Witnesses

Luke 24:33-53 (The Message)

33-34 They didn't waste a minute. They were up and on their way back to Jerusalem.

They found the Eleven and their friends gathered together, talking away: "It's really happened! The Master has been raised up—Simon saw him!"

35 Then the two went over everything that happened on the road and how they recognized him when he broke the bread.

36-41 While they were saying all this, Jesus appeared to them and said, "Peace be with you."

They thought they were seeing a ghost and were scared half to death.

He continued with them, "Don't be upset, and don't let all these doubting questions take over. Look at my hands; look at my feet—it's really me. Touch me. Look me over from head to toe. A ghost doesn't have muscle and bone like this."

As he said this, he showed them his hands and feet. They still couldn't believe what they were seeing. It was too much; it seemed too good to be true.

41-43 He asked, "Do you have any food here?" They gave him a piece of leftover fish they had cooked. He took it and ate it right before their eyes.

44 Then he said, "Everything I told you while I was with you comes to this: All the things written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets, and in the Psalms have to be fulfilled."

45-49 He went on to open their understanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their Bibles this way.

He said, "You can see now how it is written that the Messiah suffers, rises from the dead on the third day, and then a total life-change through the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed in his name to all nations—starting from here, from Jerusalem!

You're the first to hear and see it. You're the witnesses. What comes next is very important: I am sending what my Father promised to you, so stay here in the city until he arrives, until you're equipped with power from on high."

50-51 He then led them out of the city over to Bethany. Raising his hands he blessed them, and while blessing them, took his leave, being carried up to heaven.

52-53 And they were on their knees, worshiping him. They returned to Jerusalem bursting with joy. They spent all their time in the Temple praising God. Yes.

Luke's Gospel ends in this most magnificent way.

Jesus, alive, and in the midst of his beloved disciples. His presence, and his final teaching of scripture, make ultimate sense of the events that have taken place.

He is Redemption embodied. He is Hope, fulfilled. He is Joy and Peace and Power.

Things have been made right in the most perfect way. He is alive.

Those three words have had so much power throughout time and place.

He is alive.

The one who gave himself up. The most heart-breaking story of sacrificial love ends with healed hearts, bursting with joy.

He is alive.

And now, the task for those who believe this truth? "You're the witnesses."

Witnesses can attest to the truth of what has taken place. Witnesses shed light, and bring reality into clear view. They help others make sense of the world.

That is the call. We are witnesses to what God has done...witnesses to what God is doing and can yet do in our own lives.

Because "he is alive," all things are possible. Joy. Hope. Peace. Power.

"They returned to Jerusalem praising God and bursting with Joy. Yes!"

Father God we thank you for this journey through the words of your witnesses. We are so removed by history from that first resurrection appearance. But we can know Jesus as alive and present in our hearts and world. May we see, and then become witnesses to all that you have done.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Road

Luke 24:13-32 (The Message)

13-16 That same day two of them were walking to the village Emmaus, about seven miles out of Jerusalem.

They were deep in conversation, going over all these things that had happened. In the middle of their talk and questions, Jesus came up and walked along with them.

But they were not able to recognize who he was.

17-18 He asked, "What's this you're discussing so intently as you walk along?"

They just stood there, long-faced, like they had lost their best friend.

Then one of them, his name was Cleopas, said, "Are you the only one in Jerusalem who hasn't heard what's happened during the last few days?"

19-24 He said, "What has happened?"

They said, "The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene. He was a man of God, a prophet, dynamic in work and word, blessed by both God and all the people. Then our high priests and leaders betrayed him, got him sentenced to death, and crucified him. And we had our hopes up that he was the One, the One about to deliver Israel. And it is now the third day since it happened.

But now some of our women have completely confused us. Early this morning they were at the tomb and couldn't find his body. They came back with the story that they had seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. Some of our friends went off to the tomb to check and found it empty just as the women said, but they didn't see Jesus."

25-27 Then he said to them, "So thick-headed! So slow-hearted! Why can't you simply believe all that the prophets said? Don't you see that these things had to happen, that the Messiah had to suffer and only then enter into his glory?"

Then he started at the beginning, with the Books of Moses, and went on through all the Prophets, pointing out everything in the Scriptures that referred to him.

28-31 They came to the edge of the village where they were headed.

He acted as if he were going on but they pressed him: "Stay and have supper with us. It's nearly evening; the day is done." So he went in with them.

And here is what happened: He sat down at the table with them. Taking the bread, he blessed and broke and gave it to them. At that moment, open-eyed, wide-eyed, they recognized him.

And then he disappeared.

32 Back and forth they talked. "Didn't we feel on fire as he conversed with us on the road, as he opened up the Scriptures for us?"

