Sunday 26th April 2020 – with thanks to The Village Church
Kia ora! Good morning!
We join together in
our apart-ness again on this third Sunday after Easter
We are pausing to
acknowledge and grow in the presence of God in our lives.
We are meeting as
part of a church community, albeit a scattered one.
We are stilling
ourselves, our fears, our anxieties, and all the distracting things around us,
to seek and delight in God’s life with us.
Let us worship God!
Our words to focus
this time of worship are some verses
from Psalm 116, maybe appropriately titled,
‘Thanksgiving for recovery from illness’
I love the LORD, because he has heard
my voice and my
supplications.
Because he inclined his ear to
me,
therefore I will
call on him as long as I live.
The snares of death encompassed me;
I suffered distress
and anguish.
Then I called on the name of the LORD:
“O LORD, I pray,
save my life!”
What shall I return to the LORD
for all his bounty to me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the
name of the LORD,
I will pay my vows to the LORD
in the presence of
all his people.
O LORD, I am your servant;
You have loosed my
bonds.
I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice
and call on the name of the LORD.
I will pay my vows to the LORD
in the presence of
all his people,
in the courts of the house of the LORD,
in your midst, O
Jerusalem.
Praise the LORD!
Our prayer on the
way
Loving God
Looking back, we
recall a week where there was nowhere to go for coffee
and chats,
no way to sneak a
cuddle or even a handshake, with anyone who lives
outside our bubbles,
no way to catch up,
even from a distance, with anyone who lives outside our neighbourhoods,
no way to pop into
a shop, other than the supermarket or pharmacy,
no way to walk on a
beach, or hike over a hill.
BUT looking back, there was also:
that daily walk
down Hamilton Ave, lined with Liquidambars in full
Autumn colour,
warm sunlight to
soak in and dry clothes on the line,
time to get lost in a book, jigsaw, knitting or Netflix,
a quiet so intense
we could hear birds, occasionally a child laughing, a
dog barking,
a world still
enough to notice the piwakawakas flitting about so full of
joy.
Looking back, we
see now that it was a good week, God,
one where less
people have been overtaken by the virus,
one where many more have recovered,
and it looks like
through working together we are getting the better of this thing.
It was a week full
of hope.
It was a week too
where we remember that once two men walking down a
dusty road were joined by a man they didn’t
recognise.
They didn’t
recognise him because their thinking couldn’t allow for the possibility that
this could be the same man whose loss they were still mourning.
How easily we
dismiss what we can’t understand,
how easily we miss
what we are not open to
In this time now we
hand over to you, the things that blind us,
the things that
weigh us down and stop us being open to possibility,
the things that
make us too weary to engage imagination,
the things that
reveal our lack of faith.
These
things are yours now Lord, yours to transform and
make new in us.
We trust this to you
because we have seen you transform
our sense of loss into
gratitude for what we have,
our fear into peace,
our uncertainty into
hope,
our swords into
ploughshares,
the hungry into the fed,
the homeless into the
sheltered.
May we learn to be agents
of your work,
servants of one another
in making this world a kinder fairer place for all.
In Jesus’ name we pray Amen
I think of the
disciples locked up in the upper room, deflated and
despairing, with fear and anxiety paralysing them. It was Jesus breaking into
the room and breathing his Spirit on them that gave
them propulsion. Similarly, on the road to Emmaus, it was the unfolding of the
big story and the simple breaking of the bread that
jolted belief and life back into them, and the boat, that we now know as the
church, was able to get moving.
As we sit out this period of waiting and worldwide calamity, and
wonder what ‘what next?’ looks like, we look for the breath and Spirit of Jesus to come upon us and provide us with the
delight and oars to propel us forwards to where God’s kingdom coming meets us.
Bible Reading: Luke 24:13-35 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
Today’s gospel
reading is about a walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus. Although this walk was one of just seven miles
(approximately 11km) it was one with profound
significance for those who were present (Cleopas and his companion). The
account of this walk has continued to provide great encouragement to Christians
throughout the past 2000 years, and it is quite
possible that Luke 24:13-35 may be a favourite Scripture
passage for some of you.
It
is certainly a passage that I have, over the years, enjoyed reading slowly,
imagining myself walking alongside those discouraged
disciples who met that wonderful stranger on the road.
Confusion to clarity;
discouragement to hope
It is the third day after
Jesus’ death. The tomb is open and Jesus’ body is missing. His followers are
bewildered and distraught. They had hoped that Jesus
– this man who “was a prophet and was considered by God and by all the people
to be powerful in everything he said and did” would
“be the one who was going to set Israel free.” But things haven’t turned out
the way they had hoped. They have already left
Jerusalem. They are confused and deeply discouraged.
