Third Sunday of Easter
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series III
It was suggested in the Lectionary Preaching Workbook III, Cycle A, that the Third Sunday of Easter has displaced the traditional Second Sunday after Easter with its biblical and theological emphasis on "the goodness of the Lord" in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Second Sunday after Easter was known as Misericordia Domini in the sacramentaries and other liturgical books, but was properly called Good Shepherd Sunday. This title came from the Gospel for the Day, John 10:11-15. (Good Shepherd Sunday now occurs on the Fourth Sunday ofEaster and is, therefore, one week later than it was in the traditional liturgical arrangement. In Cycle/Series B, the traditional Gospel is employed as the Gospel for the Day.) As this Sunday is now constituted biblically, it functions as a kind of "double-octave" by extending the "week of the apparitions of Jesus" to two weeks. Whereas the several post-resurrection appearances of the risen Lord were read and rehearsed every day of Easter week, not many people will be in church to hear those stories proclaimed. Easter, like Lent, tends to be celebrated primarily on Sunday, and that is why it is a good idea to concentrate the worship on this Third Sunday ofEaster on another one of the first appearances of Jesus. (Luke 24:36-49 is really the second appearance, but the first to all of the disciples.) In this liturgical order, the resurrection of the Lord is announced in the Gospel for the Day three Sundays in a row before other theological details are considered in the worship of the churches. On these three Sundays, the risen Lord, as a result of his triumph over the tomb, makes himself known to the church in the word and the breaking of the bread - now - just as he did on that first Easter. The Eucharist, without the resurrection, would simply be some kind of a seance. But because the living Lord is the host, the meal is a sacrament of God's grace to his people.
The Prayer of the Day
The Book of Common Prayer offers a collect that reflects the Luke 24 Gospel in its entirety. (The pericope for Year B is a continuation of the story read and told in Year A). It reads:
O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now andfor ever. Amen.
The Psalm of the Day
Psalm 4:1, 3, 6b-7a, 8a (R) - A man (David?) who has been hounded almost to the point of despair by his enemies lifts this lament to the Lord God, calling upon God to hear and answer his prayer and deliver him from those who would destroy him. He offers the prayer in trust, much in the manner that Jesus turned over his life to God when he prayed, "If it be possible, let this cup pass from me, but thy will, not mine, be done." And so, this person could "lie down in peace," because he knew that God would vindicate him and release him from his predicament. The risen Lord, knowing that God has vindicated him in his resurrection, could look forward to leaving the earth knowing that his work had been successfully completed.
Psalm 98, or 98:1-5 (E) - In this psalm, Cantate Domino - "Sing to the lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things" - the writer seems to have prepared a song especially for Easter. He sings of how God has won the victory "with his right hand and his holy arm." Not only that, but he has made known this victory to the ends of the earth. His song is anything but a lament, for it catches the joy of Easter and compresses it into a marvelous hymn of praise to God. The last verses call upon the faithful to sing the new song, which gives an eschatological perspective to the Easter victory.
Shout with joy to the Lord, all you lands;
Lift up your voice, rejoice, and sing.
Sing to the Lord with the harp,
With the harp and the voice of song.
With trumpets and sound of the horn
Sound with joy before the King, the Lord.
Let the sea make a noise and all that is in it,
The lands and those who dwell therein.
Let the rivers clap their hands,
And let the hills ring out with joy before the
Lord,
When he comes to judge the earth.
In righteousness shall he judge the world
And the peoples with equity.
Psalm 139:1-11 (L) - The psalmist contemplates the omniscience of God in this particuJar psalm. God knows all things, even what is in the heart and mind of any person. But the psalmist sees God somewhat as "the Hound of Heaven" from whom he cannot hide or flee: "If I climb up to heaven, you are there; if I make the grave my bed, you are there also." No matter where the psalmist goes, no matter what he does, the presence of the Lord will be there; from God, he is saying, there is no escape. Easter people, contemplating the meaning of the resurrection, will - through the Word and Holy Spirit - attain such knowledge, too.
The Psalm Prayer (LBW)
Lord Jesus, when you descended among the dead, you brought them the light of day; when you ascended into heaven, you brought it new radiance. Remain with us and lead us along the paths of life until we come to rest with your saints in the holy dwelling-place, where with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign, now and forever.