Here we are, so near the very end of the Gospel of Luke...and we meet "Cleopas," and his unnamed friend for the first time.

They are walking on the road to Emmaus. They have been Jesus-followers. Their description of "our women" seems to indicate that they feel very connected to the disciples and the larger group that had looked to Jesus as their rabbi.

They are grieving. They feel lost and confused by the crucifixion and now the first reports of a missing body.

They meet a traveller on the road who is very different than most...and yet somehow intimately familiar.

He listens to their pain, and then begins setting them straight.

What a gift these two experience! Jesus, present with them, explaining all of the scriptures and prophecies that foretold his death and resurrection!

Of all the stories that Luke could choose to tell, he chooses this story of "Cleopas," and the Emmaus Road encounter.

No one knows why it was chosen, but I'm thankful that we have it.

So many times, we are confused pilgrims on the path. We know that something we just saw has deep, spiritual significance. We know that even though the things we sometimes see don't make sense...God is deeply involved in working his purposes.

The Holy Spirit...the presence of Christ...the scriptures and their message...these are the things that can make the pieces fall in place.

When we carefully, prayerfully look back at the years of our lives...or even just the events of yesterday...we too can have those beautiful moments when we say, "didn't we feel on fire...as he opened the scriptures for us?"

Like Cleopas and his companion...we may catch fleeting glimpses of Jesus in our midst...and they are enough to help us catch fire.

Father, we pray for your help today...and for an appearance of your presence that we can see, even if for just a moment. We pray that the veil would be somehow lifted, and that you would move us deeper in faith and hope.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Awestruck

Luke 24:1-12 (The Message)

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.

When last we left Luke...Jesus was being laid in the grave.

On Sunday morning, some of the women who had followed Jesus all the way to the cross followed him further still. They went to that tomb for the difficult but important work of caring for his body.

What they found (or didn't find) changed the world forever.

Luke's account is wonderfully sparse and lean. He tells us only what we need to know...the minimum that moves the story along.

His style has a wonderful way of communicating what the disciples must have felt. Confusion. Bewilderment. They are "puzzled," and left wiht shaking heads.

After all...how can this be?

Just a few days ago I found myself praying in earnest that God would answer a specific prayer. Before the day was out, I had seen it answered, in an amazing and complete way.

I found that my reaction was to be thankful...to praise God...but I'll admit to feeling at least a little puzzled...bewildered...head-shakingly so.

Was that really God, or just my imagination, or just the power of positive thinking?

The resurrection is our answer. God's ways are puzzling. They cause head shaking. And God's ways are always and forever wonderful. Yes, God does act. God does amazing things. In him all things are possible.

Will we dare to be awestruck...and to believe?

Father God, we give you all praise and glory for the wonderful, mind-bending, awe-inspiring resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are told that because he lives, we will live also. Our hope rests in him.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Tomb

Luke 23:50-56 (The Message)

50-54 There was a man by the name of Joseph, a member of the Jewish High Council, a man of good heart and good character.

He had not gone along with the plans and actions of the council.

His hometown was the Jewish village of Arimathea.

He lived in alert expectation of the kingdom of God.

He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Taking him down, he wrapped him in a linen shroud and placed him in a tomb chiseled into the rock, a tomb never yet used. It was the day before Sabbath, the Sabbath just about to begin.

55-56 The women who had been companions of Jesus from Galilee followed along. They saw the tomb where Jesus' body was placed.

Then they went back to prepare burial spices and perfumes.

They rested quietly on the Sabbath, as commanded.

"What do we do now?"

The teen driver was ashen. He looked at me through his passenger window. His question hung in the air.

I was confused. In fact, I was angry.

As I made my way down Anneewakee Road, not a quarter mile from Shepherd of the Hills, this kid had decided to just stand on his brakes.

It had taken all I had not to rear-end him. I swerved my Jeep into the ditch, after locking the brakes, and came skidding to a halt beside him.

"What do we do now?" he said, through his open window and into mine.

Then I saw what he meant.

He had hit a small dog. The dog was gone.

There just wasn't much that we "could do now."

And yet, there was.

I turned my emergency blinkers on, and told him to get off the road and pull in front of me. I was in "pastor" mode. The dog wasn't the only victim of the accident.

An elderly lady stood beside her mailbox, crying. The little dog was hers, and had run out into the road as she went to get her mail.

Sometimes, life just turns on a dime. You can never expect it. You're never ready.

It leaves you asking, "what do we do now?"

For me, these last verses of Luke 23 leave us with one of those questions.

The "worst" has happened. Death has come. Jesus hangs upon the cross.

"What do we do now?"

We do the best we can.

Thank God for folks like Joseph of Arimethea. He intercedes in a way that none of Jesus' disciples had the power to do. And he uses that power because he "lived in expectation."

Because of him, a proper burial can take place. And so, they all do what they can.

