesied that the Messiah would arrive on a donkey. Zechariah chapter 9 verse 9 says: "Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey!" So, not only would the messiah arrive riding on a donkey, he was to arrive on the back of a colt, a baby donkey. I can’t imagine it was a comfortable ride – the scripture says the donkey had never been ridden on before….i suspect it would have resisted Jesus’ weight, and been scared of the surging crowd. But, however awkward it may have been, it was prophesied the messiah would come riding on the back of a donkey foal, and that is what Jesus did. The Jewish people in the crowd understood the symbolism…..the Messiah was here.

Kings and royalty are an uncomfortable concept for our culture. Although some of us are interested in celebrity gossip of the royals, the United States was founded when we rebelled against a monarchy – the Declaration of Independence lists 27 grievances against King George and the British Parliament. We declared ourselves independent from the rule of a monarch and his minions. We declared that all men, all people, are created equal and are therefore entitled to unalienable rights, including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We threw off the yoke of oppression and freed ourselves from the tyranny of a monarchy.

Yet, Christians relate to Jesus as our king. Last Sunday, Carolyn wisely explained to me that we Christians are princes and princesses because we are the children of God, our king. 🙂 As a people who don’t like to be subject to the control or the dictates of a monarchy, it is a little strange for Christians to declare Jesus our king.

But, in an ideal situation, what is a king? A good king is a leader who cares for their people. A good king is generous, kind, and just. A good king has sacrificial love – their love is selfless and unconditional. A good king is decisive. A good king is patient and forgiving. A good king is fair. A good king is trustworthy.

When little children trust their parents, they can relax and focus on playing and growing. When employees trust their supervisors, they can relax into their position and trust the supervisor will keep their employees’ best interests in the workplace. When a married couple trusts one another, they can relax into the joy of their relationship because they don’t fear their spouse will commit infidelity or hide their financial resources.  

We can trust Jesus is a good king. Jesus was fair. Jesus was compassionate. Jesus was a servant-leader. Jesus was trustworthy. Jesus was loving. Jesus was forgiving. Jesus gave his own life over to be sacrificed on behalf of his followers, and even when he was in the process of being crucified, Jesus prayed for the people who were killing him. 

We are subjects of the King of Kings. Jesus is our King. God is our emperor. And, because of their love for their subjects, their children, we can relax and trust in their good plan for our people. Our lives may be full of unpredictable situations. We may not feel like we have a lot of control over our health, our professional achievements, our children, our families….but, we can trust in the Lord. Jeremiah 29 consoles us when God says: “ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” We may not always understand God’s plans for us. Things don’t always work out the way we want them to work out. But, God’s love for us extends from this life to the next. Our faith provides us the promise that: “ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” 

Even though we are week away from Easter, the Easter promise is a reminder that God loves us and God has a plan for us. We can trust in the promises of our God. that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God. God is our present and our future. As much as Americans are resistant to having a king rule over us, Jesus is the loving king who looks out for his people. Thanks be to God, that we can trust in Christ the King. Amen.