The readings:
Acts 3:12-19 (C); 3:13-15, 17-19 (R)
The Lutheran lectionary, it will be remembered, used this reading on the Second Sunday of Easter. It did not include verse 16, which is in the reading of the Common lectionary, but it extends through verse 26. Comments made on that pericope surely apply here.
Acts 4:5-12 (E); 4:8-12 (L)
The story of the healing of the crippled man by Peter and John continues - and it reaches the sort of climax that one would expect after reading about what had happened to Jesus in Jerusalem. Peter and John were arrested and thrown into jail over night. The next day they were taken before Annas and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, all of whom were "of the high-priestly family" for a hearing, if not an outright trial, in which they were asked, "By what power or by what name did you do this (heal the crippled man)?" Peter spoke up and answered them boldly, proclaiming that it was by the name of Jesus, "whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you." He went on to press the claims of the Gospel: 1.) that "the stone which was rejected by you builders, ... is become the head of the corners;" and 2.) "there is no salvation under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." That was enough to send the high priest and his kin into a serious conference to determine the fate of Peter and John.
Micah 4:1-5 (E)
The prophesy of this minor prophet has become major news, giving an eschatological stance as Christians read it, to the resurrection of our Lord. God has established "the mountain of the house of the Lord" in Jesus Christ and has "raised (him) above the hills; and people shall flow to (him)." And so, Micah can declare that the law will go "out of Zion," and "the word of the Lord from Jerusalem" - as it has indeed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Micah predicts that God will judge the nations and establish a reign of peace, where the nations will "beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more; but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and none shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."
1 John 1:1--2:2 (E, L)
This pericope was selected for inclusion in the readings of the Common lectionary for the Second Sunday of Easter. Comments on this reading may be located in the material for last Sunday.
1 John 2:1-5 (R)
The above lesson overlaps with this particular pericope, since it includes the first two verses of Chapter 2 of 1 John. John continues: "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, I am writing this to you so that you may not sin." He crosses his fingers by assuring his readers that, if they do sin, Jesus is their advocate with the Father, because he is the expiation for all sin and all sinners. John is really telling them that, as baptized Christians who live out their baptism in daily life, they should (as fruits of the new life in Christ) live a life ofobedience to the Lord and do their best tofulfill his commandments. God completes the process of redemption and sanctification in those who are faithful to him and his word.
1 John 3:1-17 (C)
Christians are, according to John and others, children of God created and redeemed out of his love who look with faith toward an unknown future. What they do know - and all Christians may be certain of this - is that they will be with Jesus Christ and the Father in that day. Christians live in this hope and, in John's opinion, should "purify" themselves for that day by living sinless lives as God's people. Those who sin are still under the sway of Satan, and really are not true Christians. Sinners who claim to be Christians are living out the Gospel by expressing love for one another and supplying the needs of people as best they can, just as Jesus did. John is calling upon his readers to model their lives after that of Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, who loved all people and gave himself for the deliver-ance of all.
Acts 4:5-12 (E) - (alternate as second reading)
Luke 24:36-48 (R, C); 24:36-49 (L); 24:36b-48 (E)
The rest of the Emmaus incident, which was the Gospel for the Day on the Third Sunday of Easter and appears in the Lectionary Preaching Workbok III, Cycle A, is the Gospel for this Sunday. The story picks up where Cleopas and the "other disciple" return to Jerusalem to tell Peter and the other disciples that they had seen the Lord. Jesus' first appearance in Luke is to the two of them; his second appearance is to the disciples later that same night. He gives that familiar "resurrection greeting," saying to the disciples, "Peace be with you." Luke's account differs from John's in that, along with inviting them (Thomas, at least) to "handle me," Luke has Jesus asking for a piece of fish for his supper. Some scholars claim that this action associates his resurrection with the eucharist, while almost all agree that the purpose for including this incident in his Gospel has to do with Christ's directive to his disciples about their mission in the world in his name. He clarified the Good News for them as the message which they were to declare to the world, showing them that this was the will and plan of God, according to the scriptures, to redeem the world. This is Luke's primary and theological concern in both Acts and his Gospel.
