**Please note this service is based on the format of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada. Unless otherwise indicated, all prayers come from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELW). Hymns and other prayers have been sourced to give appropriate credit.
**NRSV translation used for the readings, unless otherwise stated.
**This is for personal use at home as the church is unable to gather in our houses of worship but together we can worship in our own homes.
Introduction to the Day
The gospel for the third Sunday of Easter is always one in which the risen Christ shares food with the disciples, meals that are the Easter template for the meal we share each Sunday. In today’s gospel, Jesus both shares the disciples’ food and shows them the meaning of his suffering, death, and resurrection through the scriptures, the two main elements of our Sunday worship.
Confession and Forgiveness
Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God,
who forgives all our sin,
whose mercy endures forever.
Amen.
Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another.
Most merciful God,
we confess that we
are captive to sin and cannot free ourselves. We have sinned against you in
thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as
ourselves. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us,
renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your
ways, to the glory of your holy name.
Amen.
God, who is rich in mercy, loved us even when we were dead in sin, and made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved. In the name of ☩ Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. Almighty God strengthen you with power through the Holy Spirit, that Christ may live in your hearts through faith.
Amen.
Gathering Song – Now All the Vault of Heaven Resounds (ELW #367)
Greeting
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion
of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.
Prayer of the Day
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.
Holy and righteous God, you are the author of life, and you adopt us to
be your children. Fill us with your words of life, that we may live as
witnesses to the resurrection of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
Readings
A reading from the Book of Acts 3:12-19
When Peter saw it, he addressed the
people, “You Israelites, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us,
as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified
his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate,
though he had decided to release him. But you rejected the Holy and Righteous
One and asked to have a murderer given to you, and you killed the Author of
life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And by faith in
his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and
the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the
presence of all of you.
“And now, friends, I know that you
acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. In this way God fulfilled what he
had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer. Repent
therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out,
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Psalm 4
Answer me when I call, O God of my right!
You gave me room when I was in
distress.
Be gracious to me, and hear my
prayer.
How long, you people, shall my honor suffer shame?
How long will you love vain words, and seek
after lies? Selah
But know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to
him.
When you are
disturbed, do not sin;
ponder it on your beds, and be silent. Selah
Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the
Lord.
There are many who
say, “O that we might see some good!
Let the light of your face shine on us, O
Lord!”
You have put gladness in my heart
more than when their grain and
wine abound.
I will both lie down
and sleep in peace;
for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in
safety.
A reading from the First Letter of John 3:1-7
See what love the Father has given us,
that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason
the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s
children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is
this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.
And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
Everyone who commits sin is guilty of
lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he was revealed to take away
sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him sins; no one who
sins has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you.
Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Children’s Message
I remember
going on camping trips when I was young. One of my family’s favorite activities
on those trips was sitting around a campfire at night and telling ghost
stories. And as I listened, I told myself over and over, "There’s no such
thing as a ghost." But that didn’t keep some of those stories from scaring
the daylights out of me. I often found it hard to go to sleep later that night.
Now, that might
seem like a strange way to begin a Bible lesson, but even in Bible times, some
people believed in ghosts and were afraid of them. Listen to an example from
the Bible.
It begins after
two men had travelled on a long road, to a town called Emmaus. They talked
about Jesus’ death and all that had happened. As they walked, they were joined
by a man. They didn’t realize it at first, but it was Jesus! After Jesus
revealed himself to them, they went straight back to Jerusalem and told Jesus’
disciples.
As they told
the disciples they’d seen Jesus, He suddenly appeared among them! He said to
them, "Peace be with you." Knowing He’d died, they thought He was a
ghost! The Bible says that they were terrified and filled with fear.
So Jesus asked
them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look
at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it’s really me. Touch me and
make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don’t have bodies, as you see
that I do."
Still the
disciples weren’t sure what to think, so Jesus asked them for something to eat.
As He ate some fish, they watched. And it showed them He wasn’t a ghost because
a ghost doesn't need food.
The disciples
realized Jesus had come back to life, and they spent the next month or so with
Him. After Jesus returned back to heaven, those same disciples went all over
the world, telling about Jesus’ crucifixion, His death, and His resurrection.
They never stopped telling about what happened.
You and I have
been called to tell others about Jesus, just like those disciples. We must be a
witness for Jesus, too. We must tell the world that Jesus is alive.
God, we serve a risen Savior. He is alive! Help us to be witnesses of what He has done in our lives. In Jesus' name, amen.
Gospel Acclamation
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke 24:36b-48
Glory to you, O Lord.