As many of us will have
learned from painful experience, confusion and
discouragement can be catalysts for growth in faith. An awareness of our own
inadequate understanding can lead us to seek answers
and be genuinely open to new insights. Discouragement can make us aware of our
own limitations and prompt us to pray. It can
stimulate us to strengthen the foundations of our relationship with God. But
confusion and discouragement can also cause us to go
round and round in circles in our thinking – which seems to be what was
happening for these disciples in the early stages of
their walk to Emmaus.
Jesus joins them but they
do not recognise him. They continue to thrash out their concerns and their doubts about the validity of the women’s report of a vision
of angels who had told them that Jesus was alive. As
they walk, Jesus responds to their confusion and discouragement with great
patience. He explains what is said about himself in all the Scriptures “beginning with the books of Moses and the writings of
all the prophets”. Deepening (though partial) clarity
supplants the disciples’ confusion; hope displaces discouragement.
When Jesus breaks bread
with the disciples, praying for God’s blessing, they finally
understand and believe that he has risen from the dead.
It is through a familiar action that “their eyes are opened” and they recognise
Jesus. This marks the beginning of another journey – both literally (the
disciples immediately return to Jerusalem) and
figuratively (as they begin to learn what it means be disciples
of the risen Lord). Can you imagine how different their conversation must have
been on the walk back?!
- Do any of the images included in today’s service reflect your experience at the moment? Do you feel that you are at a border or
crossroads? Do you find yourself in a place of refuge? Are you struggling
because of external factors over which you have no control?
Why not talk with God about these things?
- Can you think of a time in the
past when you felt confused or discouraged about your faith? What helped you to
find hope or greater clarity? How might recalling that experience be helpful to
you at the moment?
- Perhaps you are feeling discouraged or have doubts about
your faith right now. If so, it may help to remember
that even the disciples who were closest to Jesus had their moments. Hang in
there. If it is helpful, perhaps you might phone and talk to someone who may offer you a fresh perspective?
- After recognising that Jesus had
risen from the dead Cleopas and his companion immediately walked 11 kilometres
back to Jerusalem (presumably at night) to share the good news with the other
disciples. How might you share the good news about
Jesus that others have shared with you?
Offering & Prayer for the Road
In this part of the
service, we dedicate these gifts and indeed our
entire lives once again to the service of God in the week ahead. We do this
all, in response to the ongoing Generosity of God of which we are all receivers
and to remind ourselves that ‘the earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it’ (Psalm 24:1).
Collectively now at
this moment as we turn our hearts and minds outwards let us be grateful for
God’s ongoing gifts, grateful that many of us can still give to the ongoing life and work of this parish and dedicate ourselves to the
presence of God in our ‘bubbles’, in our phone conversations and in our waving
across the street.
We pray
Like the disciples
at Emmaus, we offer what we have.
They offered their
company, their table, their
bread.
We sense you are
with us, Jesus, as we offer
you our love,
our devotion, our
gifts.
May our eyes be
opened to your holy presence among us,
now and always.
As
we gather while apart, we remember all churches
across the world,
Who today are meeting as we are:
Walking this unknown road
of pandemic uncertainty.
Open our eyes, open our
ears, open our hearts,
To see you as the one who
walks this road beside us.
We think of our leaders,
local and national,
And don’t envy their positions at this time!
Our prayer is that they
remember their call to the common good.
And serve with
resilience, wisdom, and kindness.
We notice our planet,
In many places breathing
a sigh of relief,
As our assault on it is
subdued.
We pray that as the earth speaks at this moment,
We collectively would
listen,
And not simply take up
arms against our global home once again, as soon as we are able.
We bring to mind those
who are almost always forgotten.
Yes, we are in lockdown
but we are also privileged
surrounded by our comforts of home.
We think of the poor, the
refugee, the victims of domestic violence;
And in gratitude for
where we find ourselves,
We ask, God, may your
grace and mercy lift up and hold those who struggle at this time.
And as we begin to slowly emerge from
lockdown over the coming months,
May we know how and when
we can offer hospitality of all kinds to those in need.
We hold too at this
moment,
Those who are wracked
with fear, anxiety and worry,
Those for whom their
imaginations turn to
unhelpful places.
We pray for your peace,
your deep peace, to make its way into their minds and hearts,
Becoming for them an
endless resource of calm and of capacity to live, freely.
You, God, are the
beginning and end of all creation,
In this we trust,
For you are good,
And your love never
fails,
Despite all uncertainty
and adversity.
In your Spirit,
Lifted with Christ we
pray,
Amen.
As we “stay home and save lives” during this time of global pandemic we
are all restricted in our physical movements, but we are still “pilgrim
people.” The lectionary readings for today place our gospel reading alongside
Psalm 116. This Psalm includes the following lovely words: “And so I walk in
the Lord’s presence as I live here on earth.” (Ps 116:9) Let us remember these
words of encouragement and give thanks for the presence of God with us today.