So did we. We helped this stranger bury her beloved pet. We listened to her cry.

After we did those things, the young man asked me again. "What do we do?"

"Now, we leave," I said. And so did those who gathered at the cross. So do those who gather at gravesides anywhere and everywhere today.

It's not very fulfilling to just go home. It seems that more should be done. But in the waiting...those closest to Jesus drew closer to the resurrection.

We can do what we can...then we can wait...and we can know that there is hope that will be yet fulfilled.

Father, when our hearts are broken and we face the reality of death, we pray that you would give us the strength to do what we can, and to wait in faithful expectation of your power. May we remember the example of Joseph, and never lose hope in what may yet be.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Friday

Luke 23:44-49 (The Message)

44-46 By now it was noon. The whole earth became dark, the darkness lasting three hours—a total blackout.

The Temple curtain split right down the middle.

Jesus called loudly, "Father, I place my life in your hands!" Then he breathed his last.

47 When the captain there saw what happened, he honored God: "This man was innocent! A good man, and innocent!"

48-49 All who had come around as spectators to watch the show, when they saw what actually happened, were overcome with grief and headed home.

Those who knew Jesus well, along with the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a respectful distance and kept vigil.

Every single year, there is one moment in worship that stands out as unique from all the others.

On the Friday before Easter, worshipers all over the world gather together to remember the death of Jesus Christ.

The same is true at Shepherd of the Hills. We sing songs, we listen to the story of his arrest, trial and crucifixion from scripture. Sometimes there is a sermon, sometimes there are various other acts of worship.

But the end of that service is always the same. It is unlike any other ending, any other moment of worship throughout the whole year.

We extinguish the candles. We cover our altar table in black cloth. We are silent.

And then we leave. We just leave. It is the strangest feeling in the world to just walk out, lock up, get in a car and drive home. That's it.

That moment is a re-creation of the moment experienced by all those who were present at the Cross that day.

The skies darkened. The curtain was torn. The Roman soldier proclaimed the truth.

And then everyone left, in silence. Those closest to him stayed behind and kept vigil. But there was a real darkness...a real loss...a real grief in that place.

It's disconcerting to leave church in the silent darkness. It is strange to hear that last chord left unresolved.

Thank God for the good news of resurrection.

Without it, our own lives, for all time, would be left with the heaviness of grief and the silence of loss. Without that hope, we would live in the midst of that strange, twilight, uncomfortable silence...we would walk away, heads down, into a real sort of hopelessness.

That is the nature of this moment in Luke. Friday. But Sunday is coming.

Father God, we give thanks for the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. May we always be willing to enter fully into Friday. Help us not to look away, but to know that only Friday's darkness makes the bright light of Easter Sunday possible.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Thief

Luke 23:34-43 (The Message)

34-35 Jesus prayed, "Father, forgive them; they don't know what they're doing."

Dividing up his clothes, they threw dice for them. The people stood there staring at Jesus, and the ringleaders made faces, taunting, "He saved others. Let's see him save himself! The Messiah of God—ha! The Chosen—ha!"

36-37 The soldiers also came up and poked fun at him, making a game of it. They toasted him with sour wine: "So you're King of the Jews! Save yourself!"

38 Printed over him was a sign: this is the king of the jews.

39 One of the criminals hanging alongside cursed him: "Some Messiah you are! Save yourself! Save us!"

40-41 But the other one made him shut up: "Have you no fear of God? You're getting the same as him. We deserve this, but not him—he did nothing to deserve this."

42 Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you enter your kingdom."

43 He said, "Don't worry, I will. Today you will join me in paradise."

Some people really seem to resent the idea of "deathbed" conversions.

Can it really "count" if a person throws themselves on the grace of God at the last minute, after a lifetime spent out of relationship?

Thank God...yes.

In fact, in a sense, I'm not sure there's really any other kind of true conversion at all.

If we are to live with Christ, we're going to have to die...one way or another.

What I mean is, at the heart of the Christian faith, following Jesus is about relinquishment. It is about humility. It is about renouncing our pride and ego, admitting and fully and embracing our need for a savior.

Most of us can't do that in the "good" times. Often, there is a need for a kind of spiritual "bottom," from which the seeds of our faith can grow and develop in the full light of God's strength.

Really, that's what it's all about. God's strength. 100%. Not ours, in any way.

Do you know who may have understood that better than almost any other individual we will ever read about in scripture?

The thief who hung, crucified, beside Jesus.

He makes his deathbed conversion.

And Jesus' response?

Welcome to the Kingdom. Today you will be with me in paradise.

Here's to "deathbed" conversions for us all.

Father God, we pray that our old selves could die away, that you would crucify our wounded egos and allow us to live new lives, fully dependent upon your strength alone.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.