A Sermon on the Gospels, Luke 24:36-48 (R, C); 24:36-49 (L); 24:36b-48 (E) - "A Magician or the Messiah?"
He appeared in that upper room much the way that a magician would; it must have seemed, at first, like an illusion. One moment Cleopas and his companion were telling the rest of the disciples about their experience with the risen Christ, and the next thing they knew he was standing there right in their midst. After he asked, "Why are you troubled, and why do questionings rise in your hearts?" he proceeded to show them his hands and his feet, and invited them to touch him. Then he asked them for something to eat and he ate a piece of broiled fish before them. They knew it was the Lord, and that he had really risen from the grave. At that point, Jesus reminded them that what had been written in the scriptures had to be - and was - fulfilled. The disciples were to be witnesses to all nations, testifying to his death and resurrection - and the Good News that these things happened to deliver people from sin and death by acts of repentance and the forgiveness of sins. His final word, on this occasion, was that they should stay in the city until they received "power from on high." When that happens, they would be fully prepared for their mission in the world. That encounter in the upper room changed their lives forever.
The preacher might read Loren Eiseley's story of "The Magician," who changed his life in The Invisible Pyramid (sub-titled "A Scientist Looks at the Rocket Century"). He says that "every person meets (sooner or later) that person - that magician - who will change his life. I met my magician when I was fifty years old." This had to do with an incident that happened in the old Pennsylvania Railroad Station in New York City. As he was about to start down a long flight of steps, he saw a man - his teacher and former colleague who had been dead for a decade - standing at the bottom of the stairway. As he began his descent, the man turned toward him. He almost stumbled and fell. His heart pounded as he stared at the man and, when they drew close together, he opened his mouth to say his name, but not a sound came out. The man looked at him and right past him without recognition, and went on up the stairway and out the door "to be lost in the crowds of New York City." Eiseley says that he did not know whether he had seen a ghost or some kind of an illusion, or whether the man was a clone of his former friend. But he knew that he would never solve his dilemma. But on his trip back to Philadelphia, he discovered the meaning of the experience. He had been at his administrative job at the University of Pennsylvania for too long. It was time to get back to the work of anthropology and archaeology for which he had been trained. After meditating upon this in a cemetery near the University of Pennsylvania, he went back to his desk, wrote a letter of resignation, and "began to consult timetables." His life was completely changed by that encounter, much in the manner that Jesus' appearance in the upper room altered the lives of the disciples forever.
1. He entered the room like a magician - suddenly appearing in the midst of the discipies. Was Jesus simply another Middle-Eastern Magician, or was he something more? Even his invitation to touch him and his request for something to eat (which he did) could have been part of the illusion.
2. But he told them about the Holy Scriptures - that the prophesies about him could only be fulfilled by his death and his resurrection. A magician could hardly do anything like that, could he? A magician would only attempt to fool them.
3. But he outlined their mission for him and the Father in the world, giving them the content of the message that they were to take to all people, calling them to repent of their sins and receive the forgiveness of God. A magician never shares his secrets with others; he always does his own work of tricking or deceiving people. Jesus had to be the Messiah.
4. He was the Messiah, the risen Lord, who had come to save God's people; he was not a magician. But this remains: He changed the lives of the disciples forever - and that's what he does in this Easter encounter through the word and the meal to all of us. He makes us his witnesses and sends us into all the world with the same message that he gave to Peter and the others long ago.
A Sermon on the First Lesson, Acts 3:12-19 (C); 3:13-15, 17-19 (R)
A sermon suggestion for this reading is included in the comments for the Second Sunday of Easter, last Sunday.
Acts 4:5-12 (E); 4:8-12 (L) - "Healing Power."
1. That's what Peter and John had to offer to the crippled beggar outside the temple in Jerusalem. He wanted money - alms - but they gave him more than he asked for. He was healed and restored by the power of the risen Lord.
2. Inevitably, they got into trouble with the high-priest (Annas) and his relatives, who threw them into prison when they heard about the miraculous healing. Quite the opposite occurs today when physicians are sued for malpractice, for sometimes being unable to affect cures and healings that people expect.