While they were talking about this,
Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were
startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to
them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at
my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost
does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said
this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were
disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to
eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their
presence.
Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you – that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.
The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O
Christ.
Sermon
May only truth be spoken and truth
heard. Amen.
What is it with these guys? How many times does Jesus have to appear to them before they will finally believe that he has returned?
Jesus had appeared to the women but the disciples told them they were crazy.
Jesus appeared to a couple of them on the road to Emmaus, but they didn’t even recognize him.
Jesus felt it necessary to show himself yet again.
It becomes obvious in the verses that follow that it was important for Jesus to reappear to the disciples, as it seems that no amount of reassurance on their part would have been too much.
So much for faith, right? These were the people who had travelled with Jesus, had heard his teaching and preaching, and still could not seem to wrap their head around the fact that it could actually be him? What kind of disciples were they?
They were human. Jesus’ reappearance defied all conventions of humanity and mortality as they knew it, and as we still know it today.
They had watched him be crucified. They had witnessed his death.
And in this moment, Jesus was not just reappearing to them as a ghost, but as a person in the flesh. He showed them his body, complete with the holes in his hands and feet. The fear, confusion, and doubt that overcame them was comprehensible by all human understanding.
I mean really? What would you have done if Jesus suddenly showed up in your living room? Would you recognize him? Would you accept the miracle of the resurrected Christ without question?
Once the guys are convinced that Jesus is real and not just a ghost, Jesus speaks about prophets and Psalms that predicted his suffering, death, and rising. Isaiah, who said things like “But He was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped, and we were healed!” and such lines as “They have pierced my hands and feet” from Psalm 22 and “Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay” from Psalm 16 are examples are prophecies that were fulfilled by Christ.
The passage today ends by Jesus naming his disciples as witnesses to the fulfillment of the scriptures.
So what does that mean exactly?
Well, it’s the end of Jesus’ succession plan.
Let me back up a bit…
By definition, succession planning is a process for identifying and developing new leaders who can replace old leaders when they leave, retire, or die.
That’s what Jesus is doing here by opening his disciple’s hearts to the scriptures. Jesus had prepared them for the work that they were to do following his death but they were still trying to understand for themselves just how they fit into this whole teaching and preaching thing and working to garner up the confidence to do the work for which Jesus had prepared them.
So Jesus appears, blesses the disciples, and then breaks them open to this transformative experience of witnessing the resurrected Christ, before sending the disciples on their way to proclaim the good news and to offer this experience to others.
Jesus declares that his students have now become the teachers and he expects them to pass on the knowledge that he has given them.
This was how the Gospel was going to be spread – from person to person through the sharing of knowledge. That was Jesus’ succession plan.
Somewhere along the line, we seem to have forgotten that plan.
People have this tendency to hold on to the information that they have, to keep knowledge to themselves instead of sharing it with others; becoming almost possessive of their knowledge and don’t want to let it go. It’s called job protection.
But what happens is that if you want a vacation or if you retire or if you leave the job, suddenly there is a panic because no one knows how to do your work.
In my old life in the business world, there were many times where I took a day or two off from work only to come back to chaos because something went wrong that no one knew how to handle or how to fix.
And the day I told my boss I was leaving the business world to become a priest, there was an underlying sense of panic. For years, they knew I was leaving.
And in the last 6 months before my last day there, they finally started succession planning for my position
Although found mostly in business, succession planning is an important piece in all areas of life.
Take the world of spiritual care, for example. All of the supervisors in the province retired within a few years of each other and suddenly there was no one to teach new spiritual care workers. There are two teachers now but they are definitely on the hunt for more in a hurry because there is a line up of people waiting to take the courses.
In this case, there was little or no succession planning done.
If you have a relationship with kids, you spend time teaching them life lessons such as giving without expectation of something in return, treating every living thing with respect, valuing what you have, and many others.
As an adult guiding children, whether it be as a parent or grandparent, aunt or uncle, teacher or coach, you have knowledge and experience that you pass on to the kids so that they grow up to be intelligent and respectful adults.
That, is succession planning.
There is a reason that Jesus was called Rabbi. He spent his life teaching and passing on his knowledge.
He didn’t hold on to what he knew. He chose 12 students and tried to teach them everything he could.
And he warned them, plenty of times, that he wasn’t going to be around forever; that one day the students would have to become the teacher.
Jesus was putting into place his succession plan. He had the knowledge, he found the students, he passed on his knowledge with the understanding that this pattern would continue for eternity. Students becoming teachers, generation after generation.
But again, somewhere along the line, we seem to have forgotten that plan.
