19 April – The Third Sunday of Easter, Luke 24.13-35
Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, 16but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17And he said to them, ‘What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?’ They stood still, looking sad.18Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, ‘Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?’ 19He asked them, ‘What things?’ They replied, ‘The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. 21But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. 22Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, 23and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. 24Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.’ 25Then he said to them, ‘Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! 26Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?’ 27Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.
28 As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. 29But they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.’ So he went in to stay with them. 30When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. 32They said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?’ 33That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. 34They were saying, ‘The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!’ 35Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
Things to think about with the child at the centre:
Activities
Use play-doh or modelling clay to make loaves of bread
For a small group, you could prepare and make some unleavened bread which you can cook and eat at the end of the service.
Decorate some “Hovis” biscuits
Response
As they walked along, Jesus explained lots of things about God to them. We often discover amazing things when we’re just walking and chatting. Encourage people to tell each other stories about encounters with God that they have had in their lives in small groups or pairs.
The symbolic moment of “breaking bread” revealed who Jesus was to the men, and it (literally) turned them around. When we share communion with each other, we are re-enacting this moment to remind ourselves of Jesus’ words and actions. How many of us are looking at our service sheets during that moment, and not at the bread and wine on the altar.
If you are sharing communion in this service, you might want to do so mid-way through the reflection rather than separately.
Prayer
Using the theme of bread (and the play-doh if it helps)
Pray for those who provide food – farmers, factory workers, shopkeepers, cooks, waiting staff, etc.
Pray for those who do not have enough food – through poverty, famine, war, environmental impact
Pray for those who are sick, especially those who need spiritual food.
Easter to Pentecost lectionary reflections from David Sherwin
Over the next few weeks, beginning with Easter Sunday, we are looking at the stories within the narrative of the lectionary Bible readings leading up to Pentecost. As we do this, may it help us consider where we fit into the story, how our encounter of faith, our meeting Jesus in our lives, has affected us and changed us? What would we write down as our story? Perhaps over the next few weeks, we might write down our journey of faith, our encounter with Jesus, and how our Lord impacts our lives day by day. We can also consider how we might share the Gospel story, the story of Jesus, with those around us and how it might impact their lives. Each week, we consider the principal readings for the day and what they might be saying to us. Allow the reading to speak to you throughout the week and let the story open up before you.
There are two readings for each day. If you only want to concentrate on one reading, that’s fine; maybe one reading speaks to you more than the other, that’s okay, let it do so.
Easter 3, 19th April Acts 2:14a &36-41,
Read the account and think about what stands out to you before reading on.
Peter continues the story at Pentecost. Here, Peter is addressing those who have some knowledge of scripture and prophecy, those of the Jewish faith. He called them to consider what has been said and invites a response. There are many people we may know who have been part of the church, perhaps as a child or teenager, and have a knowledge of the Christian faith. They may even at some point have had an active Christian life, but for some reason have let it slip away. Maybe we know adults who were once part of our church who no longer come to worship; these may be like those Peter is addressing, people of faith who, for some reason, the impact of Jesus in their lives has waned. They know the story, they may even have lived the life, maybe they need to hear the call again from the Lord who loves them and us.
We may know many who at some point in their lives have been active members of God’s family, His Church. Like us, they have been Baptised as a child or as an Adult, maybe confirmed their faith in confirmation? Firstly, how important is that sign of baptism to us? Baptism is sometimes referred to as ‘an outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible grace’. Going on from that, let us pray for those who, for some reason, are no longer an active part of the worshipping community. Let us pray that the grace of God may be reawakened in them, and whatever the reason has caused this may be healed.
Luke 24:13-35
The Emmaus road story.
We are all on a journey of faith; none of us knows all the answers, and each of us has our questions. As we travel along that road, let us take it one step at a time, as the old song says, ‘one more step along the road I go’. As we do that, let’s open our eyes to see that our Lord Jesus walks beside us day by day and will listen to all the questions we raise along the way.
Are we trying to take it all in, the Jesus story and what it means? The two on the road to Emmaus found that their engagement with Jesus made their hearts burn within them; it gave them great joy and hope. What joy and hope does the story give to us?
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