3. Peter told them, in no uncertain terms, where the power came from that healed the man. He preached the Gospel to them, although they did not realize what he was doing, declaring, "There is salvation in no one else." That is Jesus' primary concern with all of us - salvation, the healing of our sins, and an end to our estrangement from God.
4. "There is no other name under heaven given by which we must be saved."
(Note: The 1989 summer issue of Word and World contains a number of essays pertinent to this subject, addressing the current theological tendency toward universalism in many Christian churches.)
Micah 4:1-5 (E) - "Walk All the Way to Heaven."
1. Centuries before Christ, Micah saw that one would come who would open up the way to God for all people. He would be the promised Messiah of the Lord.
2. He shall bring Good News to the nation - and people from all nations will be gathered to him to hear his word of grace and judgment.
3. That Promised One, Christians know, is Jesus Christ, Son of the Heavenly Father, who was raised up on a cross so the entire world may see the Father's love.
4. He will come again to judge and rule the world, and on that day lasting peace will be established on the earth. "We will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever."
A Sermon on the Second Lesson, 1 John 1:1--2:2 (E, L)
A sermon suggestion for this reading is located in the comments for the readings of the Second Sunday of Easter.
1 John 2:1-5 (R) - "All Things But Sin."
Phyllis McGinley wrote a poem titled, "The Rev. Dr. Harcourt" many years ago. She said that he was "Tall, urbane, handsome, just the man for this community." But when she spoke of his preaching, she wrote:
And in the pulpit eloquently speaks
On divers matters with both wit and clarity.
Art, education, God, the early Greeks,
Psychiatry, Saint Paul, true Christian charity,
Vestry repairs that shortly must begin,
ALL THINGS BUT SIN. HE SELDOM MENTIONS SIN. (emphasis mine)
1. Not so with John: He spoke about sin boldly, insisting that it has no part in the Christian life. He asserted that no person who has been rescued from sin and death by Jesus should sin.
2. John was a realist (and he was no gnostic). He knew that people would sin - and that their sins, based on sincere confession and repentance, would be forgiven by God because sinners have an advocate in heaven in the risen Lord.
3. Christians, nonetheless, are expected to obey the commandments of God. Jesus has freed them/us to do just that - to live the new life of forgiveness and resurrection in him.
4. We who shout, "Alleluia! Christ is risen. He is risen indeed!" are expected - by God - to prove our love for him by the way we live our lives.
1 John 3:1-17 (C) - "Children of the Heavenly Father. "
1. That's what God has made us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We have been saved by the love and grace of God - and his Son, our Savior.
2. At the same time, when we are honest with ourselves, we find that we are sinners -and we know that sinners are in danger of losing the forgiveness of God and eternal life.
3. His love, in us and working through us in our relations with other people, is the only hope that we have of overcoming sin and Satan.
4. When we love God and one another, as he has loved us, we have nothing to fear. Heaven, as God's gift in Christ, is ours.
The Prayer of the Day
The Book of Common Prayer offers a collect that reflects the Luke 24 Gospel in its entirety. (The pericope for Year B is a continuation of the story read and told in Year A). It reads:
O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now andfor ever. Amen.
The Psalm of the Day
Psalm 4:1, 3, 6b-7a, 8a (R) - A man (David?) who has been hounded almost to the point of despair by his enemies lifts this lament to the Lord God, calling upon God to hear and answer his prayer and deliver him from those who would destroy him. He offers the prayer in trust, much in the manner that Jesus turned over his life to God when he prayed, "If it be possible, let this cup pass from me, but thy will, not mine, be done." And so, this person could "lie down in peace," because he knew that God would vindicate him and release him from his predicament. The risen Lord, knowing that God has vindicated him in his resurrection, could look forward to leaving the earth knowing that his work had been successfully completed.
Psalm 98, or 98:1-5 (E) - In this psalm, Cantate Domino - "Sing to the lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things" - the writer seems to have prepared a song especially for Easter. He sings of how God has won the victory "with his right hand and his holy arm." Not only that, but he has made known this victory to the ends of the earth. His song is anything but a lament, for it catches the joy of Easter and compresses it into a marvelous hymn of praise to God. The last verses call upon the faithful to sing the new song, which gives an eschatological perspective to the Easter victory.