Succession planning is especially important in churches, today. The average age of most congregations is in the 60s or 70s and these congregations are full of people who have vast knowledge of their church, the liturgy, and the community.
It is a gift for a church to have pews full of people who are ready and willing to pass on their knowledge to the next generation, to become teachers of their church’s history and traditions.
It is also a gift for the church members to have someone to whom to pass on the torch.
As with the business world, here, too, there is a hesitation to accept the gift of being a teacher.
People who have had certain jobs or tasks, or have held certain positions, for many years feel a sense ownership towards their role in the church. That isn’t a bad thing, overall. However, there is a worry that if they were to impart their knowledge or teach their skills to someone new then it’s a slippery slope to being replaced.
But it’s important to embrace that role of teacher and it’s important to do so now and without delay.
As one generation of people becomes unable to attend church and another generation begins to find the church once again, it has become imperative that history, traditions, and rituals be passed on.
And the most qualified people to do that are all of you sitting out there in the pews and watching from home!
So when someone asks to learn from you, don’t take it as a threat. Take it as an honour.
We talk a lot about doing as Jesus did – feed the poor, heal the sick, walk with the down-trodden, take good care of your neighbour.
All of those are great things of course, but we can’t forget that first and foremost, Jesus was a teacher.
So do as Jesus did and teach.
Amen.
Hymn of the Day – Lord, You Give the Great Commission (ELW #579)
Creed
Let us confess
the faith of our baptism, as we say the Nicene Creed:
We believe in
one God,
the Father,
the Almighty,
maker of
heaven and earth,
of all that
is, seen and unseen.
We believe in
one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son
of God,
eternally
begotten of the Father,
God from God,
Light from Light,
true God from
true God,
begotten, not
made,
of one Being
with the Father;
through him
all things were made.
For us and for
our salvation
he came down from heaven,
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the
virgin Mary
and became truly human.
For our sake he was crucified under
Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the
Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the
living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in
the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds
from the Father and the Son,
who with the
Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified,
who has spoken
through the prophets.
We believe in
one holy catholic and apostolic church.
We acknowledge
one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for
the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Prayers of Intercession
Alive in the risen Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, we bring our
prayers before God who promises to hear us and answer in steadfast love.
Silence
Living God, in the midst of Easter joy we are still filled with questions and wondering. Open our hearts and minds as we encounter the scriptures, so that the church embodies repentance and forgiveness in the name of Jesus to all nations.
Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
Creating God, like a master artist you have fashioned the universe out of your love and delight. Heal your creation where it is in need of restoration. Provide all the inhabitants of earth a peaceful and sustainable home.
Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
God of all, the nations hunger and thirst for your righteousness. Many call on you for guidance and strength. Answer their hopes with the peace of Christ and give your lovingkindness to national, state, and local leaders of people.
Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
Healing God, you hear the cries of those in need and answer them in their distress. Grant to those who are sick and suffering your compassion and nurse them back to health and wholeness. Be close to the hearts of the lonely.
Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
Loving Parent, you have given us such love that we should be called the children of God. Reveal yourself to us so that we in this community of faith will become more and more like you in our mutual love and bold witness.
Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
God of all times and ages, those who have died in you now see you as you are. We thank you for their lives among us. Assure us of the peace you have promised, that we may join them in everlasting life.
Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
Please take time to offer your own intercessions or to pray in silence.
In the hope of new life in Christ, we raise our prayers to you, trusting in your never-ending goodness and mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Peace
The peace of Christ be with you always.
And also with you.
Hymn of Thanksgiving – Day of Arising (ELW #374)
**Although not physically at our church buildings to share our offering together I would encourage you to set your offering of money aside so that it can be dropped off or placed in the church once services resume, to mail your offering to the church, or to make donations online. Please remember ministry is still taking place.
Thanksgiving for the Word
Let us pray.
O God of justice and love, we give thanks to you that you illumine our
way through life with the words of your Son. Give us the light we need, awaken
us to the needs of others, and at the end bring all the world to your feast;
through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy
Spirit, be honor and glory forever.
Amen.
Lord’s Prayer
Gathered into one by the Holy Spirit, let us pray as Jesus taught us.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.
Blessing
May our glorious God grant you a spirit of
wisdom to know and to love the risen Lord Jesus.
The God of life, Creator, ☩ Redeemer, and Sanctifier, bless you now and forever.
Amen.
Sending Song – Christ Is Alive! Let Christians Sing (ELW #389)
Dismissal
Alleluia! Christ is risen.
Christ is risen
indeed. Alleluia!
Go in peace. Share the good news. Alleluia!
Thanks be to God. Alleluia!
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