Shout with joy to the Lord, all you lands;
Lift up your voice, rejoice, and sing.
Sing to the Lord with the harp,
With the harp and the voice of song.
With trumpets and sound of the horn
Sound with joy before the King, the Lord.
Let the sea make a noise and all that is in it,
The lands and those who dwell therein.
Let the rivers clap their hands,
And let the hills ring out with joy before the
Lord,
When he comes to judge the earth.
In righteousness shall he judge the world
And the peoples with equity.
Psalm 139:1-11 (L) - The psalmist contemplates the omniscience of God in this particuJar psalm. God knows all things, even what is in the heart and mind of any person. But the psalmist sees God somewhat as "the Hound of Heaven" from whom he cannot hide or flee: "If I climb up to heaven, you are there; if I make the grave my bed, you are there also." No matter where the psalmist goes, no matter what he does, the presence of the Lord will be there; from God, he is saying, there is no escape. Easter people, contemplating the meaning of the resurrection, will - through the Word and Holy Spirit - attain such knowledge, too.
The Psalm Prayer (LBW)
Lord Jesus, when you descended among the dead, you brought them the light of day; when you ascended into heaven, you brought it new radiance. Remain with us and lead us along the paths of life until we come to rest with your saints in the holy dwelling-place, where with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign, now and forever.
The readings:
Acts 3:12-19 (C); 3:13-15, 17-19 (R)
The Lutheran lectionary, it will be remembered, used this reading on the Second Sunday of Easter. It did not include verse 16, which is in the reading of the Common lectionary, but it extends through verse 26. Comments made on that pericope surely apply here.
Acts 4:5-12 (E); 4:8-12 (L)
The story of the healing of the crippled man by Peter and John continues - and it reaches the sort of climax that one would expect after reading about what had happened to Jesus in Jerusalem. Peter and John were arrested and thrown into jail over night. The next day they were taken before Annas and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, all of whom were "of the high-priestly family" for a hearing, if not an outright trial, in which they were asked, "By what power or by what name did you do this (heal the crippled man)?" Peter spoke up and answered them boldly, proclaiming that it was by the name of Jesus, "whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you." He went on to press the claims of the Gospel: 1.) that "the stone which was rejected by you builders, ... is become the head of the corners;" and 2.) "there is no salvation under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." That was enough to send the high priest and his kin into a serious conference to determine the fate of Peter and John.
Micah 4:1-5 (E)
The prophesy of this minor prophet has become major news, giving an eschatological stance as Christians read it, to the resurrection of our Lord. God has established "the mountain of the house of the Lord" in Jesus Christ and has "raised (him) above the hills; and people shall flow to (him)." And so, Micah can declare that the law will go "out of Zion," and "the word of the Lord from Jerusalem" - as it has indeed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Micah predicts that God will judge the nations and establish a reign of peace, where the nations will "beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more; but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and none shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."
1 John 1:1--2:2 (E, L)
This pericope was selected for inclusion in the readings of the Common lectionary for the Second Sunday of Easter. Comments on this reading may be located in the material for last Sunday.
1 John 2:1-5 (R)
The above lesson overlaps with this particular pericope, since it includes the first two verses of Chapter 2 of 1 John. John continues: "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, I am writing this to you so that you may not sin." He crosses his fingers by assuring his readers that, if they do sin, Jesus is their advocate with the Father, because he is the expiation for all sin and all sinners. John is really telling them that, as baptized Christians who live out their baptism in daily life, they should (as fruits of the new life in Christ) live a life ofobedience to the Lord and do their best tofulfill his commandments. God completes the process of redemption and sanctification in those who are faithful to him and his word.
1 John 3:1-17 (C)
Christians are, according to John and others, children of God created and redeemed out of his love who look with faith toward an unknown future. What they do know - and all Christians may be certain of this - is that they will be with Jesus Christ and the Father in that day. Christians live in this hope and, in John's opinion, should "purify" themselves for that day by living sinless lives as God's people. Those who sin are still under the sway of Satan, and really are not true Christians. Sinners who claim to be Christians are living out the Gospel by expressing love for one another and supplying the needs of people as best they can, just as Jesus did. John is calling upon his readers to model their lives after that of Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, who loved all people and gave himself for the deliver-ance of all.
Acts 4:5-12 (E) - (alternate as second reading)
Luke 24:36-48 (R, C); 24:36-49 (L); 24:36b-48 (E)
The rest of the Emmaus incident, which was the Gospel for the Day on the Third Sunday of Easter and appears in the Lectionary Preaching Workbok III, Cycle A, is the Gospel for this Sunday. The story picks up where Cleopas and the "other disciple" return to Jerusalem to tell Peter and the other disciples that they had seen the Lord. Jesus' first appearance in Luke is to the two of them; his second appearance is to the disciples later that same night. He gives that familiar "resurrection greeting," saying to the disciples, "Peace be with you." Luke's account differs from John's in that, along with inviting them (Thomas, at least) to "handle me," Luke has Jesus asking for a piece of fish for his supper. Some scholars claim that this action associates his resurrection with the eucharist, while almost all agree that the purpose for including this incident in his Gospel has to do with Christ's directive to his disciples about their mission in the world in his name. He clarified the Good News for them as the message which they were to declare to the world, showing them that this was the will and plan of God, according to the scriptures, to redeem the world. This is Luke's primary and theological concern in both Acts and his Gospel.
A Sermon on the Gospels, Luke 24:36-48 (R, C); 24:36-49 (L); 24:36b-48 (E) - "A Magician or the Messiah?"
He appeared in that upper room much the way that a magician would; it must have seemed, at first, like an illusion. One moment Cleopas and his companion were telling the rest of the disciples about their experience with the risen Christ, and the next thing they knew he was standing there right in their midst. After he asked, "Why are you troubled, and why do questionings rise in your hearts?" he proceeded to show them his hands and his feet, and invited them to touch him. Then he asked them for something to eat and he ate a piece of broiled fish before them. They knew it was the Lord, and that he had really risen from the grave. At that point, Jesus reminded them that what had been written in the scriptures had to be - and was - fulfilled. The disciples were to be witnesses to all nations, testifying to his death and resurrection - and the Good News that these things happened to deliver people from sin and death by acts of repentance and the forgiveness of sins. His final word, on this occasion, was that they should stay in the city until they received "power from on high." When that happens, they would be fully prepared for their mission in the world. That encounter in the upper room changed their lives forever.
The preacher might read Loren Eiseley's story of "The Magician," who changed his life in The Invisible Pyramid (sub-titled "A Scientist Looks at the Rocket Century"). He says that "every person meets (sooner or later) that person - that magician - who will change his life. I met my magician when I was fifty years old." This had to do with an incident that happened in the old Pennsylvania Railroad Station in New York City. As he was about to start down a long flight of steps, he saw a man - his teacher and former colleague who had been dead for a decade - standing at the bottom of the stairway. As he began his descent, the man turned toward him. He almost stumbled and fell. His heart pounded as he stared at the man and, when they drew close together, he opened his mouth to say his name, but not a sound came out. The man looked at him and right past him without recognition, and went on up the stairway and out the door "to be lost in the crowds of New York City." Eiseley says that he did not know whether he had seen a ghost or some kind of an illusion, or whether the man was a clone of his former friend. But he knew that he would never solve his dilemma. But on his trip back to Philadelphia, he discovered the meaning of the experience. He had been at his administrative job at the University of Pennsylvania for too long. It was time to get back to the work of anthropology and archaeology for which he had been trained. After meditating upon this in a cemetery near the University of Pennsylvania, he went back to his desk, wrote a letter of resignation, and "began to consult timetables." His life was completely changed by that encounter, much in the manner that Jesus' appearance in the upper room altered the lives of the disciples forever.
1. He entered the room like a magician - suddenly appearing in the midst of the discipies. Was Jesus simply another Middle-Eastern Magician, or was he something more? Even his invitation to touch him and his request for something to eat (which he did) could have been part of the illusion.
2. But he told them about the Holy Scriptures - that the prophesies about him could only be fulfilled by his death and his resurrection. A magician could hardly do anything like that, could he? A magician would only attempt to fool them.
3. But he outlined their mission for him and the Father in the world, giving them the content of the message that they were to take to all people, calling them to repent of their sins and receive the forgiveness of God. A magician never shares his secrets with others; he always does his own work of tricking or deceiving people. Jesus had to be the Messiah.
4. He was the Messiah, the risen Lord, who had come to save God's people; he was not a magician. But this remains: He changed the lives of the disciples forever - and that's what he does in this Easter encounter through the word and the meal to all of us. He makes us his witnesses and sends us into all the world with the same message that he gave to Peter and the others long ago.
A Sermon on the First Lesson, Acts 3:12-19 (C); 3:13-15, 17-19 (R)
A sermon suggestion for this reading is included in the comments for the Second Sunday of Easter, last Sunday.
Acts 4:5-12 (E); 4:8-12 (L) - "Healing Power."
1. That's what Peter and John had to offer to the crippled beggar outside the temple in Jerusalem. He wanted money - alms - but they gave him more than he asked for. He was healed and restored by the power of the risen Lord.
2. Inevitably, they got into trouble with the high-priest (Annas) and his relatives, who threw them into prison when they heard about the miraculous healing. Quite the opposite occurs today when physicians are sued for malpractice, for sometimes being unable to affect cures and healings that people expect.
3. Peter told them, in no uncertain terms, where the power came from that healed the man. He preached the Gospel to them, although they did not realize what he was doing, declaring, "There is salvation in no one else." That is Jesus' primary concern with all of us - salvation, the healing of our sins, and an end to our estrangement from God.
4. "There is no other name under heaven given by which we must be saved."
(Note: The 1989 summer issue of Word and World contains a number of essays pertinent to this subject, addressing the current theological tendency toward universalism in many Christian churches.)
Micah 4:1-5 (E) - "Walk All the Way to Heaven."
1. Centuries before Christ, Micah saw that one would come who would open up the way to God for all people. He would be the promised Messiah of the Lord.
2. He shall bring Good News to the nation - and people from all nations will be gathered to him to hear his word of grace and judgment.
3. That Promised One, Christians know, is Jesus Christ, Son of the Heavenly Father, who was raised up on a cross so the entire world may see the Father's love.
4. He will come again to judge and rule the world, and on that day lasting peace will be established on the earth. "We will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever."
A Sermon on the Second Lesson, 1 John 1:1--2:2 (E, L)
A sermon suggestion for this reading is located in the comments for the readings of the Second Sunday of Easter.
1 John 2:1-5 (R) - "All Things But Sin."
Phyllis McGinley wrote a poem titled, "The Rev. Dr. Harcourt" many years ago. She said that he was "Tall, urbane, handsome, just the man for this community." But when she spoke of his preaching, she wrote:
And in the pulpit eloquently speaks
On divers matters with both wit and clarity.
Art, education, God, the early Greeks,
Psychiatry, Saint Paul, true Christian charity,
Vestry repairs that shortly must begin,
ALL THINGS BUT SIN. HE SELDOM MENTIONS SIN. (emphasis mine)
1. Not so with John: He spoke about sin boldly, insisting that it has no part in the Christian life. He asserted that no person who has been rescued from sin and death by Jesus should sin.
2. John was a realist (and he was no gnostic). He knew that people would sin - and that their sins, based on sincere confession and repentance, would be forgiven by God because sinners have an advocate in heaven in the risen Lord.
3. Christians, nonetheless, are expected to obey the commandments of God. Jesus has freed them/us to do just that - to live the new life of forgiveness and resurrection in him.
4. We who shout, "Alleluia! Christ is risen. He is risen indeed!" are expected - by God - to prove our love for him by the way we live our lives.
1 John 3:1-17 (C) - "Children of the Heavenly Father. "
1. That's what God has made us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We have been saved by the love and grace of God - and his Son, our Savior.
2. At the same time, when we are honest with ourselves, we find that we are sinners -and we know that sinners are in danger of losing the forgiveness of God and eternal life.
3. His love, in us and working through us in our relations with other people, is the only hope that we have of overcoming sin and Satan.
4. When we love God and one another, as he has loved us, we have nothing to fear. Heaven, as God's gift in Christ, is ours.
